Nagarjuna, in his Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, makes his point that “there does not exist anything that is not empty.” Meaning, there is not any existent phenomenon which is actually real.

As Barry Kerzin writes:

The scope of emptiness is unlimited; nowhere is there anything at any time that is not empty….Nagarjuna establishes that everything—including emptiness—is empty.

Nagarjuna:

If all of this is empty, then there is no arising and no disintegrating.

If there were something which is not empty, it would be real, in the ultimate or everlasting sense. That which is permanently real would not be subject to impermanent conditions or changes, such as causes or effects. In other words, it would be beyond such forces as life (origination) or death (cessation). The situation of this unchangeable condition means that neither would such an “intrinsically existent” thing ever produce any other thing or condition.

Kerzin:

Thus it is very clear from the words of the Buddha, Buddha-palita, Candrakirti, and Tsongkhapa, and echoed in Nagarjuna’s works, that when we say that all phenomena are nonarisen and nonannihilated, we mean ultimately not arisen and ultimately not annihilated.

Since we know of no such phenomenon which is ultimately real or existent, we know that all that appears to us to be real are actually non-real appearances. That is, what appears to us to be “reality” is really an illusion. And this would include us who believe that we view this “reality”.

Kerzin:

Thus, there are no phenomena existing intrinsically at any time or anywhere. Production itself, the things produced, and the causes for their production, are all empty.

Nagarjuna:

To whom emptiness makes sense everything makes sense. To whom emptiness does not make sense nothing makes sense.

“From the first, not a thing is,” as Hui Neng said. Not anything has ever actually been produced or originated, in the first place.

We—unreal—creatures suppose that because we view what we perceive to be real, or existent, the presumed context or condition surrounding these things are likewise real—such as time, space or cause-and-effect.

In other words, under these conditions, things come into existence; exist; and go out of existence. This, we suppose, proves that thing’s truly “exist” or are real.

If we believe that we are real, we can also believe that we really suffer and die.

Nagarjuna:

From ‘existence’ arises birth. From birth, certainly will arise aging, death, grieving, lamentation, mental anguish, distress, and suffering….When thoughts of “I” and “mine” extinguish….as it ceases, so does birth.

Buddha was clear on this:

Phenomena are neither born nor come into existence; nor die, nor transform….

Kerzin:

Previously, we thought there was an I, a body, and a mind, all of which convincingly appeared to exist objectively, from their own side….When Jeffrey Hopkins, esteemed scholar and friend, was a young man, his first teacher, Geshe Wangyal, gave him some pith advice. He told Jeffrey to label whatever he saw as “false.” So Jeffrey went around saying to himself “door, false; table, false; reflection of Jeffrey’s face in the mirror false; glass of wine, false; mother false; my teacher Geshe Wangyal, false.” In this way Hopkins practiced seeing himself and the world as like an illusion. This is a very practical way to begin to see through the mistake of taking everything as real and solid. Nothing is as it appears…. Understanding this is the key to renunciation, which leads to freedom from suffering. (But only if you still cling to the belief that suffering is truly a reality.)