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our Sangha is trying to find through a lot of ancient books about the story of Arya Nagarjuna reaching a level of direct perception of Emptiness, and we couldn't find anything in the scriptures yet. If someone has information on a following topics with quotes, please let us know.

Thank you.

EDIT: What I meant is that he reached an Arya level, and we are looking for details about his direct perception of Emptiness.

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  • What "following topics"?
    – user2424
    Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 13:13
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    It seems a slightly odd question. Presumably he employed some combination of the usual methods. A direct perception of emptiness is not an unusual accomplishment. The profundity of his understanding is another matter.
    – user14119
    Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 13:22
  • @Lanka I expect that means a "relevant" topic -- a topic that follows from the question.
    – ChrisW ♦
    Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 20:01
  • @PeterJ, exactly. Direct perception of emptiness is basically entry level practice. It's significant, just like a child's first steps are, but it's not anything unusual or profound.
    – user16486
    Commented Jun 5, 2019 at 17:24

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Arya Nagarjuna as a scholar, only dispelled the arguments of the reificationists or the annihilationalists. In doing so, he conceptualized sunyata- sunyata is itself sunya (sunyatasunyata). It is merely an analytical tool (certainly of the gretest importance and very profound) to go beyond the obstructs of conceptual thinking- go beyond thinking to the direct experience of reality of mind-body phenomenon in its entirety.

Arya Nagarjuna reached the "perception of emptiness" by the same way as all Budhhas, Boddhisattvas, Arihants have reached and we can reach- by the technique of Vipassana- by the direct experiential insight into the phenomenon of mind-body, which is empty of all conceptual constructs.

But I am sorry to say that I myself do not know of any scrpitures which discuss the meditative experiences of Arya Nagarjuna.

EDITED- It may help you to look at Tsong Kha pa's "The Great Treatise on the States of the Path to Enlightenment". In fact, if you already have not, you may try searching through the Lamrims. Although, I doubt whether it particularly deals with an account of Arya Nagarjuna's meditative expriences. But they may help you make correct inferences and deductions (much Like I have done in this answer). EDITED (2nd)- It will be very useful for you to look at Arya Candrakirti's The Entry into the Middle Way. In some translations, Stage one "The Joyous" is associated with the direct perception of sunyata.

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