Nirvana is taught as an awakening in which illusions and karma that lead to rebirth are extinguished. It is a goal along the path to the ultimate goal of becoming a Buddha. Looking at the predictions given to the contemporary disciples of the Buddha we see that the ultimate prediction given to them is not Nirvana but the attainment of Buddhahood in distant worlds; they become Buddhas. In Chapter XVI we learn that the Buddha does not leave the world, that leaving the world in death is only an illusion. Nirvana is not the final goal, but it is one goal along the continuing path to Buddhahood.