Normally the sufferings of this world and the peace of Nirvana would be viewed as irreconcilable opposites. According to Mahayana Buddhism, however, all things are manifestations of Dependent Origination. That is, they are essentially empty of substantial existence or permanent characteristics. Awakening, then, does not trade one type of experience (such as enduring this world of birth and death) for another type of experience (such as attaining a Nirvana falsely imagined as some kind of blissful high or perfect afterlife) because all experiences are impermanent and dependent upon causes and conditions. Instead, awakening recognizes the true nature of all experiences. In this way, awakening frees us from our self-centered ignorance. It allows us to appreciate and care about things just as they are, instead of demanding that they conform to our desires and opinions. This recognition is the true state of Nirvana; it is not an escape from this world into another one. Nirvana is not the cessation of experience, but a revolutionary change in the way we experience the world and ourselves. This is what it meant by “the world of birth and death is itself Nirvana,” because Nirvana is not apart from the world and its sufferings, but is the true nature of life and death itself.