 Since the only thing that exists is this reality, the world of illusion (samsara) is no different ontologically from nirvana. (The slogan “Nirvana is samsara” is antecedently present in Madhyamaka.) In other words, samsara is simply a mistaken perception of the same ultimate reality experienced in enlightenment. Fazang illustrates this with the metaphor of a statue of a golden lion (Fazang 2014a). We should not deny or fail to perceive the conventional fact that the statue appears to be a lion. However, we must realize that there is no sense in which a lion is actually there, and even the appearance of the lion is not a separate entity beyond the gold that is present. The gold can take on different forms (ore, ingots, coins, etc.), but in itself it is ultimately unchanging. Similarly, we should not deny or fail to perceive that ordinary reality appears to consist of distinct, persistent individuals. However, we must realize that there are not actually distinct, persistent individuals. All that really exists is the complete network of mutually interdependent entities (dharmas), and this network (extended through all of time and space) is eternal and unchanging. 