 Buddhism asserts that there is nothing independent, except the state of nirvana.All physical and mental states depend on and arise from other pre-existing states, and in turn from them arise other dependent states while they cease.Confucianism considers the ordinary activities of human life—and especially human relationships—as a manifestation of the sacred, because they are the expression of humanity's moral nature ("xìng" 性), which has a transcendent anchorage in Heaven ("Tiān" 天) and unfolds through an appropriate respect for the spirits or gods ("shén") of the world.