Nāgārjuna‘s aim, therefore, was to seek out the Buddha‘s original meaning, as can
be seen from his frequent citation of the Pāli canon, and his emphasis on Dependent Coorigination. Yet the MMK, like the Mahāyāna sūtras examined above, contains many declarations that might surprise a Theravādin, not least of all, the identification of
saṃsāra and nirvana. We are told that,