All of life's problems come from misunderstanding why things really happen to us, and the unending ‘chain of pain’ created by that mistake. Fixing that confusion is possible and is the key to authentic happiness. Spiritual master Nagarjuna – who is often referred to as the second Buddha – uses the map of the profound "Twelve Links of Dependent Arising" within the Wheel of Life to describe the cycle in which we are ensnared, as well as the route out.

After spending 26 chapters negating the most cherished beliefs of the Buddhist orthodoxy, in his text, "Root Verses of the Middle Way," Nagarjuna affirms that we do indeed experience samsara due to these causal links and that nirvana is possible, by undoing what we’ve done.