Why is nirvana important?

Answer 1

Nirvana is not like the Christian heaven, something that people feel is important in its own right. Nirvana is an absence of almost everything (Nirvana is "not"). There is no sense of self awareness (ego) or any of the other human emotions. It is important to people who are not in Nirvana as they are still in the cycle of death and rebirth and the associated suffering of desire and want.