It occurs when the cycle of endless birth and death is finally broken. Salvation, as in most Eastern religions and New Age fads, is a matter of realizing what you already are, and not becoming what you should be as in Christianity. When a Buddhist realizes enlightenment it is an experience that cannot be expressed in words. The Four Noble Truths 1. Suffering is the universal experience of all beings in existence.
Life is a succession of suffering experiences.
The Cause of suffering is desire, desiring possessions, or the desire for every kind of enjoyment, and the desire to live forever. At the root of this is the desire for a separate individual existence. The Cure for suffering is to eliminate desire. Genuine peace, or nirvana, is only achieved when all human passions have been extinguished. The Fourth Truth is the Eight-fold Path which is the means or process to eliminate suffering.