Unreal things, fleeting and insubstantial, arise and dissolve in an instant—much like the illusion of a snake appearing on a rope to one whose vision is clouded by confusion. For any being born of the mind, if there is no awakening, all perceptions arise as mere imitations, taking on false forms. Each person, rooted in their own experience, perceives this so-called creation as if in a dream, just as one who takes on recurring bodies perceives the cycles of the earth. When a yogi, journeying onward through the worlds that exist before Brahman, proceeds along his path, what, then, is this body of his? It is but a vehicle for transition. The passage from one body to another occurs when the previous form is destroyed; in that transition, the yogi’s body becomes radiant, much like the subtle body experienced in dreams. Just as a drop of frost vanishes in sunlight, or a white cloud disappears in the clear autumn sky, so too does the yogi’s body—though seen—become unseen. At times, the yogi’s body is simply no longer perceived by other yogis present, much like a bird that suddenly takes flight and vanishes into the sky. According to their own tendencies and perceptions, some people may see a certain yogi ahead of them and think, “He is dead.” For them, the identification of the body with the self is mere delusion. This delusion subsides through true knowledge, just as the illusion of a snake in a rope vanishes when the rope is recognized for what it is. What, then, is the body? Whose is existence? Whose is destruction? How and from where did these notions arise? All of this was only persistent ignorance, which now has faded away. A question arises: Does the elemental body attain the state of the subtle body, or is it something else altogether? The student, feeling confused, implores the master for clarity. The master responds: “Though I have told you many times, why do you not accept the answer? Only the subtle body truly exists; the elemental, physical body does not exist at all. Through repeated practice, the notion of the elemental body arises in a person; when that notion subsides, the former, subtle state prevails once again. Then, heaviness, hardness, solidity, and mistaken grasping all cease—just as in a dream, these qualities vanish for a person who is aware of the dream’s nature. In that state, there arises a sense of lightness, as if the body were made of cotton—just as in a dream, one feels light upon recognizing it is a dream. Likewise, through awakening, this body, though gross, becomes capable of leaping and transcending limitations, as happens for those whose minds have matured through sustained intention over many days. When this body, now a corpse, is burned, those who remain will inevitably experience embodiment in a subtle form. Through the intensity of awakening, even while living, yogis attain this subtle state; when memory arises there, the notion ‘I am this’ is formed by mere thought alone. Whatever form that body may have, such is the body of the awakened one. This illusion appears just like the appearance of a snake in a rope. When it is gone, what is lost? When it arises, what is gained? If, immediately after such a transition, the yogi sees his familiar surroundings as before, and, by the power of true resolve, becomes aware—what of it, O Lord? Thus, they may think: ‘The queen is here, distressed; another woman, a friend, has come to her from somewhere.’ What doubt can there be for them? For creatures lacking discernment act as they see, without inquiry—how could they reflect? Just as a clod of earth, rolling, quickly passes a tree after striking it, so too do the ignorant pass by fire, mountains, gods, and the like, without knowing. Just as, upon waking, one does not know where the body of the dream has gone, so too, all that is experienced in this world of matter is unreal. The question arises: O Lord, where does the peak of dream go upon awakening? Please dispel my doubt, as the wind disperses an autumn cloud. In dream, confusion, or imagination, objects such as mountains exist within awareness; these movements merge inward, just as wind merges into itself. Just as the movement of wind subsides into its own stillness, so too, when movement ceases, it merges into its own essence and becomes one with it. There is never any true duality between awareness and dream objects, just as there is no duality between liquidity and water, or between movement and wind. If there arises the knowledge of duality, that is supreme ignorance; this is called saṃsāra, said to arise from the false notion of duality. Indeed, in the absence of contributing causes, what is the nature of awareness? The duality of dream objects in the dream is meaningless. Just as a dream, so is the waking state—there is no doubt about this. In a dream, a city appears unreal, and at the beginning of creation, the world appears unreal. An object indicated in a dream cannot truly exist; the eternal reality belongs to awareness, while dream objects are unreal. Just as, in a dream, a mountain may appear suddenly in the sky, or gradually, so too in waking, the elemental sky appears in stages. Those standing nearby may see someone as flying up or as dead, because their own nature is overpowered by the force of knowledge-transference. These creations are only false perceptions, born of delusion; they appear as mere illusions, empty, like experiences in a dream. These experiences in dreams, and the perceptions between death and awakening, and other such wanderings, all appear as clear manifestations, but they arise falsely, like the sequence of a mirage or a river’s end, within the vehicle-like subtle body. Meanwhile, awareness quickly restrained the living being, as one might rein in a horse, by the force of intention—just as the movement of the mind is checked. Then, a question is asked: “Tell me, Lady, how much time has passed here in this palace, while I was absorbed in samadhi and the king’s corpse lay here?” The reply comes: “A month has passed here; these two maidservants have stayed in the inner chamber to guard you, while you slept and the body was carried here.” “Listen, beautiful one, to what has happened to your body here: within a fortnight, the body has reached a state where the sinews have decayed.