A devoted seeker approached the master with a troubled heart and asked, “Does this physical, elemental body become the subtle body at some point, or is it something entirely different? Please tell me, O master, for I do not understand—my mind is clouded with confusion.” The master replied with gentle firmness, “Though I have explained this to you many times, you seem unable to accept it. Only the subtle body truly exists; here, the so-called elemental body does not exist at all. It is only through repeated habit and practice that the idea of the elemental body arises in a person’s mind. When that notion fades, the original state of pure awareness prevails once more. “In that state, the heaviness, hardness, and solidity that you mistake for the body’s true nature all dissolve—just as, in a dream, these qualities vanish when the knower’s pure awareness shines forth. Then, there arises a sense of lightness, as if the body were made of cotton—just as, in a dream, the body becomes light when one recognizes it as a dream. “In this awakened state, even though the body appears gross and physical, it can perform wondrous feats, like leaping effortlessly—just as those whose minds are matured by sustained intention can do extraordinary things. When this body, now lifeless, is burned upon the funeral pyre, those who remain inevitably experience existence in a subtle form. “Yet, through the intensity of awakening, even while living, yogis attain this subtle embodiment. When memory arises in that state, the mere thought ‘I am this’ brings forth the form. Whatever shape that body may take, such is the body of the awakened one—an illusion, like the appearance of a snake in a rope. When the illusion is gone, what has truly been lost? When it arises, what has truly been gained? “If, after such an experience, one sees familiar surroundings as before, and, by the power of true resolve, becomes aware—what of it, O Lord? For people will think, ‘The queen is here, distressed; another woman, her friend, has come to her from somewhere.’ What doubt can there be for them? Creatures lacking discernment act as they see, without inquiry—how could they reflect? “Consider: just as a clod of earth, rolling along, quickly passes a tree after striking it, so too do the ignorant pass by fire, mountains, gods, and the like, without truly knowing what they encounter. And just as, upon waking, I do not know where my dream body has gone, so too all that is experienced in this world of matter is unreal. “O Lord, where does the peak of a 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 only within awareness; these movements merge inward, just as the wind merges into itself. When the movement of wind ceases, it merges into its own essence and becomes one with itself. “There is never any true duality between awareness and the objects of a dream, just as there is no duality between liquidity and water, or between movement and wind. If the knowledge of duality arises here, 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 a dream is meaningless. Just as a dream is unreal, 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; eternal reality belongs to awareness alone, 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 nearby may see someone as flying up or as dead, because their own natures are 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. All these experiences in dreams, the perceptions between death and awakening, and other such wanderings, appear vivid and distinct, but they all arise falsely, like the sequence of a mirage or the death of a river, within the vehicle-like subtle body.” At this point, awareness itself swiftly restrained the living being, like a horse, by the force of intention—just as the movement of the mind is checked. Then, a question arose: “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 came, “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 reached a state where the sinews had decayed. Lifeless, fallen upon the ground, dry like a withered leaf, the corpse, cold as snow, was found beside the wooden wall. “Then, the ministers arrived and, declaring you dead, determined this by the signs of decay, and, out of fear, removed you from the house. What need is there for many words? Having taken you, they placed your body upon the funeral pyre with sandalwood and ghee, and it was swiftly reduced to ashes. Afterwards, the queen’s death caused loud and tumultuous lamentation; all your attendants performed the funeral rites. “Now, seeing you here in bodily form, having returned, it will be considered a great marvel that you have come back from the other world. But you, by the power of your true resolve, are seen here with that very body, your noble mind focused upon your son. Whatever impression you held regarding the body, that very form has arisen in you, just as it was before. “Everyone perceives everything according to their own impressions; the example here, without contradiction, is the vision of the child Vetala. You have now become endowed with the subtle body, O accomplished and beautiful one; your former body is forgotten and now departs on its own. For one whose vision is firmly established in the subtle body, the afflictions of the physical body subside, even if it appears to the awakened one, like a rain cloud in the sky—insubstantial and passing.