Question and answer 10

Disciple: The rope supports the snake and is its substratum, and there is a seer other than the rope. If I support the world and am its substratum, who is the seer other than me?

Guru: An inert substratum needs a separate seer. If the substratum is conscious, it is itself the seer. The witnessing consciousness that is the substratum of a dream is itself the dreamer who sees it; so you yourself are also the seer of the world.

Disciple: Like the seer other than the rope, the snake's support and substratum, who is the seer other than me, the world's support and substratum?

Guru: If the substratum is inert, another seer is needed. If the substratum is conscious, it itself is the seer. As witness-consciousness, the dream's substratum, is itself the dream's seer, for the world too the seer is you alone.