I dreamed I was in a world filled with a haze, like the smoke of fragrant incense; always perceptible but never quite within reach. In the distance, past a vast lake as still as glass, I saw a mountain shaped like a giant Buddha, or was it a statue of the Buddha as large as a mountain? I could hear the faint chiming of bells, drawing me toward the mountain.

Despite the ever-present haze, the path up the mountain was clearly marked on either side by small lanterns. I traversed the seemingly endless set of stone steps, the only sounds, my own footfalls echoing against the perfectly flat slabs of stone and my increasingly labored breathing. I felt the physical presence of a light from atop the mountain, which seemed to pierce me, fill me.

After I had climbed for what seemed like hours, I raised my head and suddenly realized that I had reached a small temple. I stepped inside and saw only a single lantern, which for some reason gave me the impression that it had been burning for hundreds of years. Although the temple was surrounded by the snow of the mountain peak, I did not feel cold whatsoever.

Upon closer inspection I realized that I saw was not a lantern, but a lotus flower. It was bright but not blinding, as if concentrating all the light of the moon within a single bloom. It was not hot to the touch, yet its glow filled me with warmth.

I heard the distant echo of a bamboo flute. Searching for the source of the music, my attention was drawn toward the stone steps, and I realized that each of the lanterns lining the sides had become a white lotus flower as well.

I picked one from its post and held it in my hand. One of its gleaming white petals fell to the ground, and was carried away by an invisible wind.

I decided to stay there for a while, lying amongst the glistening white snow - which wasn’t the least bit cold - listening to the hum of the flute and the chime of the bells, wherever they were.