A person who is asleep is either lost in deep unconsciousness or absorbed in a dream. Metaphorically, this was how the Buddha must have seen both his previous self as well as everyone else he had known: they either were blind to the questions of existence or sought consolation from them in metaphysical or religious fantasies.
Stephen Batchelor, Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
awakening, buddhism, philosophy, religion