In the movie The Matrix, humans are born into a world where their actual body lies in a cocoon pod, unmoving, while their brain is fed input that creates an entire world, a virtual reality of compelling resonance, though completely illusory. Although trapped in their cocoon pods, the people portrayed in The Matrix experience this collective dream as the reality of their daily lives. From the Buddhist perspective, that might be an intriguing metaphor to reflect on for our own situation: living in a dreamlike reality without realizing it.
— Tara Bennett-Goleman, Emotional Alchemy