VR: Daydreaming, recreation or our way further down the rabbit hole?

What is the true nature of our existence? Human beings have been speculating about this question probably since there were human beings. We have generated myths, religions, and philosophies and maybe now even games and virtual worlds in order to try and get at that answer.

The Hindus proclaim that our lives are "maya," which is a Sanskrit word meaning "illusion." Some have described the Hindu conception of the universe as “God playing hide-and-seek with Himself.”

Buddhism is slightly different from Hinduism in looking at this question. In Buddhist teaching, there is no fundamental reality at any level. So I guess even God playing hide-and-seek is illusion.

There is also a difference between the Eastern and Western religious view of this question. Western thinkers do not generally call into question the reality of the self. We are raised on the notion of the individual. In our case, the universe might be a dream or an illusion, but I the dreamer am real with my own individual soul.

The Gnostics, on the other hand, are said to have believed that Yahweh is in fact not really God but an evil deceiver who created the false reality of the material world within which we are imprisoned. They believe our souls contain sparks of light connecting us to the True God, and by obtaining mystical knowledge ("gnosis") we can transcend this false reality and reunite with Him.

So -- is this "reality" or is this some sort of dream or illusion? And if this isn’t reality then what is virtual reality? Will it help us answer this question?

Like Kathy Acker, I got some of this from another source. To see that for yourself go to: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Urban-Legends-3056/Matrix-movie-1.htm