Dream yoga

Dreaming is a subject in Buddhism that is treated much later. One of the uses of the dream is to test the depth of the Bodhisattva vow with regard to saving sentient beings. Since consciousness cannot distinguish the dream world from the non-dream world, the dream can be an important test of our deep commitment to saving sentient beings.

Key to understanding the full implications of this we might think of dreaming in this manner: Does my dream eventually resolve itself in which it turns from bad to good? For example, if dreaming that I am thirsty, am I able to find water in my dream, eventually? If I am naked, eventually do offerings of garments come to me and warm shelter? If I am with sick people, do they eventually become well? If confronted with the opposite sex, am I attracted? If my dreams do not resolve themselves in a beneficial outcome, the strength of the Bodhisattva’s vow is weak. But when our dreams turn from misfortune to fortune this would indicate a good heart that exists in the waking life and even in the life of the subconscious. This is the Bodhisattva heart.

The idea of dream interpretation does not enter the picture. It is irrelevant. What is being tested in dreaming is the strength of the predisposition of our consciousness to untangle itself from suffering. It is a kind of test to measure our sincerity and commitment to the Bodhisattva path. If in our dream, for example, most of our dreams work out for the best, then our waking life is moving in the right direction. We will even experience ‘good luck’ much of the time. This also means that upon our death we will be automatically reborn in higher worlds as if we were possessed of a wish fulfilling gem.

How we alter our dreaming so that the outcome almost always works out for the best largely depends upon our depth of introspection through which our connection with pure Mind is gradually deepened and increased. If we have not engaged with the pure Mind our future life is at risk. For it is by the influence of pure Mind that all ends well. But it is also by the influcence of pure Mind that our next life will be a good one.

Recently, I recall one dream in which I helped an aging man out of a car. He was so weak he could not stand up by his own power. I sat on the grass and held him. Then people came up to me asking for money. I saw my wallet open. It was empty. Then money came out of it. I looked to my left, the aged man on my lap was sitting next to me as a young man. This dream is not symbolic. It is not a prophecy of the future. It simply shows that in my daily practice, the force if it spills over into my dreams. In other words, my subconscious acts like a Bodhisattva making every thing right.

I think this approach to dreaming is the best approach. I gives everyone a chance to measure their practice. In other words, how deep is it? If one morning you can recall a dream that turns out beautifully, when it began as a nightmare, you are doing something right. Your practice is affecting the subconscious. That is a very good indication that you are on the Bodhisattva path.

Comments

[TSN]

I do completely concur with the authors POV on dreams and the irrelevancy of their interpretation. It is as stated, more important being able to turn a dream to the better as it prooves spirits
awakned ability to to use its inate pure awareness power (bodhi)for bodhisattvic purposes and not the lower ones linked to the body consciousness and its five skandhas.

One thing about the author is that i do hope he will soon start publishing more intricate posts on chan buddhism as originally intended by Gauthama and the great chan masters and not this ABC buddhism for modern neurotic americans caught in an existenstialistic limbo.

TSN

[Bodhi]

I personally often experience lucid dreaming myself. It is not a big deal because many times I exit the body and flew to the clouds and entered the dream world but ultimately, I can't find the dream master!.....why?, because I was busy making dreams and completely forgot about it. Just like people immerse themselves in the phenomenon world and forgot about their Original Face. It is simple logic, really.

I think most people, especially Westerners and American, are in conflicts all the time (because they tend to cling to materialism). Whether they sleep or not, these conflicts often will go into the sleep state with them. That explains why people often have nightmares. And I think, like the author, the only way to stop these nightmares is to resolve them by practicing Buddha-dharma.

I don't think the author over emphasized the "symbolic" nature of the dream like you (Mr. greenfrog) have indicated. In one passage, he said he opened an empty wallet, and instead of being broke.....he saw money came out of it. That is more than a symbolic signal, it is a good omen.

He places emphasize on the outcome of the dream, you see.

Just like people who is going to better rebirth is more calm and peaceful and happy in their death beds but evil men are known to often describe seeing demons around them, ready to take them away. To hell, I think.

What interpretation does one need?

Bodhiratna

[greenfrog]

Since consciousness cannot distinguish the dream world from the non-dream world, the dream can be an important test of our deep commitment to saving sentient beings.

I think your premise is ill-founded. My experience is that the more I practice meditation and yoga, the more often I experience lucid dreaming -- dreaming in which my consciousness remains aware of the dream as a dream. In addition to full awareness, there are a variety of intermediate states of consciousness while dreaming, as well.

Also, I wonder at how you apply the term "symbolic." Your mind saw a set of images (including your wallet), you interpreted those images based on your experience, and drew conclusions about the meaning the dream (particularly how it ended) has in your life. That seems a pretty symbol-based exercise to me.