Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (117)

Are the birth, death, separation, and parting in a dream truly existent?

Original text: 佛言大王。耳闻恶声。则生忧恼。如人梦中。亲爱别离。悲号啼哭。生大苦恼。于意云何。是人觉已。忆梦中事。是实有不。王曰不也。佛言大王。是人所梦。执以为实。为智者不。王曰。不也世尊。何以故。梦中亲爱。毕竟无有。何况复有。别离事耶。当知是人。徒自疲劳。都无有实。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, some people, upon hearing harsh sounds, give rise to sorrow, grief, and distress in their minds, just like a person who, in a dream, dreams of a life-and-death separation from a beloved close relative, and weeps and wails in sorrow, feeling great anguish within. What do you think of this? After this person wakes up, he keeps recalling the events of the dream—are the events in the dream truly existent? King Śuddhodana replied: They are not truly existent.

The Buddha said: Great King, if this person takes what he dreamed as truly existent, is he a person of wisdom? King Śuddhodana replied: That person has no wisdom, World-Honored One. Why is this so? Because the loved ones in the dream ultimately do not exist; if there were also the matter of separation from loved ones, that would be even less real. Therefore it is said that this person exhausts his mental efforts over people and events that are not truly existent, toiling his mind in vain, with no benefit whatsoever.