Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (122)

Is the Sound of a House Heard in a Dream Real?

Original text:佛言大王。耳闻舍声。起于舍想。如人梦中。闻他宣说。不了义句。于意云何。是人觉已。忆念梦中。所闻之声。为实有不。王曰不也。

佛言大王。是人所梦。执以为实。是智者不。王曰。不也世尊。何以故。梦中毕竟。无有音声。何况更有。不了义句。当知是人。徒自疲劳。都无有实。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, when sentient beings hear with their ears a neutral sound that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome, free of the two extremes, they grasp it as real. It is like a person who, in a dream, hears someone else speaking words that carry no meaning, incoherent phrases that do not form proper sentences. Upon waking from the dream, he keeps recalling the words he heard in the dream. What do you think—are these things real and existent? King Śuddhodana said: They are not real and existent, World-Honored One.

The Buddha said: Great King, if this person takes the dream he has dreamed to be truly existent, is he a wise person? King Śuddhodana replied: This person has no wisdom, World-Honored One. Why? Because in a dream there is, after all, no sound at all, let alone incoherent language that does not form proper sentences. This person has indeed driven his own mind to fatigue in vain; there is nothing real in it at all.