Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (152)

Are the delicious foods seen in a dream truly existent?

Original text:大王。譬若有人。于睡梦中。为彼饥渴。之所逼切。遇诸美馔。随意而食。于意云何。是人觉已。忆念美馔。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。无彼美膳。况得食耶。当知是人。徒自疲劳。都无有实。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, suppose there is a person who, in a dream, is tormented by hunger and thirst, and comes upon delicious foods, which he eats freely and at will. What do you think? After this person awakens, he keeps recalling the delicious foods from his dream — do these things truly exist? King Śuddhodana said: They do not truly exist.

The Buddha said: Great King, if this person clings to his dream as being truly existent, is he a wise person? King Śuddhodana said: He is not a wise person, World-Honored One. Why is this said? Because in the dream there was, after all, no such delicious food in his mind, let alone any actual enjoyment of eating and drinking. One should know that this person has merely wearied his mind in vain, and there is nothing real in it at all.