Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (172)

All dharmas are illusory and unreal; a greedy and grasping mind is futile and useless

Original text: 佛言大王。于意云何。是人所梦。执以为实。是智者不。王言。不也世尊。何以故。梦中毕竟。无有宝媛。况复有彼。美妙触耶。当知是人。徒自疲劳。都无所得。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, what do you think? If a person takes what he has dreamed as truly existent and develops attachment to it, is he wise? King Śuddhodana said: This person is not wise, World-Honored One. Why is it said so? Because in a dream there is ultimately no beautiful woman, let alone those wonderful tactile sensations—still less possible. One should know that this person merely wearies his mind in vain, gains nothing of real benefit, and obtains nothing at all.

The World-Honored One's father was quite awakened; he knew that in a dream there truly is no lovely woman—there is not even a person, let alone those wonderful desires and contacts, those wonderful tactile sensations, which simply do not exist. In fact, in our daily life, all people, matters, objects, and principles are just the same as in a dream. In a dream, all dharmas seem to exist, yet ultimately there is no substance; everything is illusory and transformed, not real, without actual function. The Buddhas long ago awakened from the great dream of birth and death in the three realms, and thoroughly know that all dharmas ultimately do not exist at all; their marks are all illusory and unreal. Therefore they have severed all greed and attachment, and not a single dharma remains in their minds.