Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (106)

Grasping at the Six Sense Objects Merely Tires the Mind in Vain

In a dream there is actually no sound of music, yet one not only fails to awaken to the fact that one is dreaming, but the mind even gives rise to joy, comfort, and craving—that is all the more deluded. The events do not exist at all, and the mental states are even more nonexistent; all is false and illusory. To take the dream as real and constantly recall and fantasize about it is merely to tire oneself in vain. There is nothing real in it, and one vainly drives one's own mind to think and fantasize—that is simply wearing out the mind, with no actual benefit to be gained. Our minds, within the six realms of existence, are likewise weary, constantly grasping at the six sense objects, only to gain nothing in the end—coming and going in emptiness. Delusive thoughts, hopes, wishes, and yearnings all merely tire the mind in vain. In fact, they are of no use; at the time of death, it will still be like drawing water with a bamboo basket—all for nothing.