Commentary on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra), Part 172

All dharmas are illusory and unreal; a greedy and grasping mind labors in vain and brings no benefit

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 clings to it, is he wise?" King Śuddhodana said: "This person is not wise, World-Honored One. Why do I say so? Because in a dream there is ultimately no beautiful woman, let alone those exquisite tactile sensations—such things are even more impossible. One should know that this person merely wearies himself in vain and gains nothing at all."

The Buddha's father was quite awakened; he knew that in a dream there truly is no lovely woman—not even a person at all—let alone those exquisite sensual contacts and wonderful tactile feelings, which simply do not exist. In fact, in our daily lives, all people, affairs, and phenomena are just the same as in a dream. In a dream, it seems that all dharmas exist, yet ultimately there is no substance; everything is illusory and transformed, not real, and has no actual function. The Buddhas have long since awakened from the great dream of birth and death within the three realms, fully knowing that all dharmas ultimately do not exist at all, that their marks are all illusory and unreal. Therefore they have severed all greed and attachment, and not a single dharma remains in their minds.