Why Don't We Know We Are Dreaming While in a Dream?

Who is the one that knows the dream within the dream? Who is the one that knows the dust when awake? Both the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have knowing both inside and outside the dream; the knowing of all dharmas relies primarily on the knowing of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. The five sense consciousnesses can only know the five sense objects in reality and cannot know the objects in a dream, because there are no five sense objects in a dream. The knowing nature of the mind consciousness is closely related to the physical body: when the physical body is obstructed, the knowing of the mind consciousness becomes weak or ceases. For a person who has attained the four dhyānas and eight samādhis, the physical body has no obstruction, and the knowing of the mind consciousness is clear and vast; whether asleep or not, one can know with great clarity. Even if one drinks many bottles of wine, one will not get drunk, for alcohol can no longer paralyze the central nervous system of the brain, and thus the mind consciousness is unaffected.

The knowing of the mind consciousness is also greatly related to the knowing of the manas. Generally speaking, the manas knows all dharmas; the question is only whether it knows them as they truly are. As for the part that the manas can know as it truly is, how it can influence the mind consciousness so that the mind consciousness also knows, and promptly processes what is known, involves the ability of communication between the two consciousnesses. This so-called ability of communication is wisdom. How what the mind consciousness knows can effectively influence and guide the manas also involves the ability of communication—that is, the quality of wisdom. Wisdom is in turn closely related to meditative concentration (samādhi). Meditative concentration can make the mind quiet, peaceful, and steady, enhance the capacity for contemplation, and increase the power of wisdom; in this way, the mutual influence between the two consciousnesses becomes great. Meditative concentration can also render the physical body unobstructed; with the physical body unobstructed, the mind consciousness has no hindrance, its knowing is keen and unimpeded, and it can effectively influence the manas. Conversely, the manas can also effectively influence the mind consciousness; the two exchange what they have, and the knowing of all dharmas becomes smooth and with little obstruction.

The sameness of waking and dreaming is a wisdom realm cultivated through practice. Knowing that it is a dream and not being trapped by the dream-state is wisdom. This cultivation mainly refers to the practice of meditative concentration, which is an indispensable link in practice; only with meditative concentration can wisdom be developed, making the knowing of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses more truthful and more in accord with principle, knowing more truly, more subtly, and more extensively. Moreover, only by removing the hindrance of sleep can profound meditative concentration arise. For a person with deeper meditative concentration, thinking is clear when awake, and one is also not deluded in dreams—just as when awake—knowing the states without obstruction.

The knowing of ordinary people has obstructions—that is, as the common saying goes, they lack supernatural powers—whereas the knowing of those with supernatural powers is unobstructed, having the power of knowing others' minds, the divine eye, and so on. This is the karmic retribution of the merit of concentration and wisdom. Knowing the dream within the dream is the retribution attained by a person whose mind has become pure through excellent meditative concentration. Monk Ji Gong had the four dhyānas and eight samādhis and possessed supernatural powers; no matter how much wine he drank, his nervous system was not affected or anesthetized, and his mind consciousness was always clear, able to observe and know all states as they truly are. For ordinary people, after falling asleep the mind consciousness ceases, and that part of the manas's function which relies on the mind consciousness to know states no longer operates; therefore, when dreaming, the manas's power of discernment is weak and it does not know it is a dream, and the solitary mental consciousness in the dream also has very weak discernment and likewise does not know it is a dream. But for a person of cultivation, with strong power of meditative concentration, an unobstructed physical body, and clear sixth and seventh consciousnesses, the power of discernment is strong; while dreaming, one knows it is a dream and is not deluded.

Master Kuiji had the four dhyānas and eight samādhis and possessed supernatural powers; when sleeping at night he was extremely clear, even clearer than ordinary people when awake. His sixth and seventh consciousnesses were keen: after falling asleep, when a leg of a louse fell off and it cried out in pain, Master Kuiji could hear it—this is the merit of the power of meditative concentration and supernatural power. Being able to hear the cry of a louse while asleep—does this not show that he was not truly asleep? For ordinary people, sleep is a covering that can veil the mind so that it neither sees nor hears, like a dead person. But for one who has eliminated the covering of sleep, very little sleep suffices to nourish the physical body; meditative concentration will reach the first dhyāna or above, the mind is clear, obstructions are slight or entirely absent. During sleep, the mind consciousness is not necessarily completely cut off, yet sleep is also sufficient—this differs from ordinary people.

Especially for those with supernatural powers, their sleep is like being awake, even clearer than ordinary people when awake. In ancient times, those skilled in martial arts also slept lightly, with high alertness. This alertness can be said to belong to the mind consciousness, but the manas indeed also has alertness; its alertness is even stronger in function than that of the mind consciousness, so without the manas, the functions of the mind consciousness cannot be fully explained. Sleep and torpor are of the same category, both belonging to hindrances and coverings that can veil the light of the conscious mind. Only after the hindrance of sleep is eliminated will the concentration of the first dhyāna appear. The deeper the torpor when sleeping, the poorer the skill in meditative concentration—or there is no meditative concentration at all—and the heavier the coverings; the more deluded in dreams, the less meditative concentration; the more easily drunk on alcohol, the greater the obstruction of the physical body, and the less meditative concentration. Those with deep skill in meditative concentration can regulate the physical body well, unaffected by environmental factors, without obstructing the functioning of the six consciousnesses. Therefore, the power of concentration is extremely important; even if one does not study Buddhism or cultivate practice, if meditative concentration is well cultivated, the benefits are very great.