The Meaning of Dreaming of the Chest Being Stretched Open (2024-10-17)

Ru Chun: These past few days, because my daughter was injured, I have been sleeping at the hospital to keep her company. Last night, just after I fell asleep, I dreamed that my daughter told me a joke, and I was so happy that I laughed heartily. As I laughed, it felt as if a mass of qi gathered in my chest, expanding it open. I was quite surprised at how this could happen, and then I woke up. Upon waking today, I remembered it very clearly, but I don't know what it means. Master, what message do you think this dream is conveying?

Answer: The nature of this dream is not a precognitive dream but an allegorical dream, one used to reveal a certain fact. Who revealed it, and to whom? It was the manas revealing it to the mind consciousness to know, or the manas, out of joy, expressing this matter—when something very joyful happens, it must be expressed in order to feel at ease, rather than feeling stifled. 

What joyful thing did the manas encounter? It is because it has attained some meditative concentration, has learned to contemplate the Dharma correctly, is now able to deliberate on many teachings, and has deliberated on them clearly, gaining some thorough understanding of the Dharma. After long, persistent effort, there are finally initial results—of course this is a cause for great joy, and so it produced such a dream, even laughing itself awake. What is the evidence? In the dream, a mass of qi gathered in the chest, and because of the hearty laughter, this mass of qi burst open the chest—the qi channels of the chest opened, which refers to meditative concentration. The other is an allusion to wisdom: the chest is also called the depths of the mind, and this place opening up refers to the wisdom of the manas in the depths of the mind opening up. Both meditative concentration and wisdom have appeared—this is the result of persistent effort. 

Some people belong to the category of "clumsy birds," but a clumsy bird can fly first; it can be diligent and persistent, and in the end the bird is no longer clumsy—it has gained wisdom. This is something worthy of congratulations. On the other hand, some people are not clumsy at all, but rather too clever, too smart. How smart are they? So smart that they disdain the hands-on practice of meditative concentration, using only their mouths and tongues, fearing hardship, fatigue, and exertion, clinging to ease and enjoyment. The result is that these clever birds are even clumsier than the clumsy birds—cleverness has obstructed the Path, and in future lives they will probably have to go be "clever" in the three evil destinies. 

Merely from the initial progress in meditative concentration and wisdom, there was already such a dream to reveal it. Then after eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), realizing the fruits, and seeing the mind and seeing the nature, how magnificent and extraordinary such an allegorical dream would be! Yet some people's so-called realization of the fruits and seeing the mind come without any decent suggestive states whatsoever. What does this show? It shows that the false cannot become true, and the true cannot become false. Those who deceive themselves can only deceive themselves, but ultimately cannot deceive others—least of all King Yama, who cannot be deceived in the slightest, and one's own tathāgatagarbha even less so. The outcome, then, is self-evident.

Ru Chun: Thank you, Master! The path of cultivation is always accompanied by the eruption of karmic obstructions; it is very difficult, terrifying, like standing on the tip of a knife. One can only rely on powerful vows and conviction to overcome them one by one, and as one overcomes them, wisdom slowly arises as well. I am grateful to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions for their blessings and protection, allowing me to make it this far. If not for the Bodhisattvas' protection, I would not know how to face so many problems.

Reply: Everyone's karmic obstructions accumulated over beginningless kalpas are too many and too heavy; there is no way around it—one can only try to eliminate them when they are encountered, and if they cannot be eliminated, one can only endure them. Once you endure through them, there is another world on the other side, so do not let karmic obstructions block you and bring you to a standstill. Very often, your own karma cannot be expected to be carried by others; you can only shoulder it yourself, and once you get through it, it will be fine. There is no karmic obstruction that cannot be shouldered—everyone has come through this way since beginningless kalpas.