Selected Lectures on the Father-Son Compendium Sutra (58)

The Buddha addressed the King: "Hearing evil sounds, one gives rise to sorrow and distress. It is like a person in a dream experiencing the parting from a beloved one, wailing and weeping in grief, generating great anguish. What do you think? After this person awakens and recalls the events of the dream, are those events real?"

The King replied: "No, they are not."

The Buddha said: "Great King, this person clings to what was dreamt as real. Is such a one wise?"

The King replied: "No, World-Honored One. Why is that? The beloved one in the dream ultimately does not exist. How much less could the event of parting be real? It should be understood that this person merely exhausts themselves to no purpose; none of it is real."

Explanation: The Buddha said: "Great King, some people, upon hearing evil sounds, give rise to worry, sorrow, and distress in their minds. It is like someone who, in a dream, sees a beloved one part in life or death, grieves and weeps bitterly, feeling intense anguish within. What is your view on this? After this person wakes up, if they continuously recall the events from the dream, are those events truly existent?" King Śuddhodana replied: "They are not truly existent."

The Buddha said: "Great King, is this person, who takes what they dreamt as real, a wise person?" King Śuddhodana replied: "That person is not wise, World-Honored One. Why is this so? Because the beloved one in the dream ultimately does not exist. If there were still an event of parting from a loved one, that could even less be real. Therefore, it should be understood that this person pointlessly expends mental effort on people and events that do not truly exist, toiling their mind in vain, achieving nothing beneficial."