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LEAD ARTICLE | EASTERN HORIZON 5

to take a short nap and passed away. He was reborn Every single thought that is created is stored in
as a girl on earth. There she got married, had a few our subconscious mind and some of them strongly
children and lived to be very old. After her death again influence the mind according to our anxieties. When we
she was born as a deva amongst the same companions sleep, some of these thoughts are activated and appear
who had just finished playing their game. (This story to us as ‘pictures’ moving before us. This happens
also illustrates the world is very different from time in because during sleep, the five senses which constitute
another plane of existence). our contact with the outside world, are temporarily
arrested. The subconscious mind then is free to
What has Buddhism to say about dreams? Just as in become dominant and to ‘re-play’ thoughts that are
every other culture, Buddhism has had its fair share stored. These dreams may be of value to psychiatry but
of people who claimed to be skilled in interpreting cannot be classified as prophetic. They are merely the
dreams. Such people earn a lot of money exploiting the reflections of the mind at rest.
ignorance of men and women who believe that every
dream has a spiritual or prophetic significance. The second type of dream also has no significance.
These are caused by internal and external provocations
According to Buddhist psychology dreams are which set off a train of ‘visual thoughts’ which are
ideational processes which occur as activities of the ‘seen’ by the mind at rest. Internal factors are those
mind. In considering the occurrence of dreams it is which disturb the body (e.g. a heavy meal which does
relevant to remember that the process of sleeping can not allow one to have a restful slumber or imbalance
be regarded as falling into five stages. and friction between elements that constitute the
- drowsiness, body). External provocation is when the mind is
- light slumber, disturbed(although the sleeper may be unaware of it)
- deep slumber, by natural phenomena like the weather, wind, cold, rain,
- light slumber and leaves rustling, windows rattling etc. The subconscious
- awakening. mind reacts to these disturbances and creates pictures
to ‘explain’ them away. The mind accommodates
The significance and the cause of dreams were the the irritation in a seemingly rational way so that
subject of discussion in the famous book ‘Milinda the dreamer can continue to sleep undisturbed.
Pañha’ or ‘The Questions of King Milinda’, in which These dreams too have no importance and need no
Ven. Nagasena has stated that there are six causes interpretation.
of dreams, three of them being organic, wind, bile
and phlegm. The fourth is due to the intervention of Then there are prophetic dreams. These are important.
supernatural forces, fifth, revival of past experience and They are seldom experienced and only when there is
sixth, the influence of future events. It is categorically an impending event which is of great relevance to the
stated that dreams occur only in light slumber which is dreamer. Buddhism teaches that besides the tangible
said to be like the sleep of the monkey. Of the six causes world we can experience, there are devas who exist
given Ven. Nagasena has stated positively that the last, on another plane or some spirits who are bound to
namely prophetic dreams are the only important ones this earth and are invisible to us. They could be our
and the others are relatively insignificant. relatives or friends who have passed away and who
have been reborn. They maintain their former mental
Dreams are mind-created phenomena and they relationships and attachments to us. When Buddhists
are activities of the mind. All human beings dream, transfer merits to devas and departed ones, they
although some people cannot remember. Buddhism remember them and invite them to share the happiness
teaches that some dreams have psychological accrued in the merit. Thus they develop a mental
significance. The six causes mentioned earlier can also relationship with their departed ones. The devas in turn
be classified in the following manner: are pleased and they keep a watch over us and indicate