Are the good and bad things in dreams real? Why do people have various dreams?

Are the good and bad luck in dreams real?

Why do we dream? After having a dream, is it really necessary to have someone to interpret the dream?

When it comes to the reasons for dreaming, in Buddhism, texts like the Great Wisdom Treatise, the Good View Vinaya, and the Great Vibhasha Treatise all mentioned under what circumstances dreams occur. Now, I will explain the five reasons for dreaming based on the records in the Vibhasa Sutra:

1. People who are weak and sickly are prone to dreaming

When the four elements are out of balance and your body is not feeling well, it is easy to have dreams. For example, you may dream about a landslide, being chased by thieves, or ferocious lions and tigers, or even dream about yourself flying in the sky and accidentally falling to the earth. In short, the dreams that patients dream about are mostly terrifying, frightening, and horrifying situations.

2. What you think about during the day, you will dream about at night

Dreams about thinking are mostly related to daily life, such as feelings and emotional instability. Everything from small details in life to various situations at work may appear in dreams at night. This kind of dream often occurs in relationships between men and women, interactions with friends, and even quarrels and heated debates.

(III) What once happened to me comes back to me in my dreams

Things that happened a long time ago will occasionally appear in dreams. For example, someone you knew a long time ago, or something you did in the past, or a bowl of rice or a dish you ate, which you have no memory of at all, may suddenly appear in a dream. Our usual thoughts and behaviors are like a seed, buried in our eight consciousness fields, becoming an experience and habit. When the conditions for this kind of thinking operation are met, dreams occur.

4. What will happen in the future

Because the human body and psychology are closely related to time and space, although some things have not yet happened, our physiology and psychology will have natural induction, so there will be omens in the dream. For example, if you dream about A, you will see A the next day. The so-called dreaming belongs to this kind of situation.

5. Dreaming

All dreams in the world are nothing but the result of memories and imagination. Without thoughts, there are no causes, and without causes, there are no dreams. These dreams are sometimes the result of karma from past lives. Therefore, in our dreams, we may dream of ourselves becoming another identity that we are completely unfamiliar with and have never experienced before. A wanderer who has been away from home for many years may have his old mother at home miss him so much that she becomes sick. All these messages will be transmitted to the wanderer's dreams. It is generally said that this is the connection between mother and child, and this is also a kind of dream.

There are two causes of dreaming. One is spontaneous, which is a dream caused by one's own thoughts; the other is external, which is caused by the influence and stimulation of the external environment, people and objects. The reason for dreaming is mostly the manifestation of one's mentality, and it may also be caused by one's different ideas about the real environment. Therefore, psychologist Freud said: "Dreams are the continuation of daytime thoughts."

Buddhism believes that dreaming is caused by the function of single-minded consciousness. Our usual understanding of all things in the world is due to the six senses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, which are sensitive to the six external objects of color, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma at any time. Combined with the discrimination of the six consciousnesses such as the eye consciousness, various cognitive functions can be produced. For example, the eyes recognize various colors, such as blue, red, crimson, and white, and various shapes, such as long, short, square, and round; the ears recognize various sounds; the nose recognizes various smells, such as fragrant and smelly; the tongue recognizes sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy; the body recognizes various touch sensations, such as hot, cold, soft, and hard; and the mind recognizes all dharmas.

Normally, our mind (consciousness) works together with the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body to get to know and become familiar with the world. Only when the mind and eyes work together can we see; only when the mind and tongue work together can we taste the sweetness and bitterness of flavors. Therefore, the combined activities of the mind, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body are called "five-sense consciousness," which means that we use these five senses to distinguish the world. However, when we go to sleep at night, our eyes stop seeing, our ears stop hearing, our body stops moving, and the other five senses stop functioning. Only the mind is still active on its own. This is called "single-minded consciousness," and the creation of dreams is the result of the activity of this single-minded consciousness. Therefore, if we have unfulfilled wishes and hopes during the day, repressed emotions that have no way to vent, or some things we do not want others to know, these will all appear and be fulfilled in dreams through the activities of the subconscious mind. This is why psychologists say: "The so-called dreams are the activities of the subconscious mind."

Each of us has a certain procedure when doing something, but dreams have no rules or order at all. In dreams, one can suddenly be in ancient times, suddenly appear in modern times, suddenly be here, suddenly be there. It is purely a kind of fantasy, and there is no need for the coherent operation of free consciousness.

Some people say that dreams are very accurate. If you dream that you are sick, you will really get sick. In fact, this is not the effectiveness of dreams, but a physiological reaction of human beings. It can be regarded as a physiological suggestion of dreams. For example, if there is a problem with the circulatory system and blood circulation is not smooth, but you have not yet felt the symptoms of the disease, your physiology will have an intuitive sense and will give a sign through dreams. You will often dream of mighty rivers and endless streams. This is because the circulatory system is related to flowing water. Assuming that the body has a fever but there are no signs of illness, the physiological reaction at this time will also send out warnings through dreams, such as dreaming that the house is on fire. People with high blood pressure will dream of flying upwards; people with low blood pressure will dream of falling. Dreaming of white means you have lung disease; dreaming of black means you have heart disease; dreaming of blue means you have liver problems. Is this absolutely true? It depends on one's opinion and there is no definite conclusion. Dreams only serve to give us a warning to prevent any disaster.

An optimist will dream of playing with others and being free and easy. On the contrary, a sad and unhappy person will dream of quarreling with others and have trouble sleeping. People who have the habit of kicking off their quilts when sleeping will dream of being in the Arctic where the ice is biting. On the contrary, if you are used to covering yourself with a quilt that is too thick and too tight, you will dream of being in a fire, feeling extremely hot. People who like to sleep in will stay in bed even when the sun is high in the sky and everyone else has gotten up. In this dream, they will see many suns, shining brightly, as if the whole world is about to burn. They will be frightened and open their eyes, and see, oh! It's getting late.

Various situations in dreams are just psychological illusions and physiological reactions. If compared with the actual situation, there is still a big difference. Dreams are just dreams after all. If the good or bad luck in dreams can really affect one’s real life, then the good or bad luck in a person’s life would be too complicated and difficult to resolve. Therefore, we should not be too obsessed with dreams. On the contrary, we should know how to give proper artistry to dreams and hold a detached and free-spirited attitude towards all good and bad things. Then dreams will enrich your life.