Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (105)

Dreams Can Test Whether We Have Cultivation

Some people with cultivation know, while dreaming, that the dream is unreal. When karmic conditions manifest during the dream and they are about to commit evil karma, they immediately know in their minds that this deed must not be done, and the mind does not drift along with the states. For such a person, the mind consciousness is awakened, and the manas also has a certain degree of awakening, able to take charge and refrain from committing evil karma; then, after death, it can likewise more or less take charge and refrain from committing evil karma. Those who commit evil karma in dreams still lack sufficient strength in the cultivation of their mind consciousnesses. Therefore, dreams can test whether we have cultivation, to what degree we have cultivated, whether the manas has been infused, whether it has strength, and whether we have assurance regarding birth and death.