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Dharma Teachings

03 Feb 2021    Wednesday     1st Teach Total 3057

What Are Precognitive Dreams

<h2 style="text-indent: 2em;">Question: In the past, when there was fear, dread, or anxiety in my mind, I always felt that something was about to happen, though I didn't know what it would be, and my mind was unsettled—and then something really did happen. Is this the manas knowing in advance?</h2>

Answer: These mental states are the emotions of the manas. The manas can foreknow many things—almost everything that occurs—but it cannot personally deal with them; it can only alert the mind consciousness, and only after the mind consciousness understands can it set about doing something, planning and making arrangements. The manas is anxious about things that are going to happen, but it does not know how to express them so that the mind consciousness will know. Only after the event occurs does the mind consciousness learn what it was, but by then it is often too late and nothing can be done about it. Sometimes the things dreamed in dreams are also matters the manas is pondering over, and it seeks to alert the mind consciousness to know them; as a result, the things in the dream really do all happen later. This is the manas's function of reminding, also called a precognitive dream.

Because the mind consciousness is intelligent and wise, with the capacity for analysis and reflection, it can come up with ways to solve problems and can take measures and action. When the manas foresees that something is going to happen, it will use various means to alert the mind consciousness and remind it to know. Once the mind consciousness receives the alert and the hint, it may come to realize what is going to happen and prepare in advance. If the manas has the wisdom to alert the mind consciousness, it can make it easier for the mind consciousness to comprehend.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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