Dreams Can Test One's Level of Spiritual Cultivation

Q: Can the manas distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and evil? What should genuine and effective spiritual practice look like?

A: If the manas knew right from wrong, there would be no need for the conscious mind to guide and educate it, nor would the conscious mind often need to arise—it would handle these matters itself. The manas possesses a non-definitive nature; it does not recognize wholesome or unwholesome dharmas and does not create wholesome or unwholesome karma, yet it can direct the six consciousnesses to create wholesome or unwholesome karma. This is because the manas has both defiled and pure aspects. When defilement manifests in the manas, it directs the six consciousnesses to create defiled karma; when purity manifests in the manas, it directs the six consciousnesses to create wholesome karma.

A practitioner who has attained genuine cultivation will uphold precepts even when encountering unwholesome conditions in dreams, refraining from creating unwholesome karma. The actions of body, speech, and mind in dreams more accurately reflect a person's level of cultivation. If one can maintain control and refrain from creating karma in dreams, there will be a degree of certainty regarding control over the intermediate state (bardo). In dreams, the conscious mind has weaker control, allowing the habitual tendencies of the manas to manifest fully. If the manas does not exhibit habitual tendencies in dreams, it indicates that this person's practice has permeated the manas, and the manas has been subdued.

If the conscious mind is cultivated, it will recognize that it is in a dream and thus be able to resist the manas, preventing the creation of unwholesome karma. Therefore, genuine spiritual practice should transform the manas. If one's practice has not reached the manas, it is not yet effective. Many have not even succeeded in permeating the conscious mind; their conscious mind still blatantly creates unwholesome karma and cannot uphold the Five Precepts. Such a person is not yet on the Buddhist path and remains a beginner in Buddhist practice.