Chapter 7
(5) He dreamed that he was walking to and fro, back and forth on a large mountain of
excreta without getting besmeared. This fifth dream presaged large acquisition of the
four requisites of robe, alms-food, dwelling place and medicines and that he would
utilise them without any attachment and clinging to them.
The Four Causes of Dreams
Dreams are caused by these four causes:
(1) Due to disturbance of metabolism, like malfunctioning of biles, etc., one dreams
frightful dreams, examples, falling down from the mountain, travelling in the sky with
a frightened heart, being followed closely by beasts of prey, such as wild elephant,
wild horse, lion, leopard, tiger, etc., or by evil persons.
(2) Because of experiences of the past, one dreams seeing, hearing and using objects one
had seen, heard or used before.
(3) All kinds of illusory objects are made manifest by devas in one's dream, a good vision
if they want to do one a good turn, or a bad vision if they want to do him an ill turn.
One sees all these objects through the supernormal powers of devas.
(4) When one experiences a dream of omen, one sees pleasant or unpleasant visions that
predict coming event because of one's past good or evil deeds. Such dreams are like
the dream of MahÈ MÈyÈ DevÊ which foretold the conception of a son or like that of
King Kosala which presaged the sixteen great events or like the Five Great Dreams of
the Bodhisatta.
Of the four kinds of dream, those due to (1) disturbance in metabolism and (2)
experiences of the past generally prove to be false. (3) As for the dreams due to the
deception by devas, they may or may not turn out to be correct. True, the devas, when
angered are apt to show wrong visions in the dreams as a stratagem to cause ruin (see the
story below). (4) The dreams which presage coming events invariably prove correct.
The Story of the Devas showing Wrong Visions in The Dream out of Anger
At the monastery of NÈga, in Rohana locality, in Sihala island, the presiding monk
ordered a large ironwood tree to be cut down without informing the Sangha. The Rukkha
deva (the tree spirit), who had his abode on the said ironwood tree, gave correct dreams to
the said presiding monk in the first instance, in order to trick him into believing them.
After winning the monk's trust, the deva told him in a dream: ‚On the seventh day from
today, Venerable Sir, your lay supporter, the king, will die.‛ The presiding monk, believing
these words, informed the female palace attendants accordingly. Thereupon, they wept
loudly in unison. When asked by the king, they told him what the presiding monk had said.
With the king counting the days, the seven days had passed and the king, who was still
alive, ordered the limbs of the presiding monk to be cut off (for causing panic by giving
out wrong information).
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SÈraÔÔha DÊpanÊ Tika Volume II
——
The said four kinds of dream are experienced only by the worldlings, the
sotÈpannas
, the
sakadÈgÈmins
and the
anÈgÈmins
, because they have not divested themselves of
hallucination (
vipallÈsa
)
1
.
Arahats,
who have discarded the
vipallÈsa,
do not dream such
1. Vipallasa: P.E.D. renders it as reversion, change, perversion, derangement, corruption, distortion.
In the translation of MahÈ Thera Ledi Sayadaw's VipassanÈ DÊpanÊ, Sayadaw U ©yÈÓÓa renders it:
Vipallasa
means halluciation, delusion, erroneous observation, or taking that which is true as being
false, and that which is false as true. There are three kinds of
Vipallasa
, to wit: 1.
SaÒÒÈ-vipallasa
:
hallucination of perception, 2.
Citta-vipallasa
: hallucination of thought, 3.
DiÔÔhi
-
vipallasa
:
hallucination of views. Of these three, hallucination of perception is fourfold, thus; (i) It
erroneously perceives impermanence as permanence; (ii) Impurity as purity; (iii) Ill as good; and
(iv) No-soul as Soul. The same holds good with regard to the remaining two
vipallasa
, i.e., those
of thinking and viewing."