Dreams

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Hsihu Center, Formosa, July 9, 1995
(Originally in English)

Q: Master, do we have to pay attention to our dreams?

M: Yes, you do, sometimes. If you feel that it is a kind of forewarning, then you can take precautions accordingly. If not, just forget it.

Q: If we make some mistakes and we feel guilty in dreams...

M: Sometimes whatever you think in the daytime, you will dream at night, and that is okay. It is very normal, because you didn't wash yourself enough by meditation before you sleep. Also, sometimes you read a newspaper or hear or see something bad, or have some previous life experiences that are brought into your dreams. So there are various kinds of dreams. The best thing is just to pray to the inner Master Power to help you. If it is a bad dream, it will protect you, and if it is an impression from your last life, please help to clean it and meditate more. And if it is a good dream or good luck [Master laughs], wait for the bright future, if it ever comes.

When we meditate, we minimize a lot of bad things, bad influences, for ourselves. And sometimes in the dream, we pay off karma, too. Say, for example, last life you killed someone, and in this life you are supposed to be killed by him. But then, because you meditate well, keep the Precepts, and are sincere, the Master Power within you will erase the bad effects of that karma and make you die only in the dream. Many dreams are experiences also, just like when you meditate and you see visions.

Bad Dreams

Answered by Quan Yin messenger
(Originally in Chinese)

Q: I often have nightmares and wake up terror-stricken during the night. What is the reason?

A: We have reincarnated many times before, experienced many different conditions, and have done a lot of good and bad deeds. All of these things are recorded in our subconscious. If a person always has nightmares, one of the reasons is that he is being influenced by past karma. Another reason is that asura beings may be trying to control and possess his body and mind. Also, because of our daily contacts with people, we may also have nightmares if others have radiated bad vibrations to us. If we lean toward the negative direction or hold thoughts and concepts that are not correct, we can easily have nightmares, too.

In order to change this condition, we should always be on the lookout, checking our bodies, speech, and minds. Our bodies should be used to serve and benefit all sentient beings. Our speech should only concern moral things that guide people to goodness. In our minds, we should wish for the well being of others and pray for world peace.

At the same time, each night before going to bed, we should concentrate our attention on our wisdom eye in the center of our forehead, and meditate or pray before retiring. Then we can cleanse the contaminated atmosphere that we have gathered during the whole day, and protect ourselves in peace the whole night through.