經律異相 12.14

12.14

The monk Sumati said to the Tathāgata Dīpaṃkara, 'In the past, while in the deep mountains, I had five kinds of dreams: first, I dreamed I was lying upon the great sea; second, I dreamed I had Mount Sumeru as a pillow; third, I dreamed that all sentient beings in the sea entered into my body; fourth, I dreamed that my hand held the sun; fifth, I dreamed that my hand held the moon. I pray only that the Bhagavat explain them for me.' At that time, the Buddha replied, 'Dreaming of lying upon the great sea means that your body is presently in the great sea of birth and death. Dreaming of having Mount Sumeru as a pillow means you will transcend birth and death and attain the characteristic of nirvāṇa. Dreaming that all sentient beings in the sea enter into your body means that in the great sea of birth and death, you will serve as a refuge for all sentient beings. Dreaming that your hand holds the sun means the light of your wisdom will universally illuminate the Dharma realm. Dreaming that your hand holds the moon means that by the wisdom of expedient means you will enter into birth and death, and with the cooling Dharma guide and convert sentient beings.' (Extracted from the first fascicle of the Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing.)