諸經要集 20.96

20.96

如善見律云。夢有四種。一四大不和夢。二先見夢。三天人夢。四想夢。云何四大不和夢。若眠時夢見山崩。或飛騰虛空。或見虎狼師子賊逐。此是四大不和夢虛而不實。云何先見夢。答或晝日見。或白或黑。或男或女。夜剋夢見。是名先見夢。此亦不實。云何天人夢。若善知識天人。為現善夢令人得善。若惡知識者為現惡夢。此即真實。云何想夢者。答此人前身或有福德。或有罪障。若福德者現善夢。罪者現惡夢。如菩薩母。初欲入母胎時。夢見白象從忉利天下。入其右脇。此是想夢也。若夢禮佛誦經。持戒布施種種功德。此亦想夢。問夢為善不善無記耶。答亦善不善無記。若夢見禮佛聽法說法。此是善功德。若夢見殺盜婬。此是不善夢。若夢見青黃赤白色等。此是無記夢也。問曰。若爾者。應受果報。答曰。不受果報。何以故。以心業羸弱故不感報。是故律云。除夢中不犯。

As the *Samantapāsādikā* states: “There are four kinds of dreams: first, dreams from an imbalance of the four great elements; second, dreams of what was previously seen; third, dreams caused by devas; fourth, dreams of mental impressions. What are dreams from an imbalance of the four great elements? When sleeping, one dreams of mountains collapsing, or soaring into the empty sky, or seeing tigers, wolves, lions, or robbers pursuing oneself. These are dreams from an imbalance of the four great elements, and are false and unreal. What are dreams of what was previously seen? Answer: things seen during the daytime, whether white or black, male or female, and then dreamed of at night. These are called dreams of what was previously seen, and these too are not real. What are dreams caused by devas? If good spiritual friends among devas manifest good dreams to cause a person to attain goodness, or if bad spiritual friends manifest bad dreams—these are real. What are dreams of mental impressions? Answer: this person in a previous life had either merit or sinful hindrances; if merit, good dreams are manifested; if sins, bad dreams are manifested. For instance, when the Bodhisattva’s mother was about to have him enter her womb, she dreamed of a white elephant descending from the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven and entering her right flank; this was a dream of mental impressions. If one dreams of paying homage to the Buddha, chanting sūtras, observing precepts, practicing dāna, and various merits, these are also dreams of mental impressions. Question: Are dreams wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate? Answer: They are wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate. If one dreams of paying homage to the Buddha, listening to the Dharma, or explaining the Dharma, these are wholesome merits. If one dreams of killing, stealing, or sexual misconduct, these are unwholesome dreams. If one dreams of blue, yellow, red, white colors, and the like, these are indeterminate dreams. Question: If so, should one receive karmic retribution? Answer: One does not receive karmic retribution. Why? Because the mental karma is weak and feeble, it does not induce retribution. Therefore the Vinaya states: ‘Excepting what occurs in dreams, there is no transgression.’”