On the way to dreams–opening education of the heart
Talk at the Hong Kong Institute of Education
23 November 2011 evening
Opening words by the MC:
Khenpo Sodargye is a contemporary master who is thoroughly versed in Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist studies. Over the past 20 years, Khenpo has never ceased to write and translate, producing a fecund body of works that empowers and benefits, igniting the light of liberation for innumerable Buddhist disciples. Particularly aiming at areas of erroneous thinking of people today, after deep and careful thought, Khenpo has used an easily comprehensible language to open a path of light for people of the world.
Khenpo’s talk tonight is “On the way to dreams – opening education of the heart”. First please let us welcome Dr. He Ronghan, manager of Center for Religious and Spirituality Education (Hong Kong Institute of Education), to say a few words of welcome -
Dr. He Ronghan: Dear guests, good evening! We are extremely grateful that Khenpo Sodargye is able to come to our Institute today!
I believe that when everyone arrived at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, you all felt that the evening here is very peaceful. It is a place that allows us to explore the heart, and enhance our spiritual states together.
In 2006, Hong Kong Institute of Education received donation from five religious organizations that have study programs to establish the Center for Religious and Spirituality Education – Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Anglican Church, Hong Kong Buddhist Association, Ching Chung Taoist Association of Hong Kong, and Sik Sik Yuen. Our center not just study one or two religions, but we stimulate the development of religious education at school, and education of the heart.
Everyone knows that over half of the schools in Hong Kong have a religious background. Even if there is no religious background, many schools would guide students to touch on spiritual matters, allowing them to be kinder, and on the basis of knowing the material world, to examine the human heart, to attain states beyond the material and factual.
Our name is Center for Religious and Spirituality Education; therefore there are various religious studies, as well as non-religious studies of the heart. Since the start, despite having various religious organizations, we have not placed emphasis on studying or propagating particular religions. Instead, we have held talks like this one tonight that explores the heart. Those who participate include teachers, students, parents, and people from all walks of life …
Amongst the audience tonight, there are students of our school, students from Mainland China, teachers, and parents. I believe that everyone is not just concerned with the material world in front of us, but also with religious and spiritual studies beyond the material.
For this event, we are very grateful to the students and volunteers of International Bodhi Association. A few months ago, they had already made contact with us. Then this afternoon, scores of volunteers came early to prepare many things. Throughout the preparation process, they always took many initiatives and were very enthusiastic. Please let us thank them with our loud applause!
Today we are all gathered here in order to listen to Khenpo’s talk. Where Khenpo comes from, it is 4,000 meters higher than Hong Kong, with a 40 degrees Celsius temperature difference. I believe that he would also elevate our spiritual space by 4,000 meters or 40 degrees. I am very honored to represent everyone here to invite Khenpo to the stage!
Today, I am very happy to come to the Hong Kong Institute of Education’s Center for Religious and Spirituality Education to study with all the teachers and students.
As Dr. He said, humanity in the present moment particularly needs religious education. I also believe that religious education surpasses scientific education. If humanity does not have religious education but only scientific education, it cannot find the right direction. In the end, not only do we not progress, we regress and fall to tragic stages.
Therefore, I particular rejoice in seeing that Hong Kong Institute of Education has this platform. There is Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism, Daoism, Confucianism… many religions that exchange and communicate, each with its teaching of goodness. The teaching of goodness is not common in government prescribed syllabus. Therefore, this model of education is very important presently.
Especially since this Institute of Education is on a large scale and shoulders the responsibility of educating others. Many of your students will later become teachers in society. The type of teacher determines how the students will be nurtured. If the teacher has no ideas of religion, no ethics, kind-heartedness, or compassion, then it is easy to mislead students, affecting the lives of one generation after another.
I myself may be a monastic, but I can also be seen as a teacher of sort, and have been especially concerned with education over many years. Although my individual efforts are extremely limited and I cannot do much, but I have always very keenly watched the current society. This society does not lack in materials, it does not lack in knowledge. In comparison with antiquity, on some level, people today can be said to be very smart. But if this is not used for meaningful things, then the more advanced technology becomes, the further away people will be from happiness. Therefore, there indeed need to be a kind of education for the heart today.
This type of education has been thoroughly demonstrated at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Each teacher here, no matter whether believing in Christianity, or Buddhism, so long as they are not against relevant national policies, everyone is able to have their own faith. Also, their superiors treat them equally without any discrimination.
After arriving in Hong Kong, I came into contact with many university teachers and professors. I am really happy to find that people here are more open, without many worries or doubts. Whatever ideas they have, they can directly communicate them. Also, many people care about the society, care about the next generation, and have many practically meaningful ideas. This culture of openness, freedom, and kind-heartedness at schools is truly a worthy lesson for us.
1. In life, one should clearly see the truth
The topic today is “on the way to dreams – opening education of the heart”. As soon as “on the way to dreams” is mentioned, many people naturally assume that it is about chasing dreams that allow life to be more glorious, mainly built on a monetary, material basis. Yet not many care about inner peace. I just saw a word at your center that is very dear to me – “Stillness”. This actually really suits modern people. People today cannot be still. Everyday, life is busy and everything is fast, fast, fast. People are not willing to stop at the elevator. One has to get on fast and get off fast. One also cannot stop on trains, on subways, the faster the better. Even for a meal, it has to be fast food, rapid meal, desperately racing against time.
In fact, the true value of our life is not about how much money, how high a status, how good one looks… even though many young people set these as life goals. But when you reach a certain age and have a little more life experience, you will sense deeply that the value of life is not based on looks or money. Therefore, everyone needs to be still and to ponder: at the end of the day, what kind of life am I searching for?
From this angle, my talk today is a little different to others. I am mainly coming from a Buddhist perspective to dissect and analyze life, to let everyone realize that happiness does not originate from the material. Without seeing clearly this truth of life, each day is crazy busy. What for? In the end even oneself does not know.
Master Ji Gong once said: “Once impermanent, all matters cease, what’s the rush?” Indeed, we can consider: any person, when ceasing the final breath, of all the things that one has busily worked hard for in a lifetime, wealth, children, which can be taken along? Thus, the things that many desperately chase after, and are particularly attached to, are in fact part of an illusive dream.
Perhaps some do not agree: “I eat, walk, buy a house, drive a car, these are all real and tangible, how can it be a dream?” To this, I have much evidence to show. In the Diamond Sutra it is said: “All conditioned Dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, like dewdrops and a lightning flash: contemplate them thus”. On the surface anyone can cite this verse, but its deeper meanings have not been carefully examined or experienced by many. You have to know that all matters and all materials in this world, including our body, the food we eat, the houses we live in, the cars we drive, the roads we walk on, are all like dreams, like illusions, like bubbles, like solar flares. None of these have a tangible existence.
On this point, a few perhaps find it difficult to accept: “That can’t be! I chat with my friends, I put clothes on in the morning, these all actually happened, how can it be a dream?” But in fact, when we are dreaming we also have these scenes. “Having” does not necessarily mean being real.
Now, let us analyze this question in detail.
2. How to prove that life is like a dream
In many films and literary works, people often like to say: “Life is a dream”. Yet how is life like a dream? They have not actually thought it through deeply.
The renowned Ancient Indian commentator Shantideva once said: “Just like a dream experience, whatever things I enjoy will become a memory. Whatever has passed will not be seen again”. Life is like an illusion. No matter what happens, once it has happened it entirely disappears and everything can only be a memory, just like a dream.
Everything in our past has no difference to yesterday’s dream. No matter what you encountered, whether failure or sucess, once it has happened it would not be reenacted. Is this not like a dream? Take me as an example, I also came to Hong Kong a few months ago, but all of that has now become a memory, indeed not much different to having been to Hong Kong in a dream.
Master Han Shan said: “Last night I dreamt, all was empty, upon waking to tell the dream, I looked up again to see emptiness.” He said last night he had a dream; everything in the dream was empty. When he woke in the morning to speak of the dream, he looked up, and saw that all matters and all materials are also empty. Similarly, what I have said and did in the past appeared to be real, but in fact when I look up, it was but yesterday’s dream.
On this, everyone needs to understand. Otherwise, you are too attached to emotional connections and to life, yet at the end, for what? Apart from enormous pain and suffering, there would not be anything else. Thus, we must realize the unreal side of life.
I am not sure if you have read Four Hundred Verses on the Middle Way? It is by the commentator Aryadeva. The content is very good, and it said: “All Dharma are like wheels of fire, of changing illusory phenomena.” Commentator Nagarjuna in Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way also said: “It is all a dream, an illusion, like a city of gods floating in the heavens. So much for arising, enduring, and dissolving.” So all phenomena in this world are like dreams, like illusions, like mirages. There may be many manifestations, but there is not a drop or a shred of a true self.
Of course, this principle is not just a religious saying. Nowadays many people are quite against religions. They believe that now is the new age of science, religions are long passé, and it is enough for people to aspire to advanced technology. This is the biggest error. If there is no religion to guide the heart, then the intelligence and creativity of scientists have the potential to become tools that harm innumerable beings, and even lead to the self-destruction of the human race.
Nowadays, most of those born in the 80s and 90s only care about finding a good job, a good partner, buy a good house, as if after having these, life seems to be very fulfilled. Yet as soon as religion is mentioned, they often believe: “This is to do with religious people, I have no use for it, it’s enough that I master my professional knowledge.” In fact it is not like this. If you do not even understand that life is like a dream, then even if you have the most superior knowledge, you may not necessarily find the right direction in life.
Actually, many literary figures in ancient times also agreed with the truth that life is like a dream. The Tang Dynasty [CE 618 – 907] poet Li Bai said: “In this vast, grand dream, only I awaken first”. In this grand dream of life, he believed that only he awakened first. Of course, it is hard to discern how deep his awakening was. But irrespectively, there were many wise ones in the past who through the analogy of “dream” saw through life, and realized the nature of the mind.
In Tibetan Buddhism, there are also many brilliant debates on how to prove that life is like a dream. For example, one side can take the stance of the awake, listing reasons for why being awake is real and dreams are false. The other side can take the angle of the dreaming, using reason to argue that awake and dreaming are both false. Although many start with the belief that dreams are false and being awake is real, after debating, all come to realize that these two have no differences whatsoever.
When you are dreaming, what the eyes see, ears hear, hands touch; all appear real. Yet upon waking there is nothing there. Equally, everything your eyes, ears, hands encounter now, when tomorrow comes would not be there. It is no different to a dream. So, past events are yesterday’s dream, future events are tomorrow’s dream, everything in front of one now is in a dream.
Perhaps some do not think thus: “You see, dreams are very short in time, but the time when I am awake is as long as a lifetime. So, waking and dreaming must be very different.” This argument is not reasonable. Dreams can also span a long time. For example, one Tibetan Buddhism master dreamt that he stayed in a pure Buddha land for 21 years. Only when he woke did he realize that it was the dream of one night.
Also, in the Han story of “Dream of golden millet”, a poor student took a nap while the restaurant owner made yellow rice. In the dream he experienced the whole process of marrying a wife, having a son, enjoying wealth and fortune, until his eventual death. But when he woke, the rice was not yet ready.
In the story of The dream of Nan Ke, it was also said, a man became drunk during his birthday and gradually fell asleep under a locust tree. In the dream he married a princess, had many children, and was assigned by the emperor to Nan Ke as the viceroy. After 20 years there, there was one invasion by an enemy state and he suffered a terrible defeat. When he went home, his wife had also died and the emperor was extremely dissatisfied with him, dismissed him and sent him to his hometown. He was overcome with shame at the thought that his lifetime of noble reputation was ruined in one day. He cried out, and was startled from the dream. At that moment, stars have only just appeared in the sky.
As we can see, it is hard to determine whether time in a dream and in reality is longer or shorter. One cannot use time span to validate what is real and what is false.
After realizing this, everything that appears to us now, whether is in a dream or is after waking, needs to be thoroughly pondered. Like Zhuang Zhou dreaming of butterfly, Zhuangzi in a dream became a butterfly, dancing freely. But suddenly he woke, and the butterfly became Zhuangzi lying on the bed. At that moment, Zhuangzi did not know if in his dream he became a butterfly, or the butterfly is now dreaming of becoming Zhuangzi.
This fable has very deep meaning, but many people feel that Zhuangzi is so silly. I met a Peking University student once, he adamantly said: “Ancients are so dumb! It is clear that in Zhuangzi’s dream he became a butterfly, yet he doubts that it is the butterfly dreaming of becoming Zhuangzi.” Actually, to belittle the ideas of ancients and believing oneself to be very clever can often lead to deadly mistakes. So, I hope that everyone can be more thoughtful, and see whether you are in a dream or in reality right now? If you believe that you are not dreaming, what is the evidence for reality?
In truth, life is a dream, and dreams have good ones and bad ones. Take Gaddafi, he started with a good dream with a happy life and a glorious career; but in the end his family broke apart and he died a gory end at the hands of soldiers. This is now a nightmare. Of course, if he created much bad karma during his life, then in the long cycles of Samsara, there will continue to be many nightmares. When they end will depend on when the seeds of bad karma are exterminated.
The idea above has been described in detail in many Buddhist teachings. If you study these, especially the teachings on Bardo by the Tibetan Buddhist Master Padmasambhava, you will understand more about life as a dream. Once you have reached a certain level of this practice, whether you walk, stand, sit, lie down, everything you do you can visualize as a dream world.
Then, would this state of mind result in life becoming passive? Quite a few people nowadays worry: “Once I study Buddhism, I have to shave my head, wear a robe, go to a monastery and be a monk. According to this, everyone becomes a monastic, who will be a farmer, be a worker?”
Actually, this is like the man of Qi who was haunted by the fear that the sky might fall. Not everyone has the conditions to become a monastic. Just like this Institute of Education, if it were very well established, would everyone come to become a teacher? Impossible. To become a teacher there are qualifications and conditions. Becoming monastic is the same.
So, knowing that all phenomena are like a dream does not lead you to becoming passive. Only when you understands this can you know what to seek in life, and this is the key!
3. Comprehending life through The Matrix
If this point is only analyzed through Buddhist theories, some people may not be open to it. Then, I will now use an example that people in this world like, to see whether or not life is a dream.
I believe that you have all watched the American blockbuster The Matrix. This sci-fi movie describes the 22nd century when humans and machines battle. It deeply ponders reality and illusion. In this movie humans are controlled by machines and wallow in a fictitious world but are unaware. Neo takes on the role of a Messiah, responsible for waking humans from the illusion…
Although the human race has yet to enter the 22nd century, and machines do not look exactly like humans as described in the movie. But in this day and age, many people are bound by hi-tech, unable to leave them. Imagine, if one day there is no electricity in the whole world, people potentially cannot do anything – how do you open the door? How to put gas in the car? How to go up and down high-rise buildings? How to call from the cell phone? How to use the computer? … These are all very crucial. So, hi-tech has taken up more and more of life, and people are not able to find any peace and quiet.
Of course, there are some who live in quiet places who have yet to be strongly affected. They still lead a leisurely life, have time to sip tea, and time to observe the mind. Thus, I do not envy the lives of people in the city. Their inner worlds are filled with instability, anxiety, fear, competition, endless chores each day, but in the end what for? Perhaps they do not even know themselves. If they left their computer, their cell phone, they can barely survive one afternoon. They would be constantly dazed and eat without tasting. So, as the human race becomes more seduced by external realities, it loses itself more and more, and is completely unable to see the illusion of life.
Professor Jiang Jinsong of Tsinghua University once used the wisdom of Buddhism to explain the narrative of The Matrix. That explanation is indeed quite meaningful. However, just understanding the theory is far from enough. If through the practice, through daily experiences, we can see clearly and continuously practice, then the idea of the real world as an illusory dream exposed in the film can bring us deeper realizations.
If you have absolutely no interest in reading Buddhist sutras, then you can perhaps watch this movie. Nowadays many in the West are very concerned about the world, and some movies were made quite well, with some religious ideas hidden behind. Of course, these religious ideas are not the same as what was publicized in the 70s. They are not a type of narcotics or anesthetics.
In fact, religious beliefs and studies are immensely helpful to our lives. Therefore, I hope that everyone can draw support from modern hi-tech, including mass media like movies and television, to re-acknowledge religion, re-evaluate religion, to clarify the meaning and value of life.
4. Knowing it is a dream one does not become attached
However, some people nowadays do not care about this. I have heard that some students at this Institute of Education also have not put effort into learning truly useful knowledge. If you pass three, four years at university in a daze and learn nothing by graduation, then you do not know how to be a teacher. It is too late to try to learn something then. When you enter society, you do not properly teach, and you only think of making money everyday, what is the meaning of such a life?
Once you understand that life is a dream, you would not be particularly attached to wealth, nor be overly drawn to romantic love, and easily want to jump from a building and commit suicide. Ultimately, all phenomena arise due to conditions and all phenomena cease due to conditions. Without sufficient causes and conditions, some things cannot be forced. Being overly attached can only bring oneself pain and suffering.
Master Hanshan said: “Glory is but a midnight dream, fortune is like the September frost.” Glory is like a dream at midnight, one would soon awaken from it; fortune is also just like the September frost, it disappears in the blink of an eye. It is like some government officials, when they are in power, people feel honored to simply meet them, to shake hands with them. But later when they fall from grace because of corruption, and are locked in a miserable prison, many people clearly barricade them, and they are attacked from all corners…
Emperor Shun Zhi also said in On Becoming a Monk: “The events of a hundred years are nothing but a midnight dream; in all its vastness, the universe is merely a game of chess.” As one can see, all glory and fortune are impermanent. But if one does not understand this, once impermanence arrives, one would not have the courage to stand up to it. A while ago, someone sadly said to me: “My husband’s factory closed down, he is now bankrupt. When there was money, everyone desperately fawned upon us. Yet now they stay far away from us. We have no more hope…” She looked particularly pitiful. In reality, life is like this, happiness and suffering are always coming and going. If you do not have any beliefs, and have no preparation for this, perhaps you feel that pain and suffering arrive suddenly, and when you encounter them you blame the whole world.
If you learned some Buddhist ideas from a young age, at least you would know: this phenomenon is not because one is very unlucky in this life, but is related to one’s karma from previous births. Once there is this kind of recognition, one can let go of many things, and no matter what happens it would be easier to accept.
Just think, when the financial crisis occurred last year, how many corporations went bust in the US? And how many medium and small enterprises closed down in China? If one has no knowledge of life as a dream, and no correct understanding of status and wealth, then one definitely would not be able to accept this situation. Therefore no matter who it is, one needs to completely reevaluation one’s life.
In today’s society, although it is difficult to survive without any money, but if one is overly attached to it, it destroys one’s conscience, ethics, and compassion. Many people today have almost become the machines in The Matrix. They are busy from dawn to dusk, but always chasing an illusion, never knowing what they are busily chasing for. Some have apparently affluent lives, yet still aimlessly expand their career, never able to fill the huge holes of greed. In this way, no matter how much wealth you have, suffering and confusion would continue to hound you.
That is why young people should learn some Buddhist ideas. In Hong Kong, religions are very open, so there are many opportunities to listen to the Dharma. But many have never truly pondered, or practiced. Without deepening a particular skillful practice, when obstacles arise, one cannot apply any Buddhist knowledge. It is like having studied for years at school but not being able to use any of it when one starts to work. Therefore, it is not very meaningful if Dharma is only relegated to the textual and merely listened to.
Of course, whether you are a teacher or a student, it is not possible for you to place all your energy on Dharma. But no matter what, at least one needs to understand that life is a dream. On this point, starting today, clearly ponder it, and see if you can refute this view. If you cannot, then what do you hold on to, and what do you let go of in life hereafter?
Today’s young people place all their time on studying Western science and technology. Although this gives no cause for criticism, but in terms of the spiritual realm, we in the East have extraordinary religions and teachings. It would be such a loss if one has no knowledge of these.
And if one wishes to receive benefits in the spiritual realm, one must look into the past, over 2,500 years ago, into all the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. What was actually said? Do these teachings suit people today? If they suit, they would only be of benefit and of no harm, then why do we not accept them? Of course, we should also thus treat teachings in other religions that are helpful in overcoming sufferings. Only in this way can the human race truly progress. Otherwise, continued seeking of an illusive life would only bring immense pain and suffering.
5. How to maintain the practice of everything as a dream
Actually, in this life, the most fundamental questions are about life and death. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are faced by each one of us. How do we overcome them? It is a question that we must consider.
In Buddhism, there are many ways to overcome birth, aging, sickness, and death. For example, the practice of life as dreams. These cannot remain merely verbal, but need to be given a certain amount of time daily to be solidly practiced. Otherwise, life is so short, once it passes; there are no more opportunities.
Only with the realization that all are like dreams and illusions can one then let go of strong attachment to all phenomena. This is an extremely sublime Middle Way teaching. In another word, in the ultimate reality, all phenomena are empty, cannot be attained, far removed from all thoughts, discriminative thinking, language, and this is the ultimate realm of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. It is as described in the Diamond Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and the Avatamsaka Sutra. And in famous quotes, all phenomena are like dreams and illusions, although they manifest, they do not truly exist. This realization is the highest realization in the Prajna Middle Way.
But would it be too passive to visualize that all are like dreams and illusions? No. Just like when we are dreaming, to eliminate the fears in dreams, we need to rely on remedies in the dreams. Of course, those who have not actually practiced would not completely understand this. Thus, these ideas need to be practiced in daily life. If one can steadfastly maintain a practice, eventually one would have certain comprehensions. Then, whether you are walking, sitting, or sleeping at night, you would abide in a state where all are dream-like. Even though everything manifests, you would not abandon yourself in it. Then on this basis, you continue to observe its nature, as described in the Heart Sutra, ultimately reaching indescribable shores, and attaining the deepest states of realization.
This state actually is not a legend. Many people now, especially those in academia, can give a thorough discourse on Buddhism, but have never practiced. They do not practice it themselves, and also stop others from practicing. This is not advisable. Anything we learn, if we cannot use it after studying it, would be like making clothes but never wearing them. To just hang them on the clothing rack is not useful for anyone.
Of course, it is not as easy as simply wishing to use it. When you study geometry, physics, chemistry, without spending a certain amount of time, you definitely cannot use them in a flexible way. Similarly, the idea that life is like a dream, without spending effort to practice it, one cannot grasp its mysteries. It is only after having deeply explored it and practiced it, can one then not overly crave, nor passively escape situations in life and work. Instead, one would find the middle way and know how to master its degrees of moderations.
Many people now do not know how to master moderation. They blindly chase after fashion, doing their hair like how celebrities do theirs. If Steve Jobs has a goatee, they also need to have a goatee. This is called being carried away by the tide, without the ability to stop. These people have no idea how to face life, whether to base life on the material or on the inner world? In reality, to each person, the ability of the inner world to let be with conditions, to let go, and be peaceful, is far more important than external appearances and wealth. You may be given a piece of designer clothing that on the surface is very expensive, but in reality it is just such. Also, it cannot be worn everywhere. If it is thick, then it cannot be worn on hot days. If it is thin, then it is not useful on cold days. But if through hearing some reasons, some wise words, you receive inner fulfillment and find a life direction, then this would benefit you for life and can be used in any environment.
Of course, my talk today is not formal. I am saying whatever comes to mind without a lot of prior preparation. So it is just an informal chat with you all. In a way, many of you love to pursue external trends, but your internal world has often been completely neglected. Putting aside profound religious teachings, even ideas that are particularly useful to daily life do not interest you at all. I am very worried about this.
For your generation of young people, without knowing the highest states of Buddhism, it is understandable that you are not familiar with attainments such as rainbow body in the Tantrayana. This is unattainable for many people, and so long as you do not slander it, that is fine. But if you do not have the basic ideas of love, filial piety, altruism, benefiting others, what will this society become? It is truly hard to imagine.
Perhaps some believe: “What this society becomes has nothing to do with me. As long as I have plenty to eat, have money, happiness, that’s fine.” Actually, if you do not care about society, gradually it becomes impossible for you to be happy. Only when you know what is giving, how to care for others, then do you understand true happiness. If someone has a dark heart, and spends all the time hurting others, then after some time, this person would also pay for these deeds. And it is only when we use everything in our life to benefit others, then would we easily find true happiness.
Therefore, this society really needs kind-hearted people. If no one has a heart of goodness nor believe in causes and effects, then under the hypnosis of high-tech, the future of humanity would only be more tragic. Therefore, I hope that each and every one of you can find your true inner self. It is only when you realize that life is like a dream, and let go of all attachments, then the mind can attain peace and quiet that is far removed from all restraints. As it is said in the Avatamsaka Sutra: “The three worlds are all like this, those who see this are freed in mind. Dreams are not in the world, nor are they unworldly.”
However, this state of realization cannot be attained by just anyone. One needs to rely on the wise guidance of supramundane Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in order to thoroughly understand what’s said in the Diamond Sutra: “All with marks is empty and false. If you can see all marks as no marks, then you see the Tathagata.” Only then will you realize that all phenomena are like dreams without substance. Once one lets go of all illusions, then it is true Buddhahood, and the true self.
These ideas have been described in detail in the Mahayana sutras and sastras. Of course, I am not here to just advocate how sublime Buddhism is, but I hope that you would realize the importance of ancient wisdom. This is especially important in this day and age, and is an education of the heart that each person needs. Having it, amidst your future in this world, you will handle anything with skill and ease.
There are different professions in the world. In order to make a living, people often change professions, change vocations. But education of the heart can be used in whichever profession. For example if you were in finance, to work in education your previous specializations would not be adequate. But the education of ethics, of kind-heartedness in religion, is always a part of any environment, never becoming out of date.
Therefore, people today desperately need this type of education to help them find themselves so that they can locate a direction for life. Only when a correct direction has been set, would life be more splendid, and more meaningful.
