Introduction

i.1The Teaching on Dreams is the fourth text in the Heap of Jewels (Skt. ratnakūṭa; Tib. kon brtsegs) collection of sūtras. In this sūtra the Buddha explains the signs that may appear in the dreams of individuals on the bodhisattva path. One hundred and eight dream signs are listed and described in the text, each revealing a bodhisattva’s level of attainment, the obstacles they may face, and the means they can use to overcome them. The descriptions generally follow a similar formula that begins with a description of the sign, the range of bhūmis it indicates, a statement about the bodhisattvas’ remaining obstacles and practices to overcome them, and details on the variations of the sign related to each bhūmi. The highly structured nature of The Teaching on Dreams distinguishes this sūtra as one of the most methodically organized expositions of the bodhisattva’s path of training and the ten-bhūmi scheme.

i.2The Sanskrit word bhūmi (Tib. sa) means “ground,” “level,” or “stage,” and is used in Mahāyāna contexts to refer to ten stages of training and realization bodhisattvas must traverse on their way to the awakening of buddhahood. The sūtra does not provide details on the bhūmis and their respective practices, and thus presumes an audience already familiar with the topic. Instead, the sūtra describes how the content of bodhisattvas’ dreams can be interpreted to determine their status on the ten bhūmis. For a more detailed treatment of the bhūmis and the related practices of a bodhisattva, see other essential Mahāyāna sources such as The King of Samādhis Sūtra, Unraveling the Intent, The Jewel Cloud Sūtra, and The Ten Bhūmis.

i.3The Teaching on Dreams is delivered by the Buddha Śākyamuni while he resides at Vulture Peak Mountain near Rājagṛha together with a large assembly of monks, bodhisattvas, and gods. The gods first request that the Buddha teach on dream signs so that future bodhisattvas might bolster their resolve to reach full awakening. After their request, the sūtra’s main interlocutor, the bodhisattva Vajrapramardin, rises from his seat and reaffirms the gods’ request, this time in a series of verses that also praise the Buddha.

i.4The Buddha assents to Vajrapramardin’s request and announces that he will teach the assembly how to recognize practitioners of the bodhisattva path according to one hundred and eight dream signs. More precisely, the Buddha presents a series of signs that signal which of the bhūmis bodhisattvas reside on and what they must do to progress to the higher bhūmis. The sūtra begins with a list of all one hundred and eight signs, followed by a detailed presentation of each. Adhering to the same general pattern, each description begins with a general statement about the sign, which could, for example, be seeing the Tathāgata in specific circumstances, or seeing a specific place or object, or bodhisattvas witnessing themselves performing certain actions, etc. While some of these dreams are part of the standard dreams found in Indian manuals of dream interpretation, the vast majority of them have a specific Buddhist flavor. Each sign indicates a specific range of bhūmis‍—as few as two or as many as all ten‍—that the dreaming bodhisattva is currently on. The Buddha then explains how each sign also denotes the obstacles they will still face. These obstacles fall into the two broad categories, those that come from Māra’s influence, and those that come from the individual’s karmic obscurations. The Buddha then prescribes courses of action to remedy these impediments, which typically involve cultivating diligence and other qualities conducive to the path, serving Dharma teachers, and engaging in practices and actions that better orient them to the bodhisattva path. In a number of instances, the Buddha also prescribes the recitation of a discourse referred to as the Three Sections (Skt. triskandhaka; Tib. phung po gsum pa). The Teaching on Dreams does not explicitly cite from this source, making it hard to conclusively identify, but it likely refers to the three-stage confessional practice used to mend breaches of a bodhisattva’s discipline, as found in Determining the Vinaya: Upāli’s Questions.

i.5Following the general explanation of each dream sign and its implications, most signs also include a set of variations that indicate specific bhūmis. If one of these variant signs is seen, then the bhūmi that has been reached may be precisely ascertained. In this way, the formula for examining dreams taught by the Buddha in The Teaching on Dreams can be used by bodhisattvas to determine their progress on the bodhisattva bhūmis, understand what obstructs them, and apply the appropriate remedies to overcome those obstacles.

i.6The teaching concludes with a set of verses that assert the incomprehensibility of a bodhisattva’s conduct and warn against judging a bodhisattva’s behavior. The sūtra then closes with an account of the benefits of hearing this sūtra for those assembled there, and their celebration of the Buddha’s instructions.

i.7There is no extant version of The Teaching on Dreams in Sanskrit. However, the sūtra was translated into Chinese with the title 淨居天子會 (Jing ju tian zi hui, Taishō 310-4). Traditionally, this translation is attributed to Dharmarakṣa (Zhu fa hu, 竺法護, ca. 233–310), but the veracity of this attribution has been questioned. The Tibetan translation preserved in the Degé Kangyur, and the majority of other Kangyurs, lacks a translator’s colophon, but the versions in the Lhasa, Narthang, and Stok Palace Kangyurs report that the text was translated by the Indian master Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé. This attribution, as well as the fact that The Teaching on Dreams is recorded in the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) and Denkarma (ldan kar ma) imperial-period catalogs, indicates that the Tibetan translation was produced by the early ninth century.

i.8An extensive quotation from The Teaching on Dreams is found in the early tenth-century treatise The Lamp for the Eye of Contemplation (bsam gtan mig sgron) by Nupchen Sangyé Yeshé (gnubs chen sangs rgyas ye shes, 844–ca. mid-tenth century) in its chapter devoted to the gradualist Mahāyāna approach. The Teaching on Dreams is also cited in A Clear Differentiation of the Three Sets of Vows (sdom gsum rab dbye) by Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen (sa skya paN+Di ta kun dga' rgyal mtshan, 1182–1251).

i.9This English translation is based on the Degé Kangyur edition, in consultation with the versions in the Stok Palace and Phukdrak Kangyurs, as well as the variants listed in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Kangyur. The sūtra is generally consistent across the Tibetan recensions consulted, but a few substantive variants have been noted.