..續本文上一頁me of these thoughts are activated and appear to us as ”pictures” moving before us. This happens because during sleep, the five senses which constitute our contact with the outside world, are temporarily arrested. The subconscious mind then is free to become dominant and to ”re-play” thoughts that are stored. These dreams may be of value to psychiatry but cannot be classified as prophetic. They are merely the reflections of the mind at rest.

　　一、夢境所産生的一切景物，早已儲存在我們的潛意識裏，他們之所以會影響我們的意識，只要是因爲憂慮。當我們睡眠時，感官活動雖然暫停，可是意識還在活動，爲我們呈現了「夢境」。夢境與精神有關，但是，絕對不能把它當作是一種預言。夢是人類在休息時，心識的反射作用。

　　The second type of dream also has no significance. These are caused by internal and external provocations which set off a train of ”visual thoughts” which are ”seen” by the mind at rest. Internal factors are those which disturb the body(e.g. a heavy meal which does not allow one to have a restful slumber or imbalance and friction between elements that constitute the body). External provocation is when the mind is disturbed(although the sleeper may be unaware of it) by natural phenomena like the weather, wind, cold, rain, leaves rustling, windows rattling etc. The subconscious mind reacts to these disturbances and creates pictures to ”explain” them away. The mind accommodates the irritation in a seemingly rational way so that the dreamer can continue to sleep undisturbed. These dreams too have no importance and need no interpretation.

　　二、第二種夢境也是非意識狀態的。是因爲內外的刺激，在人們休息時，被心識呈現出來。內部因素是由于身體的幹擾，如：入睡吃得太飽。外在的刺激是由于自然現象，如：氣候、風、寒冷、雨、樹葉的聲音等等。潛意識對外在刺激的反應而呈現種種景象──夢境。意識理智的處理這些現象，以致不幹擾人的睡眠。這一類的夢境無關緊要，也不需要任何解釋。

　　Then there are prophetic dreams. These are important. They are seldom experienced and only when there is an impending event which is of great relevance to the dreamer. Buddhism teaches that besides the tangible world we can experience, there are devas who exist on another plane or some spirits who are bound to this earth and are invisible to us. They could be our relatives or friends who have passed away and who have been reborn. They maintain their former mental relationships and attachments to us. When Buddhists transfer merits to devas and departed ones, they remember them and invite them to share the happiness accrued in the merit. Thus they develop a mental relationship with their departed ones. The devas in turn are pleased and they keep a watch over us and indicate something in dreams when we are facing certain big problems and they try to protect us from harm.

　　叁、帶預測性的夢是重要的。它向做夢的人預先提示了將要發生的事，這種夢很少發生。佛教認爲，除了我們能夠看見和感觸到的以外，還有其他的天人和精靈是我們無法察覺得。他們可能是我們至親的人死後輪回轉世的，他們維持了以往與我們的關系。他們也會庇護我們，因此，當我們面對問題時，他們就會以夢來提示我們。

　　So, when there is something important that is going to happen in our lives they activate certain mental energies in our minds which are seen as dreams. These dreams can warn of impending danger or even prepare us for sudden over-whelming good news. These messages are given in symbolic terms (much like the negatives of photographs) and have to be interpreted skillfully and with intelligence. Unfortunately too many people confuses the first two kinds of dreams with these and end up wasting valuable time and money consulting fake mediums and dream-interpreters. The Buddha was aware that this could be exploited for personal gain and He therefore warned the monks against practising soothsaying, astrology and interpreting dreams in the name of Buddhism.

　　當某些重大的事故將要發生時，他們就會透過夢境向我們警告。這類的夢可以讓我們預知危厄和喜事的發生。這些信息要好好的掌握，並以智慧加以分析。不幸的是很多人將這一點和第一和第二項夢境相混淆，浪費了大量金錢在解夢和向靈媒谘詢。佛陀告誡出家人，不可以佛教的名譽從事算命、解夢、占蔔等活動。

　　Finally, our mind is the4 depository of all kammic energies accumulated in the past. Sometimes, when a kamma is about to ripen (that is, when the action we did in a previous life or early part of our life, is going to experience its reaction)the mind which is at rest during sleep ca…

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