Copied from issue 490 of Vajra Bodhi Sea magazine.
A strange dream
Written by Di Zhen Jiang on December 20, 2009
Translated into English by Guo Shu
I had a strange dream on the evening of December 30, 2004. A
young woman, around 35 to 40 years old, passed away when she was
very young. I met her and I asked her where she was going. She
said, “I am going to the world of Amitabha Buddha. Actually I
couldn’t let go of my mom; she likes the life on earth more.” Then
I saw a luxurious bed with roses spread all over it. She continued,
“I had a second thought that I should not wait for her anymore; I
should go there first.” I followed the woman into an elevator,
where there was a man. He didn’t say a word. I thought he arrived
there by reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha. An older woman then
stepped into the elevator. I asked her how she came in. She said
that some people had assisted her by reciting.
The four of us seemed to be ascending. The elevator stopped
suddenly and the door opened into a hallway that was a little
darker than the elevator. I doubtfully asked, “How could this place
be the world of Amitabha Buddha?” The young lady said, “Yes. Take a
look.” Then I noticed that the jade pendant she was wearing was
emitting green lights like emeralds. Her ordinary earrings
automatically changed to dazzling multi-colors like cloisonne. I
said, “Fine. It counts!”
We walked through a hallway and came to a room with six or seven
children ranging from kindergarden to 2nd or 3rd grade. There
children were quietly reading books that looked like sutras – as
thick and as big as the Tripitaka volumes – and they appeared to be
speed-reading. They kept turning page after page. I asked out of
curiosity, “Where is the teacher?” Suddenly a male voice from the
sky answered, “They are learning on their own!”
We continued to walk on and came to the next room. We saw long
huge tables set with all kinds of food – Italian pastas, Chinese
and French cuisines, etc. We sat on chairs that circulated around
the table, so we could take all varieties of food without having to
get up. I suddenly saw a Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup, so I
asked, “Why is there meat?” The same male voice answered, “It’s not
real meat; it’s transformed from your mind. Whatever you want to
eat will pop up right in front of you. Once you have a thought
about a desire, you will have it for your tasting.” I thought that
was great. I then took a piece of tofu and put it into mouth. It
was crispy and aromatic, with the flavor of peanuts – crispy
outside and soft inside with a special flavor that I had never
tasted before. How satisfying!
We left that room and entered a space like an elevator, ready to
continue ascending. While we were waiting, a strong force suddenly
pulled me out and I fell back into the hallway. I panicked and
asked, “Am I going the wrong way? Is it that I should go to hell
instead of coming here?” The other three people eyed me with
sympathy. At that time I heard a voice in the sky answer, “No! You
have not come to the wrong place, but you can’t stay here.” I
asked, “Why? Please let me stay here. I don’t want to leave! This
is such a wonderful place. May I stay here?” “No! You must go back.
You need to let everyone know that there is a real world of
Amitabha Buddha!” I knew that begging wouldn’t work. I said,
“Fine!” then stood up and left.
At first, I had a feeling of numbness in my brain as I gradually
woke up. I couldn’t feel my body. Then a tingling feeling came to
my arms and finally to my legs, as cells inside my body revived one
by one. I could clearly feel my body posture. Guess what it was
like? Have you ever seen a deceased person lying in the coffin? It
was in that proper sleeping position! My two hands were crossed
over on my abdomen. It was not because I had discomfort or pressure
from external forces that had awakened me. It was because I was
attached to remaining in that peaceful feeling of tranquility.
After a while, I took a look at the clock – it was five in the
morning.
A Dharma Master asked me to write down this dream a few years
ago. I have been procrastinating and did not do it. I was thinking
that it was only a dream. How can a dream prove that the world of
Amitabha Buddha exists? How does it exist? I’ve had some thoughts
recently and I don’t know whether they are right or wrong – please
advice me. If the earth exists, then the world of Amitabha Buddha
must exist. Both are manifested by your mind. The only difference
is that one exists under one’s confused and polluted false
thoughts, while the other exists with the pure, true mind. The two
are the same – they arise from emptiness. It is that beings on
earth exist from attachment, grasping and existence. The difference
is that the earth is born from karma which transforms the marks of
living beings into six realms; the world of Amitabha Buddha exists
from the vows of Amitabha Buddha, manifesting the marks of all
superior wholesome people. If one could realize his nature of the
Buddha, then it is one real Dharma Realm at that moment, the same
as Amitabha of one’s own nature.
