bad dreams after reciting sutras ?

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Fortyeightvows
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bad dreams after reciting sutras ?

Post by Fortyeightvows »

If a person had bad dreams or scary dreams after reciting the kshitigharba sutra, what does it mean ?
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Sādhaka
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Re: bad dreams after reciting sutras ?

Post by Sādhaka »

Well Ksitigarbha is a Bodhisattva related to helping sentient beings in the hell realms, right?

There may be some connection there to that.
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Grigoris
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Re: bad dreams after reciting sutras ?

Post by Grigoris »

Fortyeightvows wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2020 7:54 pm If a person had bad dreams or scary dreams after reciting the kshitigharba sutra, what does it mean ?
I believe that it is a maturation of karma via the practice.

Would you rather have the result (phala/vipakka) in your waking life?
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
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GrapeLover
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Re: bad dreams after reciting sutras ?

Post by GrapeLover »

On a broadly related note, the Cundi Dharani sutra mentions dreaming of vomiting black or white as positive signs of the dharani working, which otherwise might be considered unpleasant by default.
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Minobu
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Re: bad dreams after reciting sutras ?

Post by Minobu »

My Root Guru Zasep Tulku Rinpoche would say it's all part and parcel to the ongoing purification process from practicing Buddhism .

this is based on a similar experience when i started to really get into Tantra i would find my self in my mind cursing and saying the "F" word towards Buddha Goddess Tara. It really bothered me and I was embarrassed to heck..confused scared .but i finally cracked and told Him.
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Queequeg
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Re: bad dreams after reciting sutras ?

Post by Queequeg »

I agree with most above - its just fruition of past causes. Probably should not draw too much meaning from it - approach them as you might approach thoughts that arise during shamatha practice - acknowledge them and let them go.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Taikor.Taikun
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Re: bad dreams after reciting sutras ?

Post by Taikor.Taikun »

In the Ksitigarbha Sutra, which I’m reciting today, the Bodhisattva’s Birthday, n dedicate merits for, it mention if one dreams of evil ghosts, family members n relatives, or one is wandering in dangerous paths, or having many nightmares of wandering with ghosts n spirits... all these represent karmas n its undetermined degree of seriousness.

It could mean someone related to u r suffering. These can b remedied by reciting the sutra aloud before the images of Buddhas n Bodhisattvas, n performing some meritorious deeds such as personally copy the sutra in writing, encourage others to do the same, sculpt or paint Bodhisattva’s image, giving to the Sangha... Once may not be enough. We have to do it often n dedicate the merits those suffering in other realms.

Another sutra, Bhaisajya or commonly known as Medicine Buddha Sutra, says if one experiences nightmares, seeing bad visuals... or strange phenomena around his/her house, that person should make offerings, all these omens shall disappear without any harm.

It is commonly understood by Mahayana followers in Pureland, Vajrayana, Chan... that many strange n bad things usually occur around them after one commits this Bodhisattva path
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