阿難七夢經

Ānanda, dwelling in the country of Śrāvastī, had seven dreams, and so he went to inquire of the Buddha.

The first dream: A pond of water blazed up with fire that filled the whole sky.

The second dream: The sun, the moon, and the sun vanished. The stars and constellations also vanished.

The third dream: A renunciant Bhikṣu walked round and round within a filthy, defiled (impure) ditch. A White-Robed One (a lay householder) raised his head and went out.

The fourth dream: A herd of swine came and clashed with a monstrous demon in the Candana (Sandalwood) Forest.

The fifth dream: He bore Mount Sumeru upon his head, yet did not find it heavy.

The sixth dream: A great elephant cast away a small elephant.

The seventh dream: The Lion-King named Flowering Canopy (Hoa Tản), upon whose head were seven small hairs, lay dead upon the ground. All the birds and beasts who beheld it were terrified. He also saw worms come forth from within its body, and thereafter devour the carcass.

Because of these evil dreams, he went to inquire of the Buddha. At that time, the Buddha was seated in the Universal Assembly Hall (Pǔhuì) in the country of Śrāvastī, together with King Prasenajit, expounding the Dharma of Suffering (Duḥkha), Origination (Samudaya), Cessation (Nirodha), and the attainment of the Path (Mārga)… as a delight.

Seeing that Ānanda appeared anxious and sorrowful, the Buddha then said: "Ah! Your dreams are all events that will occur in the evil age of the Five Turbidities [Pañca-kaṣāyāḥ: comprising the Turbidity of the Kalpa (Kalpa-kaṣāya), the Turbidity of Views (Dṛṣṭi-kaṣāya), the Turbidity of Afflictions (Kleśa-kaṣāya), the Turbidity of Beings (Satva-kaṣāya), and the Turbidity of Lifespan (Āyus-kaṣāya)] belonging to a future time; they bring no harm to you. Why then do you appear anxious?"

The first dream: A pond of water blazing up with fire that fills the whole sky is the future time, when among Bhikṣus: wholesome minds will dwindle, while evil and perverse [tendencies] grow strong, and they will slaughter one another beyond all reckoning.

The second dream: The sun, the moon, and the sun vanishing, and the stars and constellations also vanishing, is that after the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa (Nê Hoàn), all the Śrāvakas will likewise follow the Buddha into Nirvāṇa and no longer abide in the world; therefore the eye of sentient beings will be extinguished.

The third dream: A renunciant Bhikṣu walking round and round within a filthy, defiled (impure) ditch, and a White-Robed lay one raising his head and going out, is the future time, when Bhikṣus will harbor jealous and malicious enmity, slaughtering one another, and will be beheaded by the practitioners of [other] paths. The White-Robed ones, beholding this, will admonish them, but they will not heed; and (the Bhikṣus), upon dying, will fall into the Hells. The White-Robed ones, being diligent, will upon dying be born into the heavenly realms.

The fourth dream: A herd of swine coming and clashing with a monstrous demon in the Candana Forest is the future time, when White-Robed ones will enter the monasteries and stūpas, slander the assembly of monks, seek out the strengths (long) and weaknesses (short) of that one, destroy the stūpas, and ruin the Saṅgha.

The fifth dream: Bearing Mount Sumeru upon his head, yet not finding it heavy, is that after the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa, Ānanda, for the sake of one thousand Arhats, will serve as the Teacher who sets forth the Sūtras, forgetting not a single phrase. Those who receive and awaken to them will also be many; therefore he will not find it heavy.

The sixth dream: A great elephant casting away a small elephant is the future time, when Wrong Views (Mithyā-dṛṣṭi) will grow strong and corrupt My Buddha-Dharma. Those who possess virtue will all withdraw into hiding and not appear.

The seventh dream: The Lion dying is that one thousand four hundred and seventy years after the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa, My disciples who cultivate the Mind of virtue will not be able to be disturbed by any of the evil Māras.

The seven small hairs are events that will occur after seven hundred years.

THE SŪTRA OF ĀNANDA'S SEVEN DREAMS _The End