Daoism Series 21: 梦说 Doctrine of Dreams [1] [Excerpt]

Daoism Series 21

梦说
Doctrine of Dreams [1] [Excerpt]
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by Wang Jie [2]

梦之为言，因气化而有也。阳御于阴，乃魂制魄，神或有梦，朗然清见也。阴御于阳，乃魄制魂，神被物欲所蔽，故梦游昏乱，暗然不明也。昔者神农氏忧民疾苦，梦游天庭，天皇赐与尝草之书。轩辕氏慕道，梦游华胥大庭之国。庄周论道，故梦化为蝴蝶。孔子赞《周易》，故梦见于周公。此圣人之心与道冥合，因感而有梦，阳神烁于群阴，明明朗朗，虽梦非梦，乃出神之妙也。

Speaking of dreams: because Qi transforms, it [i.e. the dream] then comes into existence. When Yang governs Yin, this is the ethereal soul controlling the corporeal soul. The Spirit may have a dream, then it is with bright and clear vision. When Yin governs Yang, this is the corporeal soul controlling the ethereal soul. The Spirit is veiled by material desire; thus, the roaming in dreams is confused and disorderly, dark and not illuminated.
In former times, Sheng Nong was worried about the ailments and hardships of the populace, so he roamed to the heavenly court in his dreams, where the Heavenly Emperor bestowed him with the book of tasting herbs. Xuan Yuan yearned for the Dao, [that is the reason why] he roamed to the kingdom of the All-Florescent Great Court in his dream. Zhuang Zhou discussed the Dao, that is the reason why he transformed into a butterfly in his dream. Confucius praised The Book of Changes, that is the reason why he met with Duke Zhou in his dream. Because the heart-mind of these three sages implicitly agreed with the Dao, thus, they were resonating [with the Dao] to have these dreams. Their Yang spirit shone out from the flock of Yin, luminous and clear. Although dreaming it was not a dream [for them], hence there were the marvels of the exiting of the Spirit.

是故凡夫之梦，与此悬隔。凡夫之心，贪着其事，流吹欲海，沉滞爱河。岂知一点元神，昼则居于首，眼贪观于色，神即染之于色，此眼中之梦也。耳贪听于声，神即染之于声，此耳中之梦也。鼻贪嗅于香，神即着之于香，此鼻中之梦也。口贪食于味，神即染之于味，此口中之梦也。

That is the reason why the dreams of commoners are distinct and apart from those [of the sages]. The heart-mind of a commoner desires for their own affairs, so they flow along and are blown around in the sea of desires, and sinking and being held up in the river of love. How could they know about the speck of the original spirit? During the daytime they reside in their head. As their eyes are greedy to observe the forms, their spirit is at once contaminated by those forms; this is the dream within one’s eyes. As their ears are greedy to listen to sounds, their spirit is at once contaminated by those sounds; this is the dream within one’s ears. As their nose is greedy for smelling fragrances, their spirit at once becomes attached to fragrances. This is the dream within one’s nose. As their mouth is greedy for tasting flavours, their spirit is at once contaminated by those flavours; this is the dream within one’s mouth.

[1]This short text can be found in the Zheng Tong Daoist Canon [正统道藏], in The Collections on Returning to the Truth [huan zhen ji 还真集].

[2] Wang Jie [王玠] (1331-1380), also known as Wang Dao Yuan [王道渊], was an important Daoist and internal alchemist. He was a second generation disciple of the Daoist master Li Dao Chun [李道纯] , a famous Daoist at the turn of the Southern Song (1127-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. Another work in English by Wang Jie is The Commentary on the Mirror for Compounding the Medicine [ru yao jing jie zhu 入药镜注解] translated by Fabrizio Pregadio.
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Post-Scriptum: This article will be published in full with extensive endnotes as part of a book, entitled ‘Arts of Daoism’ about meditation, stillness cultivation, abstention from grains [bi gu 辟谷], sleeping gong [shui gong 睡功], dreams, vegetarianism and diet in Daoism, formulae for fasting and meditation incense, including several chapters from the alchemical classic The Essentials of the Shortcut to the Great Achievement [da cheng jie yao 大成捷要]. It will be a mixture of anecdotal and oral transmissions from my teacher Li Shi Fu and translations of a number of chapters from ancient texts. It is set to be released before Christmas 2020, and a first draft is already finalized.
Post-Post-Scriptum: The painting depicts Zhuang Zi dreaming about being a butterfly.