Stories from Ancient China: Life Is But a Dream

Qian Yang, from Wuxi City of Jiangso Province in ancient China, was a renowned scholar from the Qing Dynasty. He was very knowledgeable regarding classic and old stone tablets and made a living engraving notes and writings.

One day he had a dream. In the dream, he was in a mansion, and his servant boys, wife, and concubines came to greet him. They said, "Your two sons are in the capital taking the exam, and we just had three more grandchildren. Our entire family is extremely happy!" He walked into one room and saw gold pieces piled up like a mountain. Then an old servant ran in and said," Your two sons both passed the exam." He woke up, still enjoying his dream.

A few days later, he had another dream. In the dream, he was admiring treasures, paintings, and books with a nobleman. There was a pair of priceless jade mallard ducks that he could not help holding as he wanted to take a closer look. Suddenly the ducks fell, shattering into pieces. The owner was enraged. Qian knelt in front of him and begged his forgiveness, promising to compensate for the loss. He sold all his possessions, but it was still not enough. When he went to his old friends to borrow money, no one was willing to lend him any. Qian was in poverty and misery. His whole family was starving, and his wife looked pitiful.

After he woke up, he realised that he had experienced being both rich and poor, gain and loss. He wrote a poem to express his sentiment: "Life is like a dream until death when you awake. Why worry about gain and loss? You would suffer until you are out of shape."

Actually, in the eyes of cultivators, life is like a dream. Life after life, only the main consciousness continues to live. No matter what wealth and fame you have in this lifetime, they disappear like a puff of smoke. You are only hurting yourself physically and emotionally by the endless struggles, attachments, and suffering; you cannot change your fate one bit. The only things that follow you from one life to the other are your virtue and karma. That is why traditional Chinese culture emphasises "following the course of nature" and "revering heavens and knowing one's fate."

What is the purpose of being a human being? What is the meaning of life? Perhaps only the Buddha Law--Falun Dafa--can shed some light on this mystery. Teacher Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, said "One should return to one's original, true self; this is the real purpose of being human." ( Zhuan Falun)