STUDENT:

I read about a man who said he dreamt that he met himself thirty years later, and the older version of himself gave him advice. The same man spoke of sharing dreams with his wife while they both slept. They dreamed the same dream, Is this possible?

SHIH-FU:

Sure. These examples and more are possible. But is it really worthwhile? Most of these stories do nothing more than arouse people's curiosity. They are novelties. Most people can neither control their dreams nor interpret them accurately. I knew a woman who dreamed she saw a closed coffin in a strange room. Two years later her father died, and he was laid in the same coffin in the same room. It is an interesting story, but of what use was it? I suppose you could call the dream an omen of sorts, but the woman did not know what to make of the dream until after the fact. There was nothing she could do about it. And if she had known the dream was about her father, what could she have done? She didn't know the time, the place, or how he would die.

As Ch'an practitioners we should not become attached to, or place too much importance on, our dreams. Our waking worlds are illusory enough.