Reading guide
Five dream-images
The great earth as a bed, the Himalayas as a pillow, hands and feet reaching into the eastern, western, and southern seas; a blade of grass called ‘the crosser’ growing from his navel to press against the sky; white, black-headed caterpillars crawling up to cover his knees; four different-colored birds falling at his feet and turning pure white; and walking back and forth across a mountain of filth without being soiled by it.
Reading dreams as retrospective symbolism
Rather than functioning as prophecy in the ordinary sense, each dream is explained only after the fact, once its fulfillment has already occurred — a narrative device using symbolic imagery to frame events that have already happened as, in hindsight, always having been destined.
What each dream is said to have foretold
The first dream foretold the supreme awakening itself. The second, the noble eightfold path being well proclaimed among gods and humans. The third, many white-clothed laypeople going for refuge for life. The fourth, members of all four social classes — aristocrats, brahmins, peasants, and menials — going forth and equally realizing supreme freedom. The fifth, receiving the four material requisites and using them without being corrupted or attached, understanding the escape from their dangers.
A pointed echo, in this same chapter, on caste
The fourth dream's fulfillment — all four classes attaining liberation equally — directly echoes AN 5.179's tamed-bull verse from the previous chapter, and stands in the same deliberate tension with this chapter's own use of caste-language at AN 5.175 and AN 5.192 that this project has flagged before.
Symbolism worth reading as narrative device
This discourse is best read for what it does within the collection's storytelling — retrospectively framing the shape of the Buddha's life and teaching's reception as having been, in a sense, prefigured — rather than as a literal claim about predictive dreaming.
Key terms
The text
Five great dreams
§1“Mendicants, before his awakening five great dreams appeared to the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha, when he was still not awake but intent on awakening. What five? This great earth was his bed. Himalaya, king of mountains, was his pillow. His left hand was laid down in the eastern sea. His right hand was laid down in the western sea. And both his feet were laid down in the southern sea. This is the first great dream that appeared to the Realized One before his awakening. Next, a kind of grass called ‘the crosser’ grew up from his navel and stood pressing against the cloudy sky. This is the second great dream that appeared to the Realized One before his awakening. Next, white caterpillars with black heads crawled up from his feet and covered his knees. This is the third great dream that appeared to the Realized One before his awakening. Next, four birds of different colors came from the four quarters. They fell at his feet, turning pure white. This is the fourth great dream that appeared to the Realized One before his awakening. Next, he walked back and forth on top of a huge mountain of filth while remaining unsoiled. This is the fifth great dream that appeared to the Realized One before his awakening.
What each dream foretold
§2Now, as to when, before his awakening, the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha was still not awake but intent on awakening. This great earth was his bed. Himalaya, king of mountains, was his pillow. His left hand was laid down in the eastern sea. His right hand was laid down in the western sea. And both his feet were laid down in the southern sea. This was fulfilled when the Buddha awakened to the perfect awakening. This was the first great dream that appeared to him while he was still not awakened. As to when a kind of grass called ‘the crosser’ grew up from his navel and stood pressing against the cloudy sky. This was fulfilled when, after the Buddha had awakened to the noble eightfold path, it was well proclaimed wherever there are gods and humans. This was the second great dream that appeared to him while he was still not awakened. As to when white caterpillars with black heads crawled up from his feet and covered his knees. This was fulfilled when many white-clothed laypeople went for refuge to him for life. This was the third great dream that appeared to him while he was still not awakened. As to when four birds of different colors came from the four quarters. They fell at his feet, turning pure white. This was fulfilled when members of the four classes—aristocrats, brahmins, peasants, and menials—went forth from the lay life to homelessness in the teaching and training proclaimed by the Realized One and realized supreme freedom. This was the fourth great dream that appeared to him while he was still not awakened. As to when he walked back and forth on top of a huge mountain of filth while remaining unsoiled. This was fulfilled when the Realized One received robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. And he used them untied, uninfatuated, unattached, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape. This was the fifth great dream that appeared to him while he was still not awakened.
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