Dreaming?

Am I Tsem Rinpoche dreaming that I am a guy from New Jersey or am I a guy from New Jersey dreaming that I am Tsem Rinpoche???
I guess if I examine deeper, both do not have real identities and all are projected from my mind. From those projections I build and create my false realities…hmmm.
That’s called illusions arising from delusions the root cause of existing in suffering without control.
Tsem Tulku Rinpoche





























































This reminds me of Chuang Chou, whom we had to read at my secondary school, and the story of him dreaming to be a butterfly.
I found it back through the magic of internet:
“Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly.
I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou.
Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again.
Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.”
But Chuang Chou did not explain further, or at least not as clearly, as Rinpoche just did above, and it casts a fresh new light on this story I had almost forgotten.
… so,…what is it that I dream that I am or am not…o-ooh..
Thank you Rinpoche
Upon examining my life at a deeper level, most are unreal and things I take to be solid and real are in fact temporary and insubstantial. If we are not really who we think we are, then what are we fighting so hard for? The rat race, the corporate ladder is a never-ending spiral that doesn’t get us me anywhere that really matters. Time to rethink my life.
Dear Rinpoche
It’s amazing! I have been going to several countries and purchased Dharma books on the way without much thought. I collected them. Last week, I stumbled across Sogyal Rinpoche’s The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying in my own book rack. I just finished chapter 4 and it discussed your thoughts above!!!
But anyway, it will really be amazing if I can just absorped this with no difficulties. All my suffering will be gone. But sometimes when I read Dharma books, although I understand it intellectually and have no doubt about its value, it’s just very hard to apply it since distractions and monkey thoughts that disturb my mind keep coming back. Analytical reasoning only calm me for a short period of time. I feel like fighting a loosing battle sometimes.
But anyway, I’ll keep trying. it’s my own karma to purify.
Much love
Valentina
On a concept like this, it is not easy for everyone to understand the nature of our very own mind; like what we are, and who we are -and always changing, changing and changing, sometimes even without our own realisation! It is said that if we can realise our mind’s continuity of mental energy, like the flow of electricity from the generator through the wires until it lights a lamp, then we will be more able to control and understand it better and more precisely. Eventually, we be able to analyse our mind through meditation more easily, and could come to understand the difference between our body and mind, recognise the continuity of our own consciousness and even finally able to realise our previous lives too. Neverthless, as a source of consolation, like the Dalai Lama said, if we continue to contemplate on it again and again, in time realisation will definetly emerge.
I find this very fascinating. It is proving that all we are ore will be are fake and just like a dream. I am wondering, am I a Malaysian white boy dreaming that I am a Kecharian or a Kecharian dreaming that I am a Malaysian white boy. My mind creates this projections and thus my mind would also be creating false identities of myself in my mind.
I dont know if I interpret RInpoche correctly, but what i feel relates is that many episodes of my life felt like a dream. Incidences I experienced somehow felt like they were not real and did not happen because what we were yesterday and today is different. We can’t even remember what we wore just yesterday most of the time. The lesson is things comes and go, experienced and forgotten. I can be someone different now from who I am tomorrow. Everything is impermanent. Only one thing is sure is what we create karma and karma creates us as long as we are stuck in the cyclic existence.