Huang Tingjian once wrote a Zen poem, which is short and concise, with a total of sixteen words: Like a monk with hair, he is free from the worldly world. Dreaming within a dream, seeing the outside of the body. It means: like a monk but growing hair, a layman but transcending the world of mortals. Dreaming within a dream, seeing another self besides yourself. Readers who carefully savor this Zen poem can easily think of the Hollywood action movie "Inception" starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Dreams can be divided into several levels. If anyone accidentally falls into a deeper level, the mud will be deep enough. If you are trapped, you may be unable to extricate yourself, unable to get out, or unable to return.
Think about it during the day and dream about it at night. The thoughts during the day are the cause, the dreams at night are the effects, and the dreams are the development and reflection of the thoughts. In addition, there is also a subconscious intervention behind the scenes, making the dream more terrifying or more pleasant. As long as you search carefully, it is not impossible to find. Su Dongpo had many dreams in his life, and he liked to record, talk about, and analyze these dreams in detail. The dreams he recorded were complete from beginning to end, well organized, some were thought-provoking, and some were very interesting.
Su Dongpo was about thirty-five years old when he was appointed magistrate of Hangzhou. One night, he dreamed that he was summoned to the palace by the emperor, and a large group of beautiful maids surrounded him, like stars holding the moon. One of the palace ladies was wearing a red embroidered dress, as gorgeous as a peach or plum. She held up a pair of brocade boots and asked Su Dongpo to write an impromptu inscription for it. How can you kill a chicken with a knife? Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to be useful, and a sense of humor and playfulness are always indispensable. Su Dongpo pondered for a moment, and then he wrote: The silk of a cold girl is accumulated every inch; when the sky steps approach, clouds evaporate and thunder rises. Twelve words are enough. Sympathy for the Weaver Girl from a poor family and praise for the emperor of a great country are full of positive energy. As if she had found a treasure, the maid held up the brocade boots to the emperor to see. Su Dongpo's quick thinking and appropriate expression were naturally pleasing to the eye. After the party, the emperor specially ordered the maid in red to send Su Dongpo out of the palace with gifts. Either unintentionally or intentionally, Su Dongpo caught a glimpse of a six-character poem embroidered on his skirt: A hundred folds of ripples wrinkled in the water, and six baht stretched across the clouds. Planted in Hanfeng Guang Hall, I could hear the sound of ring pendants shaking. It's really incredible. This six-character poem was originally written by Su Dongpo in another dream state for Emperor Ming Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty, and was specially written for Concubine Yang. It has never been shown to anyone before. One dream is actually embedded with the unique content of another dream. This strange mix is ??really incredible.
It is not a strange thing for a literary giant to dream of writing poems and articles. Dreams of pens and flowers have happened since ancient times. Inspiration likes to visit everywhere and visit great talents, day and night. Su Dongpo dreamed that the senior masters were interpreting poems for him, which was really enjoyable. Once, he dreamed of an elegant old gentleman who announced his family status and turned out to be Du Fu, the poet sage. He said to Su Dongpo: Many readers in the world have misinterpreted my poems, and sometimes their interpretations are outrageously wrong. Taking the "Eight Formations Picture" as an example, "the stone in the river will not turn, and the regret will be swallowed by Wu". Scholars interpret it as: the former lord Liu Bei and Wuxiang Marquis Zhuge Liang vowed to avenge Guan Yu, the Zhuang Miao Marquis, so the Shu Kingdom failed to devour the Wu Kingdom. People regret. My original intention was another way: the Kingdom of Wu and the Kingdom of Shu are dependent on each other, and if their lips die, their teeth will be cold. They should make love with each other, and should not be hostile to each other. The reason why Sima's army was able to overthrow the Shu State was because the Shu State had attempted to annex the Wu State, and there was an irreparable rift in the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Once the kings and ministers of Shu encountered danger, they fell into a desperate situation of isolation and helplessness. This is something that is deeply regrettable. Du Fu can be called an immortal legend. It is not difficult for him to compose poems, but it is not easy for him to find an interpreter who can understand the profound meaning of his masterpieces. Misunderstandings and misunderstandings are so one-sided. No wonder Du Fu was so restless that he had to find younger writers. It’s okay to talk. Su Dongpo wrote down this dream, and the correct explanation took root, and the misconception was eliminated.
Su Dongpo liked the poems written by his friend Shen Liao, who was full of whimsy and wonderful ideas. The poems written by ordinary monks and Taoists were very different in appearance and simplicity. One night, Su Dongpo dreamed that Shen Liao came to visit with a poem. He had doubts about the two lines in "Drinking Tea" about the cold food and Qingming Festival, and the temporary newness of Shiquan Huaihuo, so he asked Shenliao: "Of course Huaihuo is new." , why is Shiquan also new? Shenliao’s answer: There is a folk custom that one must dig out wells during Qingming Festival. When Su Dongpo heard this, he suddenly realized.
Su Dongpo and his younger brother Su Che had a deep brotherhood. They were together less often than each other and often used letters and poems to greet each other. On the eve of his birthday one year, he dreamed that he and his younger brother left their hometown in Meizhou and headed for the capital. Passing through the Lizhou Gorge, they met two monks by the Jialing River. One of them had a thick black beard.
During the trip, Su Dongpo asked the black-bearded monk: Is it auspicious to go out this time? The black-bearded monk told him: This trip will be safe and there will be no disaster. The black-bearded monk holds a small egg tower with relics inside. Su Dongpo carefully looked at the rare treasures in the tower, each of which was as bright as a flower. The Su brothers looked at each other and smiled. Maybe it would be a good idea to swallow them? The black-bearded monk did not object, so he divided the relic into three parts. He swallowed it first, and the Su brothers swallowed one or two handfuls each. The relics are of different sizes, white and crystal clear, with some tiny particles scattered in the air, flying like catkins. The black-bearded monk said: The poor monk originally wanted to build a stupa and display it properly. This is great, I swallowed it into my stomach. Su Che said: The three of us can each carry a small tower on our shoulders. Su Dongpo also echoed: The three of us are three seamless towers. The black-bearded monk clasped his hands together, nodded and smiled. The Su brothers all have a close relationship with Buddhism. Lay Buddhist Dongpo has repeatedly proven that he was the Master of the Five Precepts in his past lives, and he firmly believes in this. Even so, it is still a puzzling act for them to swallow relics in their dreams.
When Su Dongpo was in charge of Yangzhou, he had a strange dream: he entered the deep mountains and forests alone and met a fierce tiger on a narrow road. Just when he was frightened and helpless, a Taoist priest wearing a purple robe and a yellow crown suddenly appeared in the middle, waving his wide sleeves. Hearing the Taoist priest's shout, the tiger fled. The next day, a Taoist priest came to the Yamen of the state capital, saying that he was visiting the magistrate. As soon as he sat down, he went straight to the topic: Mr. Su must have been scared last night, right? The Taoist priest's reminder was quite abrupt. Su Dongpo was confused at first, but then he thought about it, realized it, and immediately scolded him with his eyes: "How dare you do this evil Taoist way to scare people!" I should have taken it down in the seat and beaten it with a hundred big boards. Since it is your first offense, I will be lenient for the time being. Taoist priests can use their magic to invade other people's dreams at fixed points, which is more accurate than GPS positioning. It's scary to think about it. He thought that Su Dongpo would be easy to deal with, but unexpectedly, he came to ask for reward but failed and almost got beaten. After being drunk, the Taoist priest looked depressed and ran away quickly.
Su Dongpo often wrote poems and lyrics in his dreams, and wrote inscriptions and praises. Once, he dreamed that he wrote this sentence: The reason why Tao is achieved is not to harm one's farming; the reason why virtue is not cultivated is to steal one's cattle. What's the meaning? Su Dongpo couldn't justify himself, but this sentence is quite interesting. Another time, he dreamed that someone told him two lines of poetry - know the truth and enjoy the Buddha's longevity, know the false and eat the heavenly cook. The general idea is: if you understand the truth, you can enjoy the eternal life of the Buddha; if you see through your delusions, you can eat delicious food from the heavenly kitchen. Su Dongpo had a more firm understanding of this: truth is Buddha, and non-delusion is heaven. It’s more than just a long life and good food. Even in his dream, Su Dongpo was still comprehending profound Buddhist principles. Monk Foyin laughed at Su Daoyou's participation in the Wild Fox Zen. Do you think he was wronged or not?
Dan'er is not a pleasant place to live, and dreaming in a thatched cottage may not always be a pleasant dream. One day, Su Dongpo was drunk and dreamed of a monster with a fish head and a ghost body leaping out of the sea, jumping onto the shore, and galloping as fast as a galloping horse. After entering the thatched cottage, the monster turned out to be polite and spoke in a respectful tone: King Guangli invited Scholar Su to attend the meeting. Su Dongpo, wearing cloth, straw sandals, and a yellow crown, followed the monster into the sea. The sea water was divided, and his clothes were not wet at all. He could only hear wind and thunder pounding his ears along the way. After a while, his eyes suddenly opened up, and he was already in a crystal palace. Luminous pearls, rhinoceros horns, jade, coral, and amber were everywhere, everything you wanted was dazzling. King Guangli is majestic, with a sword hanging from his waist, a jade crown on his head, and a Gong suit, with two mighty attendants standing behind him. Su Dongpo was neither humble nor arrogant. He did not kneel down and salute. He only raised his hands and said: "I am chasing away guests at sea. Fortunately, I was invited by the king." King Guangli's expression was quite gentle. He nodded slightly and asked for tea. In an instant, Master Donghua and Mrs. Nanming also came to the palace to accompany them. They took out a piece of shark gauze more than ten feet long and asked Xuexian Su to write a poem. So Su Dongpo composed an impromptu poem: Although the sky and the earth are empty, the sea is the largest. The holy kings all worship, and their position is respected by Hebo. Zhu Rong became a strange person, gathering hundreds of strange people in a trance. The two qi changes into flowing light, and the wind and clouds spread rapidly across thousands of miles. ...If you get the bright moon pearl, you can repay the debt of the expelled guest. In one stroke, without revision, he presented the new poem to King Guangli. All the immortals circulated it and praised it. Only a Mr. Turtle next to him frowned and gave medicine to King Guangli: "The guest knows that water and fire are incompatible, but he refuses to avoid it. The poem mentions the god of fire who is incompatible with us." Zhu Rong', if a guest does this, it is like using mouse urine as eye drops. King Guangli's ears were as soft as an onion and could not withstand provocation, and his originally sunny face suddenly became clouded.
Su Dongpo was smart as ice and snow. Seeing that the situation was not good, he quickly resigned. He couldn't help but curse in his heart: There are such mischievous villains everywhere! Su Dongpo used dreams to tell stories, and gave the treacherous ministers with evil intentions the nickname of Mr. Turtle, such as Lu Huiqing, Zhang, Zhao Tingzhi, and Cai Jing, all of whom belonged to this generation. This kind of irony can be described as bitter.
At the end of the world, Su Dongpo never lost his belief in returning north. One night, he dreamed that he had climbed up to the Hejiang Tower, and all he could see was the moonlight. Duke Han Wei (Han Qi) flew from the sky on a crane and told him: You have been ordered to be in charge of the Great Cao with me. I will go first. Let me send you a message. You will be able to return to the Central Plains in the near future. The hard days are almost over. This dream revealed two important messages: first, Su Dongpo was about to end his relegated career and could expect to return to the north; second, his life was about to end and he would not have much time left. This dream was a mixed bag of good and bad. When Su Dongpo recorded it in writing, it was inevitable that he would feel a mixture of sadness and joy.
Some people say that dreams and reality have some mysterious correspondence, so many dreams can withstand verification. Some people say that reality is the positive side and dreams are the negative side. Although they can complement each other, it is difficult for dreams to come true. I didn't know I was a guest in my dream, and for a moment I was greedy for pleasure. The words of Li Yu, the empress of the Southern Tang Dynasty, poured a bucket of ice water on the optimists. Su Dongpo recorded many dreams throughout his life. These dreams were slices of his psychology. His joys, anger, sorrows, loves, and desires were all contained in them.