"When they realize that life and death are like dreams, all their sense of seeking will spontaneously stop." (Pao-chih, "Dasheng Zan" ["Eulogy of the Great Vehicle"], cca. 5th century)
"No-mind does not mean the unconsciousness of wood or tile. It means that when you come into contact with external objects, your mind is immovable and does not get attached to anything. There is total freedom and non-obstruction. You are not defiled by anything. On the other hand, you should not abide in non-defilement either. While you view the body and the mind as a dream and an illusion, you nevertheless do not abide in the emptiness of dreams and illusions. When you reach this state, you have then really achieved no-mind." (Ta-hui Tsung-kao, 12th century)
"Even if you have not awakened, if you realize that your perceptions and activities are all like dreams and you view them with detachment, not giving rise to grasping and rejecting discrimination, then this is virtually tantamount to awakening from the dream."Muso Soseki, "Muchū Mondō" ["Dialogues in a Dream", cca. 1344)
"The breath of life eventually takes leave of all of us; whether we are young or old, if we live we must die. The number of the dead grows; the blossoms of the flowers fade; the leaves of the trees fall. Things are like foam in a dream. As fish gather in tiny pools of water, so life moves on as the days pass by. Parents and children, husbands and wives who passed their lives together, do not remain together. What use is high standing or wealth? Red cheeks in the morning, dead bones in the evening. Not to trust in the things of this perishing world but to enter upon the way of Buddha - thus will one stir up the mind that seeks the ways and believes in the exalted Dharma." (Muso Soseki, 1351)
"Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this. A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams." (Yamamoto Tsunetomo, "Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai", cca. 1716)
"It is easy to teach, and easy to hear the words we are taught, but difficult to find it within ourselves and make it our own. This is called ‘self-realization’. ‘Enlightenment’ is waking up to see the dream for what it is. Self-realization is the same. There is no difference." (Issai Chozan, "The Mysterious Skills of the Old Cat" ["Neko No Myoujutsu"], 1727)
"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced." (Swami Vivekananda, "Raja Yoga", 1896)
"Because we all share this small planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity. We are dependent on each other in so many ways, that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside those communities, and we must share the good fortune that we enjoy." (Tenzin Gyatso [14th Dalai Lama], [Nobel lecture] 1989)
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