bram
2nd November 2012, 15:45
When I was a teenager (long, long time ago now!) I remember watching a documentary on TV in England. The subject was the dreaming phenomenon, and the part that I still remember clearly was to do with what they called false awakening, which apparently happens more than once to a number of people.
The reportedly true example given in the TV program was that of a schoolboy, and the sequence of events was as follows:
The boy is asleep in his bed at home. It is a normal weekday night.
In the morning, his alarm clock goes off, he wakes up, goes through all his morning routines, goes downstairs for breakfast. Just as he is about to sit down at the breakfast table, his alarm clock goes off and he awakes in bed.
He gets up, goes through all his morning routines, goes downstairs for breakfast. He is not sure now, if he is really awake because of the vivid dream he just had. He finishes his breakfast, gets his books together and leaves the house to catch the bus to school. He gets on the bus, and buys a bus ticket from the driver. Just as he is about to sit down on the bus, his alarm clock goes off and he awakes in bed.
He realizes that he was still dreaming. He gets up, goes through all his morning routines, goes downstairs for breakfast. Now he is quite unsure of whether he is awake, or whether he is still dreaming. He tries pinching himself, it seems that he is awake. He finishes his breakfast, gets his books together and leaves the house to catch the bus to school. He gets on the bus, and buys a bus ticket from the driver, sits down on the bus and rides to school. Everything seems normal. He arrives at school just as the school bell sounds. Except that it is not the school bell, it is his alarm clock, and he awakens in bed once again.
Once again, he gets up, and for the fourth time he goes through his routines, has breakfast. He catches the bus, goes to school. At any minute, he is expecting to wake up and find that he is dreaming, but his day continues. All day and all evening, he is wondering if he is really awake, or if he will awaken again to find that he is still in his bed. Not until he goes to bed at night is he finally certain that he was awake all day.
I saw this program some forty years ago, and it left a deep impression on me at the time, although I didn’t understand why. What a powerful lesson on sunnyata for the boy, and for anyone else who experiences this kind of false awakening!
The reportedly true example given in the TV program was that of a schoolboy, and the sequence of events was as follows:
The boy is asleep in his bed at home. It is a normal weekday night.
In the morning, his alarm clock goes off, he wakes up, goes through all his morning routines, goes downstairs for breakfast. Just as he is about to sit down at the breakfast table, his alarm clock goes off and he awakes in bed.
He gets up, goes through all his morning routines, goes downstairs for breakfast. He is not sure now, if he is really awake because of the vivid dream he just had. He finishes his breakfast, gets his books together and leaves the house to catch the bus to school. He gets on the bus, and buys a bus ticket from the driver. Just as he is about to sit down on the bus, his alarm clock goes off and he awakes in bed.
He realizes that he was still dreaming. He gets up, goes through all his morning routines, goes downstairs for breakfast. Now he is quite unsure of whether he is awake, or whether he is still dreaming. He tries pinching himself, it seems that he is awake. He finishes his breakfast, gets his books together and leaves the house to catch the bus to school. He gets on the bus, and buys a bus ticket from the driver, sits down on the bus and rides to school. Everything seems normal. He arrives at school just as the school bell sounds. Except that it is not the school bell, it is his alarm clock, and he awakens in bed once again.
Once again, he gets up, and for the fourth time he goes through his routines, has breakfast. He catches the bus, goes to school. At any minute, he is expecting to wake up and find that he is dreaming, but his day continues. All day and all evening, he is wondering if he is really awake, or if he will awaken again to find that he is still in his bed. Not until he goes to bed at night is he finally certain that he was awake all day.
I saw this program some forty years ago, and it left a deep impression on me at the time, although I didn’t understand why. What a powerful lesson on sunnyata for the boy, and for anyone else who experiences this kind of false awakening!