《Guru’s Talks》(2725) (蓮生活佛盧勝彥文集第236冊《盧勝彥手的魔力》)
Treat It Like a Dream
‧Sheng-yen Lu‧

     A depressed looking young woman sought me out at the Lei Tsang Temple. She had given birth to a daughter and had been extremely happy about it. The little girl was sweet and cute, and brought laughter and joy to the whole family. Everyone adored her.
However, around the age of three and a half, the little girl caught influenza and died. After that point, melancholia descended upon the entire family and everyone was grief stricken, especially this young woman. She had lost the darling of her life, and it was as if all happiness had been snatched from her. She was depressed and cried daily. Life was simply so unbearable that she contemplated committing suicide.
After hearing her story, I did not say anything, because all words of consolation had already been spoken by others.
I gave her a mo-ding blessing.
That night, the young woman had a dream. In her dream, she saw her daughter alive, just as cute and sweet as before. Mother and daughter were affectionate to each other and were having a great time together.

But, as soon as she woke up, she realized it was a dream and sighed, “It was but a dream!”
The young woman came a second time to see me at the Lei Tsang Temple. I gave her another mo-ding blessing.
She had a second dream! This time, her daughter was several years older and was at the top of all her classes at school. The mother was very happy. Mother and daughter were of one mind, and there was nothing that they would not talk about together. The daughter was elected class monitor and a model student. An entire wall at home was covered with her awards. Her mother was elated when people complimented her for having such an excellent daughter.
She woke up and had the realization: “It was but a dream!”
The young woman came to see me again at the Lei Tsang Temple, and I again gave her a mo-ding.
This time, the dream was even more amazing.
In this dream, her daughter graduated from college and went overseas to further her studies. After obtaining a Master’s degree, she went on to receive a PhD degree. Then she found a very good job abroad, and everything was smooth sailing for this daughter. Although they missed each other very much, there were very few opportunities for mother and daughter to see each other. Later, her daughter married and decided to settle down in the foreign country. With a job and a family, the times she returned home to visit were even fewer. She would occasionally contact her mother.
In the dream, the young woman caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror and found herself already white-haired.
She woke up from the dream and sighed, “So this is it. It is all just a dream.”
The young woman came a fourth time to see me at the Lei Tsang Temple.
I asked her, “Do you want another mo-ding?”
She replied, “No! I already know the result.”
I asked her, “What is the result?”
She replied, “How long you spend together with someone is simply an interlude of affinity. In life, all affinities end in death or separation. Just regard it all as a dream. When one wakes up from the dream, everything is released.”
The young woman thanked me for giving her mo-ding.
She was completely cured of her depression.
I never tried to console her. I simply gave her mo-ding. And she was able to attain this realization.