I dreamt of Mara and Hell

Talisman

In my waking dreams, early this morning, I had a very bizarre dream. A lot of the times when I am having waking dreams, they will be extremely narrative, like with a concrete beginning middle and end, and after its "conclusion" i go back to the beginning and start over again. This dream I had was similar, but the content was extremely hedonistic and lewd. It's hard to explain without getting into some frightening and sordid details, but it involved people having sex, and blistered, pus-filled sores, and basically every disgusting bodily thing combined with physical and sensory overload. It was like this disgusting stuff was combined with the multitude of the desires of flesh.

On top of it there was this constant theme of transformation. Like nothing stayed the same for long enough to grasp what it was, only for the sensation to occur and to blend into another. I didn't have a body, but was instead at a point of vantage where I could see things. Things like a person's body overcome with ecstasy suddenly bursting from the stomach into organs that slithered away as snakes and bugs or other inconceivable creatures, where they met with others and would transform into animals, or into beautiful men and women, then copulate and transform again. It was very confusing and frightening, but also intriguing.

The narrative of the dream had to do with me, or whatever "me" was at any one time in the course of the dream, visiting this place as like a free getaway vacation as part of a game show. And there were others that were there for the same reason. I can't remember what the goal was, but I know that at the conclusion of the narrative, I had climbed these stairs to accept some reward and then I turned and began yelling down the stairs at all the people and creatures involved about how this isn't right, and that this place is not a paradise, and that we were lied to.

The narrative eventually began again, but while it commenced, a new vision arose. I had been transformed into a very beautiful woman. I was floating in a space that was part of this world but not in the midst of its inhabitants. Like in a wilderness. And a voice was talking to me as I floated around. The sights were like fractals and transformative oozes and rivers and stones that melted into one another. It was extremely stunning. But at the same time it was completely putrescent. The oozes were of bile and bodily fluid, and the smells were rancid and sour. The colors were bright and shifting, but left me averting my eyes while at the same time constantly seeking new images and sounds and whatnot.

The voice in my head was what I would consider to be the cliche voice of the devil. It was very deep, guttural, and masculine. It was enticing me with the wonders of this place. Talking about how the landscape was beyond the scope of imagination and would never be the same from one moment to the next. It was trying to convince me to stay in this place and to drink in its offering. I became sick and vomited at the sound of the voice and my body shook and heaved in its attempt to escape. I could feel my limbs being torn apart as I was once again transformed by the nature of this place, and the images of the landscape faded.

And I woke up. I immediately sat up in bed and began meditating. Even now, it is very difficult to get the images and everything out of my head. I'm still trying to work out how I feel about this dream. I believe very strongly that the voice of temptation was in fact mara. I'm not sure why I felt a need to share this with you all, but you might find it interesting. I don't know why I dreamt of these things. I have to say that I am happy that I did, regardless of how terrifying it was.

Love you all

-Tristen

Songhill

I think you are right is believing that Mara is the voice of temptation. He is synonymous with our psycho-physical body. Sometimes I tell my young friends that we need to think of him as Mr. Hormone. He controls pretty much the body we interface with so that it becomes a trap to keep us on the hamster wheel of samsara. He can even take on an image (vigraha) of the Buddha in the example of Upagupa who asked Mara to make a rupakaya of the Buddha. (Yes, even your teacher could be under the control of Mara.)

Ficus_religiosa

I think you are right is believing that Mara is the voice of temptation. He is synonymous with our psycho-physical body. Sometimes I tell my young friends that we need to think of him as Mr. Hormone. He controls pretty much the body we interface with so that it becomes a trap to keep us on the hamster wheel of samsara. He can even take on an image (vigraha) of the Buddha in the example of Upagupa who asked Mara to make a rupakaya of the Buddha. (Yes, even your teacher could be under the control of Mara.)

This interpretation may be a little too paranoid to be fruitful I think. Weird dreams come and go, no need to pay too much attention to them.

Songhill

Ficus_religiosa: In a polyphasic culture (unlike western monophasic culture) dreams count.

Jeffrey

Wow, well written account and interesting. Thanks for sharing.

person

Really cool dream. There is a lot in there about how the pleasures of samsara are in the nature of suffering and how the things we normally think of as beautiful are in reality mixed with the ugly.

upekka

what sort of meditation do you do?

i think it asks you to start (if you are not doing it yet) or continue (if you are already started) to do mindfulness of body (kayanupassana in satipattana sutta) which helps to see the Reality' through the body

if/when you successful of this you wouldn't born into this human world according suttas

Theswingisyellow

I like this phrase from a talk given by Joseph Goldstein:
"Empty phenomena rolling on"

OneLifeForm

Was a very well written dream account. Very cool.

Be grateful for such an experience.

I tend to just do that body meditation stuff while awake. I havent ever had a dream of that.

One time I was having sex and I purposely started thinking about impermanence and it was pretty gross for a second but then she turned into dust and wasn't there.

I told her later on that I was thinking of those things and she was kind of weirded out by that.

Thankfully I am not having sex today. They say that is the strongest form of attachment and I can really relate with that statement. It brings no benefit to myself or others.. furthering my own delusions.. doesn't feel very good.

compassion

Dreams are the slideshows of what your inner constructions are... And your inner constructions are fuelled by the conditioning of your mind. Societal conditioning has pushed your mind towards such beliefs, thoughts and emotions...

The fact that you're having such dreams tells me that you are not following the Eightfold path as you should be. And even if you have, you have not cultivated it within yourself as a basic way of living...

Societal conditioning plays a huge role as well. Being exposed to sex, violence and all sorts of hedonistic fetters, your mind has been sculpted to where it currently is.

Meditation is one thing... but if you're not practising Buddhism outside of meditation, there may be something wrong with your practice.