In the past, Ananda served as a waiter for the Buddha for 27 years. One day, when the Buddha spoke to the king of Persia in the Acropolis, Ananda's face showed a sad expression. The Buddha asked him why he was so sad when he met him! Ananda said that he dreamed seven strange things overnight ... The Buddha explained:
(1) "I dreamed that the sea water in the river was on fire and the flame went straight into the sky! 」
The Buddha said, "This is a symbol of future monks. Evil is born on the edge of bravery, lacking kindness, fighting for greed and support, just like clear seawater turned into a sea of fire. What about your second dream? 」
2 "Buddha! Dream that the sun will sink, the world is dark, and there are no stars in the sky! 」
The Buddha explained with emotion: "Ananda! This dream indicates that the Buddha will soon be nirvana, and all his disciples will also be nirvana, indicating that the eyes of man and heaven will be extinguished. What about your third dream? 」
3 "Buddha! I dreamed that monks did not become monks according to the Buddhist system, monks and nuns fell, and now my family stepped on their heads! 」
The Buddha sighed, "Ananda! This implies that in the future, monks will only pass on scriptures orally, not personally. They were jealous of each other, slandered each other, were not afraid of cause and effect, and finally fell. White (at home) took the opportunity to sit on the table and despise the monk treasure. They entered the temple, slandered monks and nuns, and destroyed stupa temple. What about your fourth dream? 」
(4) "Buddha! I dreamed that the monk's cassock was incomplete, and he wandered among thorns! 」
The Buddha said, "Ananda! This means that future monks will abandon vestments, precepts, pleasures and wives. This is really the misfortune of Dafa! What about the fifth dream? 」
(5) "Buddha! Dreaming of a dense forest, there are many wild boars digging the roots of sandalwood trees! 」
The Buddha explained with some sadness: "This means that the monks in the future will only plan for their lives and make a living by selling Tathagata and scriptures. What about your sixth dream? 」
(6) "Buddha! I dreamed that the elephant disliked the baby elephant, and the lion, the king of beasts, died and sprinkled famous flowers on his head. The animals were still scared away, but they were soon invaded by insects and ate lion meat! 」
The Buddha shook his head helplessly and said, "The elephant abandoned the baby elephant, which shows that the future monks and elders are selfish and refuse to promote the young and backward!" The worms on the lion still eat the lion's meat. That is to say, there is no heresy that can destroy Buddhism, or that my seven disciples at home and becoming a monk are suicidal! What about your seventh dream? 」
(7) "I dreamed of Mount Sumi overhead, but I didn't feel heavy! 」
At this point, the Buddha's gloomy expression eased slightly, and he said, "Ananda! This means that the Buddha will enter nirvana in three months, and the great monks in the future will need you to enlighten the scriptures and compile the code! 」
Ananda's Seven Dreams predicted the future decline of Buddhism. In particular, the sixth dream, "The lion gives birth to worms and eats lion meat", satirizes that the monks and nuns who study Buddhism today do not practice according to the teaching method, abandon precepts, covet fame and fortune, and do not revise their definitions, but are willing to work miracles and stay away from the inductive pursuit of Buddhism, and then practice the wrong concept, misleading all sentient beings who want Buddhism, making each other become social aliens and ruining good customs, causing the public to mistakenly think that Buddhism is like this. So it's not the worms on the lion, but also the lion meat?