You May Not Know

One day Master came to the women's office without notice. As soon as She saw us, She eagerly shared with us a dream She had had the previous night but whose meaning She wasn't sure of. "Doo-Er, do you know anyone in the monastic group who can analyze dreams?" She asked. "Maybe Tong Half-God can," I replied. Master nodded and asked me to immediately summon her by phone. She also asked me to summon the nun-in-charge.

Soon Tong Half-God and the nun-in-charge arrived. There were a few nuns working in the office at the time. We formed a warm, cozy picture as we all sat around Master. Then She told us Her dream. "I dreamed of a large fruit tree with all kinds of fruit - persimmons, wax apples and apples - on it. Later, a wind blew, and a big, plump apple dropped down. I tried to catch it in my hands but was too late. The apple dropped to the ground and got bruised all over. I immediately checked the other fruit and found that most of them were being blown away. Only a small persimmon and a small wax apple were left on the tree. Because they were still very small and grew close to the thick foliage, they remained safe even in the gusty wind. I felt pity for these two weak ones, so I picked them and put them in my pockets, one on each side."

As soon as Master had finished Her narration, She asked Tong Half-God to explain the dream. I don't remember her interpretation but I remember that Master was not satisfied with it. Later Master gave the best analysis. Although She just spoke very casually, we all knew that She had given the best interpretation of Her dream.

She said, "I think that the big apple represents those disciples who have done well in spiritual practice and attained certain levels. They thought they could withstand the strong winds and heavy rains and didn't need the protection of the tree any more. They made themselves distinct and assailable targets. So when the wind and rain came, they were the first to fall! There were other disciples who had not attained high levels, yet they knew how to seek protection by growing close to the tree. So finally they were put into Master's pockets and remained safe there."