Dreaming of the moon in Buddhism: meaning
In Buddhism the moon is one of the best-loved images for a clear mind. The most important festival falls on a full moon, and in the texts the moon emerging from behind the clouds is an image of someone coming to insight.
Within this tradition
The Dhammapada contains a verse often linked with the moon: whoever was once heedless and afterwards is heedless no more lights up this world like the moon freed from a cloud (verse 172). The verse is traditionally told with the story of Angulimala, who had a violent past and still came to peace and insight. A dream in which the moon comes out from behind the clouds is read in that spirit: what is clear was already there, it was only covered for a while.
The full moon also has a fixed place in practice. According to the Theravada tradition the Buddha was born, awakened and died on the full moon of the month of Vesakha, which is why many Buddhists celebrate Vesak on that day. The uposatha days, on which lay people keep extra precepts and monks gather, fall on the full and new moon. Anyone who dreams of the moon at such a time is often dreaming on from what is happening at the temple or at home.
In the Mahayana many people know the image of the finger pointing at the moon. It appears in the Shurangama Sutra, among other places: the teaching is like a finger, useful for showing the direction, but whoever keeps looking at the finger does not see the moon. The Japanese master Dogen uses another image in his Genjokoan: enlightenment is like the moon reflected in water. The moon does not get wet, and the water is not broken.
Those images help when reading a moon dream. The dream itself, like everything in the mind, is impermanent, anicca. Yet it can show something: how clear or clouded your mind is just now, whether you cling to words and forms, whether you can see through something. A calm moon in still water is then a sign of quiet; a moon in rough water shows how much is going on inside you.
There is also a gentle moon story in the Jataka tales. In the Sasa Jataka a hare offers itself as a meal for a hungry traveller. The traveller turns out to be the god Sakka, who lets no harm come to the hare and draws its likeness on the moon, so that everyone will remember its generosity. A dream of a hare in the moon is therefore linked with generosity in Buddhist countries.
Common variations
The moon coming out from behind the clouds
The image from Dhammapada 172: clarity that was already there becoming visible again. Often an encouraging dream after a hard time.
The moon reflected in still water
A mind coming to rest. If the water is rough, the dream shows how much is stirring right now.
Someone pointing at the moon
Recalls the finger and the moon: are you looking at the words, or at where they point?
A hare in the full moon
Recalls the Sasa Jataka and is linked with generosity and self-giving.
An eclipsed moon that is set free again
In the Candima Sutta the moon deity calls on the Buddha when Rahu seizes him, and he is released. An image of something that oppressed you letting you go.
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Write your dream in the appFrequently asked questions
What does the moon mean in Buddhism?
Above all clarity of mind and insight. The full moon also marks important days, such as Vesak and the uposatha days.
Does a moon dream around Vesak have a special meaning?
Often you are simply dreaming along with what you are living through. Buddhism teaches that such a dream is impermanent too; the question is rather what it shows about your mind.