The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (692 page)

 
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(Skt., ‘substance’). In Indian religions and philosophies, a term for the basic constituents of reality. The concept gave rise to philosophical debate and was a central factor in doctrinal divergence. For Jains, dravya represents the materiality of the cosmos from which the
j
va
seeks to be emancipated. It is basically opposed to
bh
va
, but for laypeople dravya must be related to bh
va, especially in ritual, as the base from which the ascent to
mok
a
necessarily begins. Dravya is thus related to bh
va in ritual. Early Buddhism denied the idea of substance, all objects being a linguistic construction.

 
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Dreaming
or dream-time
.

The sense of identity, in Australian aboriginal culture, with the primordial guarantee of life and land by commanding figures (deities), together with the actions which sustain that identity and relatedness. Many different terms (e.g.
alcheringa
,
bugari
,
djugurba
) express this sense of reverent relatedness to the land and the conditions of its peace and prosperity. The ‘dream-time’ is the state in which those of the present-day live, in the company of the ancestors, in this ideal (but realizable) state.

 
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Dreams
.

The interior consequences of continuing brain activity during periods of sleep; day-dreaming arises from the cessation (or suppression) of ordinary modes of consciousness or attentiveness, allowing other modes and contents of thought to take place. Both forms of dream have been important in religions, the former because it allows the possibility of insight, information and warning that would not otherwise be accessible, the latter because it exists on the edge of trance states and altered states of consciousness.

 
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