> It's funny to consider that as a spiritual practice people train for.
Yeah, I think the thing to note is that in the Tibetan teachings there are various "bardos" [1], three in "ordinary" life and three around the time of death [2]. They also teach that the bardos of death are an opportunity for self-liberation. So if you can't bring awareness/lucidity to the dream state, how likely are you to be able to during the time of death? It's thought of as an opportunity to practice for those moments.
So I think it's easiest to understand the "why" around the dream practice when you put it into that context.
Yeah, I think the thing to note is that in the Tibetan teachings there are various "bardos" [1], three in "ordinary" life and three around the time of death [2]. They also teach that the bardos of death are an opportunity for self-liberation. So if you can't bring awareness/lucidity to the dream state, how likely are you to be able to during the time of death? It's thought of as an opportunity to practice for those moments.
So I think it's easiest to understand the "why" around the dream practice when you put it into that context.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol