Buddha - Conquer Fear, Become Free

In The Dhammapada, the Buddha says that a wise person is beyond fear and, as a result, is truly free. And there’s a Zen story that shares a similar message. During a Japanese civil war, an army was taking control of different villages. And in one village, everyone had left except for the Zen master.

So the general of the army got curious about who this man was and went to the temple to see him. The general wanted the Zen master to submit to his will, and when the master would not submit, the general took out his sword and said, “Fool, don’t you see? I’m the type of man that can put a sword through you without blinking an eye.”

To which the master calmly said, “Don’t you see? I’m the type of man who can have a sword put through him without blinking an eye.” That’s what true freedom is, isn’t it? To be without fear. Because as long as we fear something, we’re controlled by that thing. As long as we fear the sword, there’s always a tyrant behind it trying to control us.

Only a mind without fear is truly free, unable to be controlled by something, or someone, else. So can I purge the mind of fear, once and for all? That’s what I’m interested in exploring, and I’m gonna explore that idea through a dialogue.

The following is a conversation between a monk (M) and a student (S).

M: Fear is blinding. It’s controlling. If you step into a forest, you’ll imagine there’s a bear in the trees, and you’ll see everything through that fear, in relation to that fear, which means you won’t see the world as it is. Fear projects the bear into every dark corner, into the rustle of every bush, into the snapping of every twig. Fear consumes the mind, distorts it, and controls it, and that’s why it’s blinding.

S: But fear protects you, doesn’t it? If you think there’s a bear in the woods, you’ll be more careful, which will keep you safer, don’t you think?

M: No, that’s a myth. Fear won’t protect you. Understanding that bears exist, that there are bears in the forest, the dangers of bears, and how to deal with those dangers is what really protects you. Understanding protects you, not fear, and actually, fear will prevent your understanding from growing.

S: How does fear prevent your understanding from growing?

M: Fear leads to fixation on the fear-producing image. If you’re afraid someone is following you, you project them into every dark corner, into every alleyway, into every car driving behind you, and so on. Fear is a blinder that largely prevents you from seeing the world. Think about the last time you were afraid in the forest.

Did you stop to take in new views, look at new forms of life, and analyze the world in a new way? Or were you so fixated on the fear-producing image that it was all you could see and think about? Fear prevents you from learning. If you’re afraid that someone will break into your house, the doors will never feel locked enough to you.

You’ll keep checking: /Are they locked? Are they still locked? How about now?/ You’ve seen that the door is locked, but you keep checking. Why? Fear doesn’t allow the mind to update its knowledge. It doesn’t let you learn.

S: How do I overcome fear then? How do I clear it from my mind?

M: To overcome fear, you have to pull it out completely from the root. So let’s get to the root of fear.

S: OK, where do we start?

M: Fear is produced by thought. The thought of a bear attacking you, or losing your money, or losing a loved one, produces fear. So fear arises from an image of future pain.

S: Then why do I have these thoughts?

M: All thoughts arise from desire. The desire to protect yourself from pain, physical or psychological, leads to fear. Think about it. If you want to keep yourself secure, you’ll begin to imagine all the ways that security can be threatened.

You’ll think, what if someone crashes into me while driving, or what if the house catches fire while I’m sleeping, or what if everyone makes fun of me, or what if there’s a snake in the grass, and all of these images create fear in the mind.

S: OK, but the desire to protect yourself from pain sounds reasonable. What’s wrong with it?

M: You think it’s reasonable? Fair enough. Let’s take a closer look at whether it is. Can you protect yourself from pain? A tornado can destroy your home tomorrow, you can’t control that. A car could swerve off the road and hit you, you can’t control that. Someone else can get you sick, you can’t control that. Protection from pain doesn’t lie in your hands, it lies in the hands of Fate.

S: With all due respect, that sounds dumb. Are you saying I should just leave my security in the hands of Fate? Should I just go cross the road blindfolded then? Should I just lie in bed and do nothing? Let Fate handle it all?

M: You’re misunderstanding me. You don’t really have a choice. You could build a super secure underground bunker, and a supernova can still take the Earth out. You can isolate yourself from the world, but you’ll still feel the pain of alienation, isolation, and loneliness.

You can cross the road blindfolded if you want, but you’ll probably get hit by a car. You can lie in bed all you want, but you’ll probably rot. I’m not saying you “should” do anything. But I’m saying whatever you do, Fate will have the final word.

Fate will decide the consequences of your actions, but you can control your actions.

S: So what do I do?

M: First, do you agree that your security ultimately lies in the hands of Fate? We can’t move forward unless you do.

S: I do, but now I’m afraid of Fate. What if Fate decides to give me pain?

M: Yeah, you still have two fears: the fear of Fate and the fear of pain. So let’s start by understanding Fate.

When you throw a ball in the air, it’s the fate of that ball, as far as we know, to come back down. When a plane acts in accordance with aerodynamic laws, it’s the fate of the plane to fly. When water reaches a certain temperature, it’s the fate of that water to evaporate. Do you agree with all of this?

S: Yeah, I agree.

M: So Fate is like the merchant or accountant we all trade with. There’s a contract by which Fate trades, and the best we can do is to try and understand that contract. By learning the terms of that contract, you can lessen the pain you receive from Fate over time.

S: OK, that makes me feel a bit better. But I still have the fear of Fate giving me pain.

M: Yeah, and now we’re down to the final fear. The fear of Fate giving you pain.

S: How do I overcome this final fear?

M: There are two things that have to be true to eliminate this fear. So let me ask you a question. What if the pain Fate gives you is unnecessary? How would that make you feel?

S: That would make me resentful. Fate could have not given me that pain but did. I would resent Fate for that. I’d resent the world for that. And I would be more afraid of Fate, because She can give me pain when I don’t need it, at any time, and it won’t teach me anything. All of that would be awful.

M: Exactly. So the first thing that must be true is that the pain we receive is necessary. Do you accept that?

S: OK, I accept that. But I’m still afraid of feeling the pain.

M: This brings us to my second question. If the pain Fate gives you is unbearable, how does that make you feel?

S: Afraid. I’m afraid of receiving a pain that I can’t bear.

M: So that’s the second thing that must be true to eliminate fear: every pain Fate gives you is bearable. So when you believe that Fate only gives you pain that is necessary and bearable, then fear vanishes from the mind.

In The Dhammapada, the Buddha says that a wise person is beyond fear and, as a result, is truly free, and I explored this idea more deeply through a dialogue. I was interested in the complete elimination of fear from the mind, and here’s where I’ve arrived.

Fear is a barrier that prevents the mind from learning, and the source of fear is our desire to protect ourselves from pain. But we can’t protect ourselves from pain. Our protection lies in the hands of Fate.

Fate trades by a contract, and it’s possible to learn this contract and lessen the amount of pain we receive in life. But to completely eliminate fear from the mind, two things have to be true: when Fate does give us pain, it’s necessary and bearable.

And only when fear vanishes are we able to be free, uncontrolled by anyone. But as long as fear exists in the mind, there’s always a tyrant with a sword to control us.

As always, this is just my opinion and understanding of the Buddha’s words, not advice. Feel free to use this information however you like, and if you have a different take on his words, I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.