How to overcome fear: Buddhist perspective

Ven. T. Seelananda, Bhavana Society Forest Monastery; Dhr. Seven, Fran (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha's "allaying fear hand gesture" or mudra (Wiki: Abhaya mudra)

Fear and how to overcome fear

What is there to be afraid of?

Fear (aversion, dosa) is an unpleasant emotion that arises mainly due to craving. Craving and clinging (attachment) are the causes of many unwholesome, unpleasant, and harmful things in life.

It is because of craving that we wander in samsāra, the "Wheel of Rebirth and Death." By way of contrast, fearlessness is the state of highest bliss, perfect peace, and tranquility possible to achieve.

Naturally, all beings experience fear. We are all afraid of either of the present, past, or future. We are called "beings" (satta) because of clinging to the Five Aggregates clung to as self:

1. form
2. feelings
3. perceptions
4. mental formations (like volitions)
5. consciousness.

As long as beings cling to these Five Aggregates, there will be fear. Only fully enlightened ones (arhats) are entirely free of fear. They have achieved fearlessness. They are called non-beings (asatta) [1].

We cling not only to the Five Aggregates of clinging but also to many other material and immaterial things. And as long as we cling, grasp, and attach to things we have no escape from fear.

Why fear?

What is the Buddhist perspective on fear, and how do we achieve fearlessness? If one were able to observe and read our mentality right now, one would be able to see that we are all like spiders tangled up in our own webs.

We weave webs of attachment full of expectations and get trapped. That's why we suffer from fear of getting lost as well as fear of many other things. For instance, in the West many parents are fearful of their children moving out when they turn 18 or never leaving, job insecurity, mortgages, debt, credit card bills, and so on. They contribute to our constant distress.

At the same time, children fear their parents' insecurity, aging, sickness, and death. Then to some extent, because of untrustworthiness, husband and wife may fear the other may leave them at anytime.

Many other things contribute to fear. And it does not arise alone, but in combination with other factors such as suspicion, presumption, jealousy, misleading information, vanity, and hostility.

The greatest fear

Last photo of sexy starlet Marilyn Monroe

We fear permanent or even temporary separation from our loved ones. The Buddha taught that "Separation from loved ones is suffering." Not only actual separation, even thinking of loss for most people causes unutterable agony, creating anxiety and worry.

Because we do not think nor are ready to accept the fact that all things are impermanent and hurtling toward destruction (anicca), we experience fear and suffer. The Buddha taught that all things are uncertain and impermanent.

In other words, things do not remain the same. It is one of the three fundamental teachings of the Buddha (the other being that all things are unsatisfactory and impersonal). Yet, most of us simply go with the flow, but we do not know that this means that we are simply floating.

The Dharma or Teaching of the Buddha is not for simply floating along in the river of rebirth. It is to strive to get out and make an end of rebirth, where there is no fear, suffering, disappointment, lamentation, pain, grief, or despair. Those who have achieved this attainment experience bliss. More