Pretty cool video by Benjamin Smythe…
Its great running into someone new & I love to see this guy wearing headphones looking like MOBY while recording this video in the back of some restaurant or coffee shop.. What an amazing time this is! It has come to be a time when teachers of enlightenment are out there hiding in plain sight everywhere!

If FEAR is a longstanding issue with you, you are not alone. This is a subject matter that is prudent for many peoples lives.In-fact, likely most*

According to Benjamin, it all boils down to 4 basic FEARS..

1. The fear of lack
2. The fear of disapproval
3. The fear of physical discomfort
4. The fear of happiness or annihilation
   

For more from Benjamin Smythe, check out his website at:
www.benjamintsmythe.com

This is such a VAST subject people have written books on it so this is blog is by no means a complete explanation on the subject.  First, I will say I THANK YOU BENJAMIN.. Benjamin’s statements are absolutely true. Although from my personal experience, I might break it down a bit differently & share a few different points, so here’s my 2 cents:

In my view, the 2nd listed fear; the fear if disapproval is rooted in the 1ststated fear (the fear of lack). Lacking what? Lacking approval! The 4th listed fear (the fear of happiness) is also the root fear of lack; “the lack of suffering”, which is actually the fear of loosing the familiar “suffering self” which is the fear of nonexistence or as he states; annihilation: the lack of existing. Even the fear of physical discomfort can be categorized as the fear of lack. Lacking what? Lacking comfort! Lacking heath, lacking safety. Heath, comfort, & safety, are all good things… However, life is fallible & comfort is not 24/7 reality! No matter who we are, sooner or later we will experience body pains so when our expectations are not alighted with reality, we fear reality, adding an extra layer of negativity to our lives & ironically making the experience of physical discomfort much harder to bare.

First off it helps to honestly identify the characteristics of fear in order to overcome it. One thing worth explaining is that there are 2 camps of fears; intellectual fear (scientifically put; frontal lobe of brain), & primordial fear (limbic system-aka “reptilian brain”). Most of our modern fears are intellectual fears. They come from the intellect so fast we don’t even notice it & perceive it in the body as anxiety or automatic negative reactions. Primordial fear is our animal survival responses to keep us out of danger. Often the intellectual fear can feed the primordial fear or visa-verse, coupled with our attachment to thought, make for a very hard pattern to break. So look at your life, what fears are constructive? & what fears only create problems for yourself & others? Awareness, presence, & mindfulness are KEY to discerning the difference & breaking the negative fear based patterns.

It is also worth noting that fear actually has a healthy constructive expression & it also has an unhealthy negative expression. The problem is that us human beings have evolved so detached from a healthy expression of our humanness that the vast majority of our experience of fear has no constructive or supportive basis in our lives & this “egoic fear” is what has become the source of humanities (& subsequently the entire planet’s) downfall. Indeed, all wars & injustices derive from this source. So not only your personal happiness, but the survival of man kind & the entire planet could very well hinge on this one base factor. Thus the slogan here is; “Help yourself, help the World.”

But I would say all these boil down to the equation of 2 basic fears & all fears derive from this 2 sources… These core-fears can be said in many ways…  the fear of existing (fear of life) & the fear of non-existing (fear of death).… which is also the fear of separateness (or conflict) & the fear of union (or harmony)… which can also be stated as the fear of truth (the unknown) & the fear of lies (the known)… which can also be interpreted as the fear of Samsara (or suffering) & the fear of Nirvana (or enlightenment). Can you guess which one are connected to “the fear of lack & the experience of lack”? Yep! you guessed it! ALL OF THEM! That’s why in Buddhism this is referred to as “the realm of the hungry ghost”. No matter what the hungry ghost eats, its hunger is never satisfied. This deep sense of “lack” remains.

Now how to overcome this “core-fear”? You have to completely let go of your ego which is the infrastructure of all your fears. This is the sticky-glue of all your afflictions. If this “letting go” does not come naturally, you have to go deep within & face yourself. For the purpose of identifying markers I will state there are 3 basic steps to overcoming fear once & for all.

• Realizing the Self – First, you have to stop pointing the finger everywhere else & realize that it is all you. It is your play & you are the star. You make your fears & suffering real because you believe in your own stories, you own mind. You are the creator of your own fears & mental suffering & you yourself also hold the key to ending your fears, to ending your suffering. In zen we sometimes say it this way; “Mind is Buddha”.

• Relinquishing the Self – Once you realize it is all you, then you have to be willing to let go of everything you call “you” (mind, ego, emotional identification & your personal psychology). When this happens the division between self & other drop away & unity is realized. For most people these first 2 steps are the lifetime of spiritual work & could be summed up as “ending internal conflict & abandoning the self” which is to say; to realize the NON-DUEL or to enter the Gateless-Gate. What once was viewed as real is now seen as illusion. In this realm FEAR has no more power here for when a demon scowls a bird sings & a sward can not cut what does not exist.

• Returning to Every-day Mind – Once you are able to let go of what you once called “you”, then the journey is to return to you. This stage is to come full circle & return back to the realm of the DUEL. In zen this is sometimes referred to as “everyday mind” The difference is you return to a FREE you, a LIBERATED you, without all the unnecessary FEARS & other negativity which once ran wild in your subconscious. This “you” IS you but is also NOT you. You have entered back into everyday reality without loosing the realization that there is no truth & no you. It is conceptual awareness which is free from its own attachments. Some may say a realized Buddha or in Western terms; To be in the World, but not of it.

Hence the famous saying of Ch’ing-yüan Wei-hsin (Seigen Ishin):
老僧三十年前未參禪時、見山是山、見水是水、及至後夾親見知識、
有箇入處、見山不是山、見 水不是水、而今得箇體歇處、依然見山秪是山、見水秪是水
“Before I had studied Zen for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and waters as waters. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and waters are not waters. But now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. For it’s just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and waters once again as waters.” [13 13 Ch’uan Teng Lu, 22. (The Way of Zen 126)

One important note is that these 3 outlined steps do not necessarily happening in this clearly defined order… it usually happens in little toggling pieces & parts because they all aid each-other. For example, as you grow a little is self-awareness, you may find a little part of the egoic self drops away. Imagine it to be like a building demolition. It can come down in many different ways. If you take down a little piece on this corner then it weakens another section. Perhaps it starts at the base or maybe the roof. Now with that in mind, you can not just extract 1 part & think that will solve you afflictions. There is indeed a supporting structure & various parts that rest on that structure. The pillars of this building are the root fears of the egoic self. To face these deep fears is an all or nothing scenario. Why do you think so many people would rather live with these fears than face them? Just talking about it in this way likely brings up a lot of FEARS but don’t worry my friend! When it all comes toppling down, you will be forever grateful.. because the TRUEST YOU is left standing!

As the Historical Buddha states:
(Dhammapada, Verses 153-154)

House-builder, you’re seen!
You will not build a house again.
All your rafters broken,
the ridge pole destroyed,
gone to the Unformed, the mind
has come to the end of craving.

Now the practical steps & practices to walking this road is for you to figure out what works best for you. There is no “one way”. For me it has been Zen Buddhism but only you can truly know what s right for you. Just remember if it is the path of TRUTH that you are interested in walking, then it must be the path of HONESTY; to be truly honest with yourself, to be honest with others, & honest with the World. This act of honesty will lead you forward & this honesty will transform you. It only requires one thing TOTAL COMMITMENT & SINCERITY. By commitment I do not mean blind faith but eyes wide open. This sincerity is the foundation of awakening. Without this you will spin your wheels of suffering till the day you die. As the Historical Buddha said; “There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting.”

Some suggested practices for working with overcoming FEAR:

• Meditation – I can not speak on every form of meditation because I haven’t tried them all. I do suggest zazen or maybe vipassana; these practices will allow you to let your guard down to just BE & the space to observe your own mind without detraction & extra judgment. This practice is incredible empowering, especially if you keep at it! It’s no mistake that countless mystic Masters have engaged in a life long practice of meditation. Various relaxation & “bliss-state” meditations can be good to help you get to a point where you can more easily face your fears but but from the Zen perspective, there is an element of control & chasing “altered-states” in such meditations which ultimately keep us bound to our egos that produce the fear we are trying to escape. In the end its not about escape or avoiding fears. It’s about waking up!

• Work on moment to moment mindfulness, presence, & awareness. You have immense power being sucked away by putting your mental & emotional energy in the past or future. But being fully present is where your life actually is.. not in the past, & not in the future. In fact time does not even actually exist. Being present & aware will give you the power needed to get from point A to point B. It will also make you capable of doing the work which can only be done in the present, where else would it be?!

• Work on cultivating compassion, loving-kindness, non-judgment, & understanding. These states have the power to break down the ego which holds fear in place. Also when facing these negative parts of us, it is absolutely necessary to approach yourself with these qualities. If you approach yourself with more negativity, it will be like trying to heal yourself with poison. This will just produce another version of egoic activity & it wont feel good’ either!

• Letting go of superficial thought patterns in favor of wise ones. Many fears are simply a result of an unexamined mind. Superficial thoughts produce fear & fear in-turn produces negative & superficial thoughts. Because you can recognize a wiser though means that you have a wiser side within you. Listen to this wiser voice & cultivate it. Observe your thoughts & if you notice it to be superficial, just smile at the thought, acknowledge it, then let it go without acting upon it… & then re-think! Also studying the teachings of various wisdom traditions will help your inner growth & gain new incites. This will help you develop a wiser mind. This wiser mind with help you grow in capacity to relinquish your FEARS.

• Whenever you can, make positive choices rather than negative ones. This will help you build more positive habits which are not based in fear. Engage in positive & healthy activities that will help you grow in confidence such as yoga, martial arts, creative projects. You can also use creative outlets to release the fears through art & music, etc. Practice spontaneity. Spontaneity encourage your natural freedom & celibates the natural creativity of life opening your life to more possibilities which breaks down the cage of FEAR. When you have a choice, stick to positive environments & surround yourself with positive people. Authentically positive people have a less fear based mind-set, we are collective creatures & this will rub off on you.

• Work to see the non-truth of your own thoughts. Intellectual fear is held together by a matrix of thoughts. We are addicted to our own thoughts & we believe in them. But are you thoughts actually ultimate reality? or are they just a flat picture painted of reality? A one sided  palatable version of your limited sensory perception? Because we believe our thoughts to be reality, we are attached to them. This attachment produces the experience of FEAR. If you can realize the untruth of though, ANY THOUGHT!, the FEAR is undermined & it will dissipate on its own accord. There is nothing wrong with thought its self, thought is GREAT! It’s our attachment to thoughts that make the FEARS happen. Once you can get with this, you can then utilize though without being attached to it. It’s a lot like watching a puppet show, thoroughly enjoying the show while at the same time you know it’s just a show & the puppets are not real. No attachment – No Fear! Don’t believe me? Cut the strings & see what happens!  :D

When you are a student of truth, you will begin to notice those who speak truth speak from the same source because life is truth & life itself is the teacher. What Benjamin is saying in this video is no different from what I have said above. Whatever you do, just make sure you are listening!

May all beings awaken. Let the way be realized clearly! Let fear be realized as illusion. As one, now & forever may you find your way out of suffering  my friend… May we build a better world, may our hearts & minds be free!

Endless Bows,
~Fugon Mugen