Another iconic image of Buddha’s fearlessness, is the story of the
rampaging elephant, enraged by wicked Devadatta. With loving kindness,
and a fearless disposition, Shakyamuni instantly subdued the great
beast. Devadatta tried to kill Buddha more than once, always failing.

The Abhaya mudra — the famous gesture of the Buddha holding up his
hand fearlessly (seen in many images of the Buddha) — expresses Buddhist
fearlessness in profound simplicity. The Awakened Mind with Awareness

Abahya Mudra (hand gesture) expresses Buddha’s fearlessness.

Buddha was Not Afraid of Death

In the Abhaya Sutta, Shakyamuni Buddha said, “And who is the person
who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death? There is the
case of the person who has abandoned passion, desire, fondness, thirst,
fever, and craving for sensuality. Then he comes down with a serious
disease. As he comes down with a serious disease, the thought does not
occur to him, ‘O, those beloved sensual pleasures will be taken from me,
and I will be taken from them!’ He does not grieve, is not tormented;
does not weep, beat his breast, or grow delirious. This is a person who,
subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death.”

Understanding Emptiness (Oneness) Helps Overcome Fear

Thich Nhat Hanh, the great Zen teacher, not a stranger to danger,
explained one of the remedies to overcome fear. He explained how
understanding Oneness (Emptiness) and Dependent Arising helps us
overcome fear: “The fourth notion to be thrown away is the notion of
life span. We believe that we are born at one point in time, that we
will die at another point in time, and that between is our life span.
Most of us believe we’ll spend seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred
years on this planet and then we’ll be gone. When we look deeply, we see
this is a wrong perception. In our minds, to be born means that from
nothing we became something; to die means that from something we become
nothing; and from someone we become no one.

“But a cloud can’t be born; it has come from the water in the rivers
and oceans, and dust and heat of the sun have helped create it. A cloud
can never die; it can only become rain or snow. A piece of paper can’t
be born; it’s made of trees, the sun, the cloud, the logger and the
worker in the paper factory. When we burn a piece of paper, the paper is
transformed into heat, ash, and smoke; it cannot be reduced to
nothingness. Birth and death are notions that cannot be applied to
reality.”

The problem with the difficult and misunderstood concept of Oneness
(Emptiness) and Dependent Arising is that it can take years of
meditation to grasp them sufficiently to overcome fear.

Pragmatic Fearlessness — “Doing Good”

A more pragmatic view of fearlessness is found in the Abhaya Sutta,
the “Fearless” Sutra — a discourse between the Blessed One and Janussoni
the brahman who challenged Buddha with his view “no one who, subject to
death, is not afraid or in terror of death.” The Buddha answers him
with four “cases” of people who would die in fear, and four who would
die without fear.

Strikingly, Buddha mentions a fearless person “who has done what is
good, has done what is skillful, has given protection to those in fear,
and has not done what is evil, savage, or cruel. Then he comes down with
a serious disease. As he comes down with a serious disease, the thought
occurs to him, ‘I have done what is good, have done what is skillful,
have given protection to those in fear, and I have not done what is
evil, savage, or cruel… He does not grieve, is not tormented; does not
weep, beat his breast, or grow delirious. This, too, is a person who,
subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death.”

Devadatta unsuccessfully tries to kill Buddha — again — this time with a rock.

It’s easy to understand the notion that a good person will receive a
reward —good Kamma leading to good rebirth as a Buddhist belief. Yet,
Buddha made it clear in the same Sutta, that the real key to freedom
from fear is the person “who has abandoned passion, desire, fondness,
thirst, fever, and craving for sensuality.” This person has lived the
Eightfold Path, taught by Buddha, based on the Four Noble Truths. This
person, who has removed attachments and craving, has no reason to fear.
If you don’t feel attached to illusory enjoyments, you don’t fear losing
them.

Four Types of People Free from Fear

In all, Buddha gave examples of four types of people who are free of
fear. The journey away from fear is a lifetime one — not an overnight
revelation. Buddha lived for eighty-years and died without fear. His
followers likewise spent lifetimes living the eightfold path. At what
point does fear completely disappear? In the case of Shakyamuni Buddha,
that happened under the Bodhi Tree when he achieved Awakenment with awareness. For
us, we might not fully achieve fearlessness until we achieve significant
realizations, or even Awakenment with Awareness.

Buddha passed peacefully into paranibbana — with no fear.

Yet, there are degrees of fear. The person who has “mostly” abandoned
attachments and cravings for sensualities could probably be said to be
“mostly” free from fear. The person, like the “good person” Buddha
described, could also feel fulfilled, happy and content, and therefore
mostly free of fear.

Some Fears are Wholesome

Reverend Zensho Susan O’Connell wrote: “Although there are some
fears that seem wholesome — the fear of hurting others, the fear of
death or injury that encourages us to put on our seatbelts, etc. — I
believe that it is hardly ever helpful to dwell in fear or to spend more
that an initial few moments breathing into it. However, to deny all
fears, is just another way of providing distance from fears. Am I really
fearless if I am not intimate with my fear?.”

“None of us are immune to fear. Indeed, the Buddha taught that, at
the base, all beings experience a state of anxiety, fed by our habit of
resisting the impermanence of our existence.”

Rev. O’Connel pointed out that the “antidote to fear” is not denial —
pretending to be brave — but to “overcome the cause of fear … the
delusion that we are unchanging beings who need to protect ourselves
from what we are separate from.”

Remedy for Fear — Mindfulness

“In the Sutta on the Full Awareness of Breathing, in Pali the
Anapanasati Sutta, the Buddha shows us how to transform our fear,
despair, anger and craving. Breathing is a means of awakening and
maintaining full attention in order to look carefully, long and deeply,
see the nature of all things, and arrive at liberation.” —Thich Nhat
Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh explained that being in the present moment, letting
the past go, not worrying about what might come in the future, is the
secret to fearlessness. The past is gone. The future isn’t here yet. If
you dwell only in this moment, in this second, there is no fear. You
can’t fear the future if you’re not thinking of the future. You can’t
fear the loss of past memories if you’re putting aside the past.

Mindfulness is a state of “observation” — you observe your own
breath, your own mind, your own body, your own actions in the present
moment only. If your mind is plagued with fear, mindfulness meditation
allows you to detach and observe the thoughts, analyze them, become your
own teacher.

Thich Nhat Hanh explains, “Sometimes fear manifests, and our mindful
breathing brings us back to our fear so we can embrace it. We look
deeply into the nature of our fear to reconcile ourselves with it…
transform it.”

Storm Meditation

For example, let’s say you are afraid of thunder storms. Right now,
in this moment, your house is shaking with the rumble of a ferocious
storm. Wind lashes your house, the trees beat your roof, the windows
shake. Instead of turning on the television full blast, and trying to
“forget” the storm outside, Buddhist teachers might suggest you sit in
meditation, listen to the storm, hear every sound, watch and observe
your own fearful thoughts.

See the panic. Watch and observe in as detached a way as possible.
Stay only in the present. Observe your own breath, how fast and fearful
it seems, but don’t judge — simply observe. The simple act of
observation, in the present moment, almost immediately slows your pulse
rate, your breath and your racing, fearful thoughts.

The key to successful mindfulness is detached observation. When you
first start observing your fear, you’ll still feel entangled in it. But
observe even that entanglement. Don’t try to remove the entanglement, or
analyze it, or destroy it — simply observe it.

Metta Remedy — “Armor of Loving Kindness”

Buddha, in the “Fearless” Sutra (below), gave the examples four
people who are free from fear. He described one as he “who has done what
is good, has done what is skillful, has given protection to those in
fear.” [2]

Teacher Sylvia Boorstein, co-founding teaching at Spirit Rock
Meditation Center, gave the example of a Zen Buddhist story to explain
the “Armor of Loving Kindness.” She wrote:

“A fierce and terrifying band of samurai was riding through the
countryside, bringing fear and harm wherever they went. As they were
approaching one particular town, all the monks in the town’s monastery
fled, except for the abbot. When the band of warriors entered the
monastery, they found the abbot sitting at the front of the shrine room
in perfect posture. The fierce leader took out his sword and said,
“Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know that I’m the sort of person who
could run you through with my sword without batting an eye?” The Zen
master responded, “And I, sir, am the sort of man who could be run
through by a sword without batting an eye.”

She explained that at first she didn’t warm up to the story, “it
seemed so offhanded about life.” Later, she came to understand it
differently:

“Fearlessness also comes from benevolence and goodwill in the face
of whatever oppresses you. You are afraid, but instead of fighting what
faces you, you embrace it and accept it—you develop loving-kindness as a
direct antidote to fear.”

Another Remedy for Fear — Your Buddha Nature

Taking refuge in the Three Jewels, as explained by Thich Nhat Hanh,
is taking refuge in your own Buddha Nature. This is a strong remedy for
fear. If you understand your Buddha Nature, or the concept of Oneness
with all beings, there’s no reason for fear.

Most of us aren’t that advanced.

Until we are, at least in Vajrayana and Mahayana, we can rely on
meditative deities, who are expressions of the inner Buddha Nature —
your Buddha within. If you practice deity meditation methods, where you
visualize yourself as an Awakened with Awareness Deity, fear automatically seems to
drop away.

Green Tara’s kind face. Tara is known as Tara the Rescuer.

Mantra is a “condensed” form of deity meditation. For example, Green
Tara is associated with protection. Reciting her mantra — while on board
an airplane that is being violently tossed in a turbulence — can calm
the mind. Her mantra is:

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha

Reciting it over and over, during a nerve-wracking event, is a
kind of formulated mindfulness. By staying focused on Green Tara, and
her active aspect as a rescuer, you are focusing on your own inner
Buddha Nature.

The definition of mantra is “protection for the mind.” Mantra works
at the level of your own mind. Since fear is inside your mind, and Tara
is inside your heart, and the mantra is on your speech, this can be a
very powerful way to calm yourself in the face of terror or fear.

Abhaya Sutta

Fearless Sutta

Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Then Janussoni the brahman went to the Blessed One and, on arrival,
exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly
greetings and courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there he
said to the Blessed One: “I am of the view and opinion that there is no
one who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death.”

The Blessed One said: “brahman, there are those who, subject to
death, are afraid and in terror of death. And there are those who,
subject to death, are not afraid or in terror of death.

“And who is the person who, subject to death, is afraid and in terror
of death? There is the case of the person who has not abandoned
passion, desire, fondness, thirst, fever, and craving for sensuality.
Then he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with a
serious disease, the thought occurs to him, ‘O, those beloved sensual
pleasures will be taken from me, and I will be taken from them!’ He
grieves and is tormented, weeps, beats his breast, and grows delirious.
This is a person who, subject to death, is afraid and in terror of
death.

“Furthermore, there is the case of the person who has not abandoned
passion, desire, fondness, thirst, fever, and craving for the body. Then
he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with a serious
disease, the thought occurs to him, ‘O, my beloved body will be taken
from me, and I will be taken from my body!’ He grieves and is tormented,
weeps, beats his breast, and grows delirious. This, too, is a person
who, subject to death, is afraid and in terror of death.

“Furthermore, there is the case of the person who has not done what
is good, has not done what is skillful, has not given protection to
those in fear, and instead has done what is evil, savage, and cruel.
Then he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with a
serious disease, the thought occurs to him, ‘I have not done what is
good, have not done what is skillful, have not given protection to those
in fear, and instead have done what is evil, savage, and cruel. To the
extent that there is a destination for those who have not done what is
good, have not done what is skillful, have not given protection to those
in fear, and instead have done what is evil, savage, and cruel, that’s
where I’m headed after death.’ He grieves and is tormented, weeps, beats
his breast, and grows delirious. This, too, is a person who, subject to
death, is afraid and in terror of death.

“Furthermore, there is the case of the person in doubt and
perplexity, who has not arrived at certainty with regard to the True
Dhamma. Then he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with
a serious disease, the thought occurs to him, ‘How doubtful and
perplexed I am! I have not arrived at any certainty with regard to the
True Dhamma!’ He grieves and is tormented, weeps, beats his breast, and
grows delirious. This, too, is a person who, subject to death, is afraid
and in terror of death.

“These, brahman, are four people who, subject to death, are afraid and in terror of death.

“And who is the person who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death?

“There is the case of the person who has abandoned passion, desire,
fondness, thirst, fever, and craving for sensuality. Then he comes down
with a serious disease. As he comes down with a serious disease, the
thought does not occur to him, ‘O, those beloved sensual pleasures will
be taken from me, and I will be taken from them!’ He does not grieve, is
not tormented; does not weep, beat his breast, or grow delirious. This
is a person who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death.

“Furthermore, there is the case of the person who has abandoned
passion, desire, fondness, thirst, fever, and craving for the body. Then
he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with a serious
disease, the thought does not occur to him, ‘O, my beloved body will be
taken from me, and I will be taken from my body!’ He does not grieve, is
not tormented; does not weep, beat his breast, or grow delirious. This,
too, is a person who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of
death.

“Furthermore, there is the case of the person who has done what is
good, has done what is skillful, has given protection to those in fear,
and has not done what is evil, savage, or cruel. Then he comes down with
a serious disease. As he comes down with a serious disease, the thought
occurs to him, ‘I have done what is good, have done what is skillful,
have given protection to those in fear, and I have not done what is
evil, savage, or cruel. To the extent that there is a destination for
those who have done what is good, what is skillful, have given
protection to those in fear, and have not done what is evil, savage, or
cruel, that’s where I’m headed after death.’ He does not grieve, is not
tormented; does not weep, beat his breast, or grow delirious. This, too,
is a person who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death.

“Furthermore, there is the case of the person who has no doubt or
perplexity, who has arrived at certainty with regard to the True Dhamma.
Then he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with a
serious disease, the thought occurs to him, ‘I have no doubt or
perplexity. I have arrived at certainty with regard to the True Dhamma.’
He does not grieve, is not tormented; does not weep, beat his breast,
or grow delirious. This, too, is a person who, subject to death, is not
afraid or in terror of death.

“These, Brahman, are four people who, subject to death, are not afraid or in terror of death.”

When this was said, Janussoni the brahman said to the Blessed One:
“Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place
upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way
to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with
eyes could see forms, in the same way has Master Gotama — through many
lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear. I go to Master Gotama for
refuge, to the Dhamma, and to the Sangha of monks. May Master Gotama
remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for refuge, from this
day forward, for life.”

NOTES

[1]  “What are you afraid of? Cultivating fearlessness in Buddhism”
Huffington Post
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-zesho-susan-oconnell/what-are-you-afraid-of_b_1079091.html

[2] Abhaya Sutta, Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu [Full text above in English.]

[3] Commentary on the Sutra of the Middle Way, from Awakening of the Heart, by Thich Nhat Hanh

[4] “Fear and Fearlessness”, Lion’s Roar, June 7, 2016