Fearlessness on the Path of Meditation

Some people are of the view that in order to enter the spiritual path one has to forget
about the world and everything we know. However, rather than forgetting about or
turning ones back on the world, a true meditation practitioner is a person that
completely surrenders themselves to, and becomes fully immersed in, the world. In
order to surrender ourselves to the world we first have to abandon hope and fear.
When we have hope, we leave ourselves exposed to suffering. We suffer when our
hopes and expectations are not met. Wherever there is hope, there is also fear the
fear that our hopes will not be realised.
Many people think that in order to be happy they need hope. But this kind of
happiness is very conditional and is reliant upon the presence of external factors.
Relying for our happiness on external factors will never lead to lasting happiness
because situations and phenomena are changing all of the time there is no way we
can control them all. By always hoping to be somewhere else, be someone else, or
have something else, we effectively turn our back on the present moment and deep
spiritual peace can never take root in the mind. This is not to say that we should not
make efforts to improve our current situation, but we should do so in such a way
that we do not allow the mind to intoxicate itself with hope that our efforts will bear
fruit. In other words, if we wish to change or improve our current circumstances,
we should do so with absolute focus to the task at hand but remain completely
unattached to expecting that we are somehow going to gain something or get
somewhere.
It is by engaging in, yet remaining completely unattached to, all that we experience
that we create the correct conditions for gaining our first taste of unconditional
fearlessness. When they have become adept at abandoning hope and desire,
absolutely nothing can shake the meditation practitioners confidence. Without
trying, they begin to emanate strength, courage, and contentedness. They remain

centred and un-phased by any situation. People cant help but notice the fearlessness
that exudes from the person walking the path of meditation. However, because the
meditators fearlessness stems from a place of calm, compassion, and nonattachment, people invariable feel reassured and safe in their presence.
Of course, there will always be some people who feel threatened and unsettled in
the presence of a person that has wholeheartedly entered the path of meditation.
However, rather than actually being afraid of the meditation practitioner, it is more
the case that such people are afraid of themselves. Due to being free of hope and
the idea of being somewhere else or being somebody else, the mind of an
accomplished meditator is calm and completely clear. When others encounter this
clear awareness, it acts as a mirror and reflects back upon them that which is
prominent in their mind. Therefore, upon meeting a genuine meditation practitioner,
some people are forced to face up to the fact they are living a meaningless soap opera
and that they are effectively devoid of spiritual awareness. Understandably, this is a
difficult pill to swallow but having it pointed out is a good thing because it gives
people the opportunity to examine their life choices and to make changes where
appropriate. However, it is often the case that people dont want to admit that there
is no substance to the self they have worked so hard to create. They become angry
at themselves and at what is reflected in the meditation practitioners mind.
As referred to above, the quality of fearlessness that arises naturally as part of walking
the path of meditation stems from a place of wisdom, compassion, and having
abandoned all hopes. Consequently, it has absolutely nothing to do with being
macho or deliberately trying to be courageous. These types of fearlessness are very
much reliant on the presence of a me, a mine, and an I. The fearlessness that
exudes from the authentic meditation practitioner is what is left after the me, mine,
and I are removed from the equation. For this reason, the fearlessness that the
meditator experiences is completely devoid of aggression and is without a personal
agenda.
An important source of the authentic meditation practitioners fearlessness is
absolute commitment to the path that they are walking. They do not make a
distinction between spiritual practice and time at work or time with the family.
Whatever they are doing and wherever they find themselves, they strive to perfect
each breath, moment, and activity of their lives. This unremitting commitment to
their chosen path provides them with access to an immense resource of spiritual
energy. It is the energy of the present moment that flows through and connects all

phenomena. By tapping into and nourishing themselves in this energy, the authentic
meditation practitioner is able to respond with fearlessness and take whatever
happens in their stride. Everything that they encounter forms part of their practice.
It doesnt matter if they are seen as a national hero or if the whole country despises
and rises against them a person that has truly entered the path of meditation has
absolute confidence in what they are doing. This is a beautiful and invigorating way
to live.
Ven Edo Shonin and Ven William Van Gordon
Further Reading
Chah, A. (2011). The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah. Northumberland: Aruna
Publications.
Dalai Lama. (2001). Stages of Meditation: Training the Mind for Wisdom. London: Rider.
Khyentse, D. (2007). The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a
Bodhisattva. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
Nanamoli Bhikkhu. (1979). The Path of Purification: Visuddhi Magga. Kandy (Sri
Lanka): Buddhist Publication Society.
Santideva. (1997). A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life. (V. A. Wallace, & A. B.
Wallace, Trans.) New York: Snow Lion Publications.
Tsong-Kha-pa. (2004). The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Vol.
1). (J. W. Cutler, G. Newland, Eds., & The Lamrim Chenmo Translation
committee, Trans.) New York: Snow Lion Publications.
Trungpa, C. (2002). Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Boston: Shambala.