Some Initial Steps to Overcome Fear
and Struggle with Pain

The basic attitude of the Buddha towards any problem is best presented in the Four Noble Truths, the central teaching in Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths, in plain language are: first the reality or the problem, if you like; second the cause of it, (the problem) ; third the end of it (the problem) and lastly the solution. In physician's terms it would be like disease, the cause of disease, the recovery from it and the treatment.

In the Buddhist scriptures negative fear is regarded as an element that pollutes the human mind. It is one of our worst enemies in that it seeks to undermine all the happiness and progress of the human race. Its extinction is crucial to reach sainthood.

Yet even before we learn how to reason in life, we already experience fear when we are young. This fear can, of course, be assuaged by the love and the comfort we receive from our parents. Pain is more individual than fear because as soon as we are released from our mother's womb we experience it, we know it, although we cannot explain it

So how to cope with fear and pain ? A large part of Buddhist Canonical literature is devoted to addressing this very issue: How we can learn to deal with fear and pain. Not only can we human beings cope with fear but we can also defeat and uproot it. Fear is generated in our own minds. Fear is something that our mind invents while love is our natural inheritance that can be and must be cultivated.

For those who cannot help themselves, like children and the mentally ill, the best way to cope with fear and to deal with pain is to get as much support and comfort from our carers as possible. When such people experience love and compassion from those around them even their negative fear can be assuaged. Intellectually, economically and spiritually we believe that the strong have the duty and responsibility to care for and protect the weak in society.

This kind of love and compassion, according to the Buddha makes us one with a divine quality. Rejoicing in every achievement of others and presenting ourselves in a balanced frame of mind are the way to create confidence in those we meet and thereby help reduce the fear they face. These four qualities: love, compassion, rejoicing in another*s success and a balanced mind can convert the human world into a heavenly one. In Buddhism they are called The Four Sublime States.

For those who are rationally resourceful and more intellectual, psychological measures are needed .

First our attitude towards life should be examined constantly to see if it is realistic. Life, whether we like it or not, consists of good and bad, comfort and discomfort. Are we deliberately expecting only comfort while unreasonably trying to neglect the discomfort that is nevertheless a basic part of our life? If so, we have not recognized all the facts of our life. This mind set will never prepare us to face the ills of life which we can never totally eradicate, since our attitude to our own life is too incomplete, taking into account only half of reality - the positive half.

So we should be more aware of our unfulfilled expectations and the variety of our responses to them such as disappointment, frustration and depression. Unfulfilled expectations are a very common experience. The causes of fear are many and varied: fear of violence, fear of crime, fear of failure, fear of uncertainty, fear of the unknown, fear of disease and fear of death etc. While some are exacerbated by anxiety about the future, most fears are rooted in the past.

The Buddha said to learn how to live a life fully at the present moment is the best way to keep fear under practical control.

When they are less understood these phenomena can create more fear. For instance, we dislike discussing death and as a result we remain ignorant of it. Ignorance feeds our mind with fear. This is why the Buddha said we should meditate upon death so that we can understand it more and expel the fear of death. When death becomes less fearful other types of fear can then be more easily dealt with. Let us be mindful of fear and try to understand it. Recognition of it is the most imperative principle in dealing with fear. The same is true in encountering pain. Just to recognize that fear exists at that particular moment in our mind. Give it immediately the attention it deserves.

When we have recognized the fear, it is necessary that we have at least one other object to contemplate. This may be as simple as counting breathing or reflecting on some other positive objects like family members, friends or holy people like the Buddha that do really exist, but not on something imaginary. This reduces the chance of your mind becoming overwhelmed by fear. On the contrary, it creates a chance of regaining hope.

When there is more than one object to contemplate, the mind can have the opportunity to remain more objective when looking at fear and pain. Otherwise one may habitually identify oneself with the fear and the pain. It is always helpful to try to view fear and pain objectively by saying: it is painful or there is pain rather than I am in pain or I feel the pain. Personalising such objective objects only tends to increase the volume of them. In Buddhist meditation both fear and pain are objects to be noticed or observed.

Once fear or pain is recognized, to share it with some one else is another step in dealing with it. When one receives sympathy, understanding, love, compassion and reassurance from someone else, fear or pain is already being assuaged and is about to be weakened.

Apart from what we have briefly discussed above, other constituents of mental power like faith, sometimes expressed by the Buddhists as confidence, and a concentrated state of mind and determination are some other factors that can defeat fear and pain. They have to be developed.

Creating a civil society where the rule of law prevails and creating a caring and compassionate society where the less fortunate are not forgotten is also conducive to overcoming fear. We all have to play our part.

	Home Page
	Initial Steps to Cope with Fear and Pain
	Why we need to meditate
	The Concept of Dukkha
	Bhante answers your questions on meditation
	An Understanding of Anicca (Impermanence)