Sitting through fear

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“States of fear sometimes arise during meditation for no discernible reason. It is a common phenomenon, and there can be a number of causes. You may be experiencing the effect of something repressed long ago. Remember, thoughts arise first in the unconscious. The emotional contents of a thought complex often leak through into your conscious awareness long before the thought itself surfaces. If you sit through the fear, the memory itself may bubble up to a point where you can endure it. Or you may be dealing directly with the fear that we all fear: “fear of the unknown.” At some point in your meditation career you will be struck with the seriousness of what you are actually doing. You are tearing down the wall of illusion you have always used to explain life to yourself and to shield yourself from the intense flame of reality. You are about to meet ultimate truth face to face. That is scary. But it has to dealt with eventually. Go ahead and dive right in.”

~ Bhante Gunaratana
“Mindfulness in Plain English,” p. 101

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3 Responses to Sitting through fear

  1. Editor: “But it has to [be] death with”?

  2. admin says:

    Not sure of the point you are making? Yes, we all have to deal with the truth of old age, sickness and death, as the Buddha often taught.

  3. Cindy says:

    What are the causes of fear?

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