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How can one get rid of Fear(fear from an enemy, fear from an insect, fear from an animal,etc.) or does this reduce as one gets closer to Nibbana?
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Yes, I would say so, in the ultimate sense it will go away the closer one gets to Nibbana. But there are many intensities of a fear one is experiencing, because a fear is an aversion, that “something should not happen that would go against my hope/wish”, and so as with all other defilements, it is always important to be mindful of the emotion, understand the underlying attachment or craving, reflect on this with the understanding of anicca/dukkha/anatta (e.g. reflecting about “what exactly is it one is afraid of?” “why do I hold as true or important for myself, that it makes me afraid to lose or face such a situation?”, and with the understanding that holding on and “trying to manage” any kind of rupa is stressful, subjects one to suffering, one will be able to handle the emotion and reach to deeper understanding of oneself.
One other aspect is the simple truth that any rupa one is attached to, if one does not have it – that makes one grief for it, desire it, want it, long for it, … and if one has it, one will be afraid to lose it (hence fear is part of every desire/craving/attachment).
But this is only a general idea, I think that fears can have many different forms, e.g. fear from an enemy could be very much a problem if one is engaged in many immoral activities or if one is acting in a way that makes it easy for you to be an enemy. Such a kind of fear can easily be changed once one understands some Dhamma and progresses on the path. On the other hand some fears are more “self-preservatory”, as the latter you mentioned, fear from an insect, where one is “afraid to lose one’s life” or be hurt, and these ones might only really go away with Arahant stage, because they are more related to the mana- cetasika (sense of pride, sense of self).
That would be my ideas.
Best wishes
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Yes. The fear of anything in this world will go away when one attains the Arahanthood.
– The greatest fear is fear of death. An Arahant does not even have that; it is relief to be separated from the suffering and fear-filled world.A less deep aspect to look into is why one has to deal with enemies, animals, etc.
– We all have done enough kamma to “attract enemies, and other fears”.
– The way to avoid those is to make sure to NOT PROVIDE THE CONDITIONS for such problems to appear.
– I will provide a simple example. If one keeps the house (even the sink area in the kitchen) dirty that will attract insects. Keeping everything clean will avoid such issues.
– Cultivation of Metta Bhavana could be a solution to the “enemy issue”. If the situation is severe, moving away from such persons may need to be considered.One analogy I often cite is the following. If one goes to a bad neighborhood at night, that is a perfect example of “setting the conditions” for bad things to happen.
– In other words, we all have enough “root causes” for bad things to happen (via kamma done in previous lives). We just need to be mindful NOT TO provide CONDITIONS for them to bear fruit.1 user thanked author for this post.
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