두려움 극복하기: 진정한 자유와 이해 얻기

### 진정한 자유로 가는 길: 담마파다에 따른 두려움 극복하기
* 🧘 부처님께서는 **지혜로운 사람은 두려움을 넘어설 때 진정으로 자유로워진다**고 말씀하셨습니다.
* 🐻 두려움은 눈을 멀게 하고, 마음을 통제하며, 배움을 방해합니다. **두려움은 고통으로부터 자신을 보호하려는 욕구**에서 비롯됩니다.
* 🔮 "우리의 보호는 운명의 손에 달려 있다." **운명은 계약에 따라 거래**되며, 이 계약을 이해하면 우리가 받는 고통을 줄일 수 있습니다.
* 😨 마음에서 두려움을 완전히 없애기 위해서는 **운명이 우리에게 주는 고통이 필요**하고 **견딜 수 있다는 두 가지 사실**이 사실이어야 합니다.
* 🗣 이 대화는 두려움의 마음을 없애는 방법에 대해 탐구합니다. 스님과 학생은 **두려움이 어떻게 이해의 장애물**이며 **자신을 보호하려는 욕망**에서 비롯되는지에 대해 이야기합니다.
* ⚔ 두려움이 마음속에 존재하는 한, 우리를 통제하려는 **칼을 든 폭군**은 항상 존재합니다.
* 🕊 **두려움이 제거되어야만** 우리는 누구의 통제도 받지 않고 진정으로 자유로워질 수 있습니다.

두려움은 학습을 방해하고 고통으로부터 자신을 보호하려는 욕구에서 비롯되므로 진정한 자유를 위해서는 두려움을 완전히 없애는 것이 필요합니다.

In The Dhammapada, the Buddha says that a wise person is beyond fear, and as a result, is truly free. And there’s a Zen story that shares a similar message. During a Japanese civil war, an army was taking control of different villages. And in one village, everyone had left except for the Zen master. So the general of the army got curious about who this man was and went to the temple to see him. The general wanted the Zen master to submit to his will, and when the master would not submit, the general took out his sword and said, “Fool, don’t you see? I’m the type of man that can put a sword through you without blinking an eye.” To which the master calmly said, “Don’t you see? I’m the type of man who can have a sword put through him without blinking an eye.” That’s what true freedom is, isn’t it? To be without fear.

Because as long as we fear something, we’re controlled by that thing. As long as we fear the sword, there’s always a tyrant behind it trying to control us. Only a mind without fear is truly free, unable to be controlled by something, or someone, else. So can I purge the mind of fear, once and for all? That’s what I’m interested in exploring, and I’m gonna explore that idea through a dialogue. --- The following is a conversation between a monk (M) and a student (S). M: Fear is blinding. It’s controlling. If you step into a forest, you’ll imagine there’s a bear in the trees, and you’ll see everything through that fear, in relation to that fear, which means you won’t see the world as it is. Fear projects the bear into every dark corner, into the rustle of every bush, into the snapping of every twig. Fear consumes the mind, distorts it, and controls it, and that’s why it’s blinding.

S: But fear protects you, doesn’t it? If you think there’s a bear in the woods,
you’ll be more careful, which will keep you safer, don’t you think? M: No, that’s a myth. Fear won’t protect you. Understanding that bears exist, that there
are bears in the forest, the dangers of bears, and how to deal with those dangers is what
really protects you. Understanding protects you, not fear, and
actually, fear will prevent your understanding from growing. S: How does fear prevent your understanding
from growing? M: Fear leads to fixation on the fear-producing
image. If you're afraid someone is following you, you
project them into every dark corner, into every alleyway, into every car driving behind
you, and so on. Fear is a blinder that largely prevents you
from seeing the world. Think about the last time you were afraid
in the forest. Did you stop to take in new views, look at
new forms of life, and analyze the world in

a new way? Or were you so fixated on the fear-producing
image that it was all you could see and think about? Fear prevents you from learning. If you’re afraid that someone will break
into your house, the doors will never feel locked enough to you. You’ll keep checking: /are they locked? Are they still locked? How about now?/ You’ve seen that the door
is locked, but you keep checking. Why? Fear doesn’t allow the mind to update its
knowledge. It doesn’t let you learn. S: How do I overcome fear then? How do I clear it from my mind? M: To overcome fear, you have to pull it out
completely from the root. So let’s get to the root of fear. S: OK, where do we start? M: Fear is produced by thought. The thought of a bear attacking you, or losing
your money, or losing a loved one, produces fear.

So fear arises from an image of future pain. S: Then why do I have these thoughts? M: All thoughts arise from desire. The desire to protect yourself from pain,
physical or psychological, leads to fear. Think about it. If you wanna keep yourself secure, you’ll
begin to imagine all the ways that security can be threatened. You’ll think, what if someone crashes into
me while driving, or what if the house catches fire while I'm sleeping, or what if everyone
makes fun of me, or what if there’s a snake in the grass, and all of these images create
fear in the mind. S: OK, but the desire to protect yourself
from pain sounds reasonable. What’s wrong with it? M: You think it’s reasonable? Fair enough. Let’s take a closer look at whether it is. Can you protect yourself from pain? A tornado can destroy your home tomorrow,
you can’t control that. A car could swerve off the road and hit you,
you can’t control that.

Someone else can get you sick. You can’t control that. Protection from pain doesn’t lie in your hands. It lies in the hands of Fate. S: With all due respect, that sounds dumb. Are you saying I should just leave my security in the hands of Fate? Should I just go cross the road blindfolded then? Should I just lie in bed and do nothing? Let Fate handle it all? M: You’re misunderstanding me. You don’t really have a choice. You could build a super secure underground bunker, and a supernova can still take the Earth out. You can isolate yourself from the world, but you’ll still feel the pain of alienation, isolation, and loneliness. You can cross the road blindfolded if you want, but you’ll probably get hit by a car. You can lie in bed all you want, but you’ll probably rot. I’m not saying you “should” do anything.

But I’m saying, whatever you do, Fate will have the final word. Fate will decide the consequences of your actions, but you can control your actions. S: So what do I do? M: First, do you agree that your security ultimately lies in the hands of Fate? We can’t move forward unless you do. S: I do, but now I’m afraid of Fate. What if Fate decides to give me pain? M: Yeah, you still have two fears: the fear of Fate and the fear of pain. So let’s start by understanding Fate. When you throw a ball in the air, it’s the fate of that ball, as far as we know, to come back down. When a plane acts in accordance with aerodynamic laws, it’s the fate of the plane to fly. When water reaches a certain temperature, it’s the fate of that water to evaporate. Do you agree with all of this?

S: Yeah, I agree. M: So Fate is like the merchant or accountant
we all trade with. There’s a contract by which Fate trades,
and the best we can do is to try and understand that contract. By learning the terms of that contract, you
can lessen the pain you receive from Fate over time. S: OK, that makes me feel a bit better. But I still have the fear of Fate giving me
pain. M: Yeah, and now we’re down to the final
fear. The fear of Fate giving you pain. S: How do I overcome this final fear? M: There are two things that have to be true
to eliminate this fear. So let me ask you a question. What if the pain Fate gives you is unnecessary? How would that make you feel? S: That would make me resentful. Fate could have not given me that pain but
did. I would resent Fate for that. I’d resent the world for that.

And I would be more afraid of Fate, because
She can give me pain when I don’t need it, at any time, and it won’t teach me anything. All of that would be awful. M: Exactly. So the first thing that must be true is that
the pain we receive is necessary. Do you accept that? S: OK, I accept that. But I’m still afraid of feeling the pain. M: This brings us to my second question. If the pain Fate gives you is unbearable,
how does that make you feel? S: Afraid. I’m afraid of receiving a pain that I can’t
bear. M: So that’s the second thing that must
be true to eliminate fear: every pain Fate gives you is bearable. So when you believe that Fate only gives you
pain that is necessary and bearable, then fear vanishes from the mind. --- In The Dhammapada, the Buddha says that a
wise person is beyond fear and, as a result

is truly free, and I explored this idea more
deeply through a dialogue. I was interested in the complete elimination
of fear from the mind, and here’s where I’ve arrived. Fear is a barrier that prevents the mind from
learning, and the source of fear is our desire to protect ourselves from pain. But we can’t protect ourselves from pain. Our protection lies in the hands of Fate. Fate trades by a contract, and it’s possible
to learn this contract and lessen the amount of pain we receive in life. But to completely eliminate fear from the
mind, two things have to be true: when Fate does give us pain, it’s necessary and bearable. And only when fear vanishes are we able to
be free, uncontrolled by anyone. But as long as fear exists in the mind, there’s
always a tyrant with a sword to control us. As always, this is just my opinion and understanding
of the Buddha’s words, not advice.

Feel free to use this information however you like, and if you have a different take on his words, I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Buddha - Conquer Fear, Become Free

Freedom in Thought

진정한 자유를 위한 두려움 극복

부처님과 선승은 모두 진정한 자유는 두려움을 넘어서는 것에서 비롯된다고 가르칩니다.

두려움은 세상을 있는 그대로 보지 못하도록 눈을 멀게 하고 통제하는 것으로 묘사됩니다.

두려움이 아니라 위험의 근원과 대처 방법을 이해하는 것이 진정으로 사람을 보호하는 것입니다.

두려움은 두려움의 근원에 집착하게 만들어 이해를 방해하고, 따라서 세상을 온전히 경험하지 못하게 한다고 합니다.

두려움의 근본 원인을 이해하여 극복하기

두려움은 부정적인 이미지와 생각에 마음을 집착하게 만들어 학습을 방해합니다.

두려움의 근원은 생각의 생성에 있으며, 이는 결국 고통으로부터 자신을 보호하려는 욕구에서 비롯됩니다.

그러나 많은 잠재적 고통의 원인은 통제할 수 없기 때문에 고통으로부터 자신을 완전히 보호할 수 있다는 믿음은 도전받습니다.

인생에서 운명의 역할 수용하기

안전이 운명의 손에 달려 있다고 믿는다는 것은 수동적인 태도가 아니라 결과를 예측할 수 없다는 것을 받아들이는 것을 의미합니다.

운명은 궁극적으로 우리의 행동의 결과를 결정하지만, 우리는 여전히 우리의 선택에 대한 통제권을 가지고 있습니다.

운명의 역할을 이해하고 받아들이면 미지에 대한 두려움을 극복하고 예측할 수 없는 삶에서 평화를 찾는 데 도움이 될 수 있습니다.

운명에 대한 두려움의 이해와 극복

운명은 우리와 계약을 맺은 거래 파트너로 간주되며, 이 계약을 이해하면 운명이 가져오는 고통을 줄이는 데 도움이 될 수 있습니다.

고통을 유발하는 운명에 대한 두려움은 그 고통이 필요하고 견딜 수 있다는 것을 받아들임으로써 극복할 수 있습니다.

담마파다의 부처님 말씀에 따르면 지혜로운 사람은 두려움을 초월할 수 있으며, 이러한 이해가 운명에 대한 두려움을 극복하는 열쇠임을 시사합니다.

두려움은 고통을 피하려는 욕구에서 비롯된 학습의 장애물이지만, 궁극적으로 우리 자신을 완전히 보호할 수는 없습니다.

운명의 역할과 고통의 필연성을 받아들이는 법을 배우면 두려움의 지배력을 줄일 수 있습니다.

진정한 자유는 두려움이 없을 때, 외부의 힘에 의해 통제되지 않을 수 있을 때 찾아옵니다.