Fearlessness is like a reservoir of trust. This trust arises from the experience of basic goodness. When we feel basically good, rather than degraded or condemned, then we become very inquisitive, looking into every situation and examining it. We don’t want to fool ourselves by relying on belief alone. Rather, we want to make a personal connection with reality.

The reservoir of trust is a very simple, straightforward idea. If we accept a challenge and take certain steps to accomplish something, the process will yield results–either success or failure. When you sow a seed or plant a tree, either the seed will germinate, the tree will grow, or it will die. Similarly for the inquisitive warrior, trust means that we know that our actions will bring a definite response from reality. We know that we will get a message.

Failure generally is telling us that our action has been undisciplined and inaccurate in some way. Therefore, it fails. When our action is fully disciplined, it usually is fulfilled; we have success. But those responses are not regarded as either punishment or congratulations.

From Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery, pp. 69-70.

Visit the Chogyam Trungpa Digital Library to listen to and watch more than 400 recordings.