Fearlessness arises out of understanding fear. Step by step, you begin to understand your fear, and at last you begin to understand fearlessness. At first there is a sense of relief, that you are finally looking into your fear and facing it. Then you develop inquisitiveness. You want to explore the whole area of fear. Having explored it, you can actualize real fearlessness. Such fearlessness is quite sharp, like a razor knife That inquisitive razor knife cuts fear.
Then fearlessness dawns as a sense of humor or light touch. At that point, you remember that you are not just a frightened, solitary person. You remember that you live in a society. When we connect with other human beings, we touch into our creativity as human beings, and we begin to expand our world. That is the expression of fearlessness.
From “Making Friends with Fear,” in Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery, page 85.
Visit the Chogyam Trungpa Digital Library to access more than 350 audio and video recordings.