Chödrön Pema - Smile at fear: awakening the true heart of bravery

The teachings presented in this book are transformationaland especially relevant today, when so many of us are facing uncertainty and anxiety. Chgyam Trungpa shows us how to uncover our innate strength, confidence, and joy under any circumstances. I strongly recommend this book to all those seeking awakening and freedom.

Pema Chdrn

Chgyam Trungpa offers us a rich banquet with many inviting, intriguing, and delicious glimpses into the Buddhist perspective on our mind and life.

Daniel Goleman

There is no one better than Chgyam Trungpa to show us how to be fearless. He overcame great difficulties while remaining true to his principlesbravery, compassion, and gentleness. These are the qualities of a Shambhala warrior, which shine through brilliantly in this book.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

This is powerful dharma encouragement to awaken our own fearless and wise heartfrom one of the most remarkable and brilliant teachers of modern times.

Jack Kornfield

This book offers each of us an encounter with our own fearlessness. I will keep this book close by and treasure it for the rest of my life.

Margaret J. Wheatley

Chgyam Trungpas vision of fearlessness as honesty, joyfulness, sadness, and openness is inspiring and particularly relevant to our historical moment.

Norman Fischer

A book that should be included in nearly every Buddhists library.

Elephant Journal

ABOUT THE BOOK

Many of us, without even realizing it, are dominated by fear. We might be aware of some of our fearsperhaps we are afraid of public speaking, of financial hardship, or of losing a loved one. Chgyam Trungpa shows us that most of us suffer from a far more pervasive fearfulness: fear of ourselves. We feel ashamed and embarrassed to look at our feelings or acknowledge our styles of thinking and acting; we dont want to face the reality of our moment-to-moment experience. It is this fear that keeps us trapped in cycles of suffering, despair, and distress.

Chgyam Trungpa offers us a vision of moving beyond fear to discover the innate bravery, trust, and delight in life that lies at the core of our being. Drawing on the Shambhala Buddhist teachings, he explains how we can each become a spiritual warrior: a person who faces each moment of life with openness and fearlessness. The ultimate definition of bravery is not being afraid of who you are, writes Chgyam Trungpa. In this book he offers the insights and strategies to claim victory over fear.

CHGYAM TRUNGPA (19401987)meditation master, teacher, and artistfounded Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, the first Buddhist-inspired university in North America; the Shambhala Training program; and an international association of meditation centers known as Shambhala International. He is the author of numerous books, including Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, and The Myth of Freedom.

The compiler and editor of The Collected Works of Chgyam Trungpa, CAROLYN ROSE GIMIAN has been editing the works of Chgyam Trungpa for more than twenty-five years. She is the founding director of the Shambhala Archives, the archival repository for Chgyam Trungpas work in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Smile at Fear

AWAKENING THE TRUE HEART

OF BRAVERY

Chgyam Trungpa

Edited by Carolyn Rose Gimian

Foreword by Pema Chdrn

Shambhala

Boston & London

2010

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

www.shambhala.com

2009 by Diana J. Mukpo

For further copyright information, see the Sources section.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Trungpa, Chgyam, 19391987.

Smile at fear: awakening the true heart of bravery/Chgyam Trungpa; edited by Carolyn Rose Gimian.1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2148-4

ISBN 978-1-59030-696-3

1. CourageReligious aspectsBuddhism. 2. FearReligious aspectsBuddhism. 3. Religious lifeBuddhism. I. Gimian, Carolyn

Rose. II. Title.

BQ4570.C78T78 2009

294.35696dc22

2009010128

W HEN YOU ARE FRIGHTENED by something, you have to relate with fear, explore why you are frightened, and develop some sense of conviction. You can actually look at fear. Then fear ceases to be the dominant situation that is going to defeat you. Fear can be conquered. You can be free from fear, if you realize that fear is not the ogre. You can step on fear, and therefore you can attain what is known as fearlessness. But that requires that, when you see fear, you smile.

Chgyam Trungpa, Great Eastern Sun

Contents

Foreword

F OR ME , contemplating the teachings of Chgyam Trungpa is like dipping into a well from which endless wisdom can be drawn. I have been going back to this source for more than thirty years now, and I always find that it contains something to inspire me, to challenge me, and to help me on my path. More than ever, with the great problems that our society and each of us are facing, Trungpa Rinpoches teachings are there to help us.

How is it that the words of someone who passed away more than two decades ago can feel so amazingly fresh, up to date, and applicable to what we are facing at this time? Its not so strange, really, because Rinpoche was always addressing whats happening in this very moment, and that kind of direct, spontaneous teaching never goes out of fashion.

As well, he seemed to know what problems we would face in this millennium. There is so much speed, anxiety, and fearfulness in us and all around us, and this is exactly what he speaks to. We can try to hide, but deep down we know that the only real choice is to embrace and befriend the uncertainty of these times. We really need to do this nowwe dont have any time to lose.

Chgyam Trungpas way of waking us up is provocative, heartfelt, and delightful. I find that his Shambhala teachings, which are the core of this book, help us to open our hearts and to find real bravery, so that we can extend ourselves to others.

This is based on being vulnerable yet strong. There is a great deal of strength in nonaggression, or peacefully abiding. This is what Rinpoche means by being a Shambhala warrior. I think it is something we all aspire to. As he invites us to do, lets look honestly into ourselves, so that we can be fearless, gentle people.

Pema Chdrn

Editors Preface

T HIS IS A BOOK about all the fears we have, from momentary panic and anxiety, up to the biggest terrors we may face about our life and our death. It is also about the fundamental sources of fear and anxiety, which affect all of us. The author presents practical advice, but not quick fixes. He is trying to help us fundamentally transform our lives and our perceptions so that we can conquer fear, not simply suppress it for a time. To become truly fearless, he suggests, we must stop running from our fear and begin to make friends with it. We must learn to smile at fear. This is a critical part of the conquest.