Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery

The more fearlessness evolves, that much more available and vulnerable you become. That is why sadness and gentleness are part of fearlessness.

The definition of warriorship is fearlessness and gentleness. Those are your weapons. The genuine warrior becomes truly gentle because there is no enemy at all.

We put on a hat and gloves to shield ourselves, fearing that we might get burned. The colorfulness of relationships, household chores, business enterprises, and our general livelihood are too irritating. We are constantly looking for padding so that we don’t run into the sharp edges of the world. That is the essence of wrong belief. It is an obstac

Fearlessness in the warrior tradition is not training yourself in ultimate paranoia. It is based on training in ultimate solidity—which is basic goodness. You have to learn how to be regal.

One of the main obstacles to fearlessness is the habitual patterns that allow us to deceive ourselves.

They enjoy life; they eat good food; they enjoy how they dress, how they walk, how they talk, how they live.

When we refuse to have any contact with that state of being, when we turn away from basic goodness, then wrong beliefs arise. We come up with all sorts of logics, again and again, so that we don’t have to face the realities of the world.

Realizing the Ashe principle in us brings an experience of brilliance and vitality. The term for that in Tibetan is ziji. Zi means “brilliance,” and ji means “dignity”; so ziji is brilliance and dignity put together, which shines out. When you meet a friend who is in good health, you say, “You’re looking good.” The well-being you see in your friend

The attitude toward the breath in meditation is to become the breathing. Try to identify completely rather than watching your breath or just observing the process of breathing.