I think its essentially the fear of death but I am discouraged/demotivated of continuing on the path of meditation by listening about what is at the end of it. The goal of enlightenment is sounding a bit depressing for me and I am scared of it. Its also the same as my fear of death. I am very much attached to my intellect and thoughts. Its something identify with. Yes my fear comes from being attached with my mind maybe? But ultimately its my mind which has to be convinced to continue. Ofcourse it doesnt want its own "death". After reading things about what will happen after enlightenment, I am backing out. I have tasked the bliss more than once. I know the feeling, its great, its literally the purpose of life. But I am again attached to my mind. Seems like I need an intellectual reason to transcend my intellect.

Let me paraphrase it as best I can. There was a youth named Shining Countenance who approached the Tathagata. He prostrated to him and circumambulated him 7 times. "My Lord I am going on a journey and I fear for my safety." The blessed one spoke. "There is a Buddha realm called "Shaking All Defilements." In that realm exists a Tathagata, an Arahant a fully enlightened Buddha named "Buddha Subsequent Conduct." Remember this Buddha, prostrate to him, pray to him and you will have no fear on your journey and your goals will be met."

This may be an unusual question but I'm wondering if any monk or scholar has written work or made lectures about the spiritual obstacles of Capitalism. Namely the atomization, alienation, crippling entertainments, omnipresent advertising, the uncertainty of holding jobs and fluctuating markets, the need to wage wars to reduce the overall wealth of the society and obtain resources. We are not living in the time of Shakyamuni, Padmasambhava or Athisha. This is a spiritually confused, decadent world. Our spiritual obstacles are more complicated and strange than the obstacles of previous times. Any ideas? Sadhu.

Recently, I was got cyberbullied by my schoolmate. yeah, I am not student. I'm depressed. I remove all contact and block them but I can't remove my anxiety and fear. Oh yeah, I feel that I am not sotapanna again because I was lying to those cyberbulliers. After lying, I am so anxiety.

I was watching the old movie "Kung Fu" (1986) and there is a really interesting moment near the end where Caine is lectured by Master Po who speaks to the effect of the following: "Do not go in fear, fear is eternal darkness, but go instead with inner strength which is like a deep river into which all streams flow; it increases, always moving forwards and soon there is nothing that can stand in its way." It seems like an empty sentiment at first, but on reflection there is something in this statement that makes me think it must come from some long lived idea. Is this just a screen writer's fancy or some reference to an old Buddhist idea?

Basically this "Nice Guy Syndrome," as described by Dr. Robert Glover, refers to a pattern of behavior where individuals, often men, seek approval and avoid conflict by being overly nice, accommodating, and putting others' needs before their own. Ofthen, nice guys are seen as doormats/people pleasers and end up building resentment, unfulfillment, and difficulty in forming genuine connections. From a Buddhist perspective, which teachings or principles can help in understanding and addressing the root causes of this syndrome? Furthermore and more importantly, what are practical, small, and specific steps that I can take to gradually overcome this pattern of behavior and develop healthier relationship dynamics? I know general mindfulness helps, and probably alone is enough to fix it overtime, but I am looking for something more doable and more direct. Thanks for any answers

Before I ask this question let me tell that I know that attachment in Buddhism is very different from the one in psychology. Also, I understand that attachment in psychology is just aversion or craving for certain situations/feelings/experiences etc. That being said, I was wondering if anyone has successfully overcome anxious attachment (or knows how to)? I ask here because if I ask anywhere else I would get the standard response "it's something that you live with for all your life and it's something very deeply rooted, which cannot be overcome. So you should get better in learning to live with it." I understand the broad psychology etc. so please emphasize on any specific exercises and insights that have helped you. Feel free to add any other relevant info. Thanks

I am spending some time alone in a day (in solitude). During that alone time and during the rest of the day i am feeling itching and tingling. I can ignore both by just watching it as someone described in the below article about itching. However, both are really annoying and feels like i'm unable to focus on anything, as my focus then turn to the itch/tingling. Reference: https://zenhabits.net/itchy/

☸What did the Buddha say about being afraid & handling fear? ☸Are there any scriptures about fear & courage? ☸What did he say about facing fear? ☸Is there any Buddhist practice that will help one face fear?

Over a period of last few years I have ***almost*** completely eradicated the 'five hindrances ' to meditation. However, sometimes when I am in deep meditation, I feel an intense fear of '**getting annihilated**' and then my mind immediately becomes restless and meditation is broken. As the mind knows that total emptiness will be the end of 'mind' or 'ego' I think the fear springs from that idea. How can I overcome this fear when the meditation is going on? and also, I wonder why 'fear' is not listed as one of the five hindrances to meditation?

After some reflection, I've noticed many of my mental hangups / dispositions (sankhara) were formed due to a deep seated fear of losing control over my mind / volition. Examples that come to mind include: - Being deceived into doing something against my principles - Being coerced into doing something unethical - Performing negative actions caused by a mental illness (Alzheimer, ...) - Having my ideas changed through to physical torture How can I overcome this fear? ---------- My understanding of the Dharma is limited, so I would appreciate help understanding the situation from that perspective. Is this fear caused by attachment to mental dispositions? Is this a fetter? In particular, is it caused or conditioned by belief in self? Are dispositions part of self? I understand that theoretically mental dispositions should be impermanent? But in practice some dispositions are very hard or impossible to change. Does it make sense to focus on changing unhelpful dispositions? Would it make more sense to keep analysing the causal link of the dispositions, practising more meditation to notice the fear when it arises, or practising acceptance of the current situation?

I get fear when I'm trying to choose something over buddhist teaching. 1. Listening to Dhamma instead of studying something else 2. Reject a job offer to get some free time 3. Not having relationship (with a person who have great qualities) because it increases clinging, lust etc. and it causes suffering My doubt is that those opportunities may help my journey to enlightenment. 1. Having a good job may make free time later 2. Good person may help me to understand buddhism more. So, How can I decide what to give up and what not to give up ? Prince Siddhartha gave up lot of great things. (Kindom, Wife, Parents). But I don't have such a great mind like him. I have ignorence. So how to overcome this fear? Did Lord Buddha mention these kind of situations in his teachings?

Not long ago, I encountered tough "barrier" in life, tried to break through it but ended up greatly humbled and forced to take step back. This got me thinking whether I should decouple from earthly desires like career, consumerism and similar. Was my experience divine punishment (karma) or display of better way ? Note: I realize this question is not necessarily specific to one religion over other, but I think this community is more accepting to this type of question.

(I know there have been some questions about this same topic but each one is a particular issue) I have started taking the buddhist path not long ago, less than three years. Life felt too heavy and it felt like it was pushing me towards not wanting to *play the game* anymore. So buddhism seemed like the way to go. I was pretty excited about it for quite some time, hearing about the mystic expeciences, the idea of feeling the float from releasing from ego and the satori experience itself - but only as long as it was a distant, remote possibility. As soon as I started digging deeper into this reality, investigating it for what it **really** is, things changed. I started feeling afraid of it and then terribly afraid. I can't forget the first time I faced the idea of vanishing from this existence forever, the true death; never being able to come back once I 'saw it'. Nevertheless I kept investigating. Then I contemplated the idea of being trapped in this. Existence has no way out, anywhere you go there is still existence. In other words 'What if it has been like this for millions, billions of years, maybe even for eternity? What if I am stuck in this illusion, completaly alone, unable to get anything out of it, for the eternity, and this is what the whole, me, ultimately is?'. Having seen this brought me to an unforgettable state of total dispair. Some months have passed and now the whole thing feels weird. The more I look at reality, the more weird it gets and if I look hard enough it becomes dreadful. How strange is this thing we call death, or enlightenment, or time or self. I can't put in words how weird life feels for me. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning there is a strong sense of feeling weird to have hands and to move and to be in a body. Indeed, the **I** does not make sense, nothing makes sense. And I am afraid of being stuck in this forever. But if enlightenment is the only scape, I am afraid of never being able to come back. I am afraid everything is just an illusion, that there aren't others, just images and I'm alone. Sometimes I fear there isn't even enlightenment to save me. My question is: Am I going crazy? Am I getting it all wrong? I just wanted some light. Also, I am asking here because I know other people won't understand what I am talking about. Sorry for the long question.

The last few days I've been struggling with the fear of death. I really love life and I fear the unknown. I know it's inevitable but for some reason I can't accept it. I find it beautiful how in buddhism people actually want to achieve nirvana. I mean I know there's no suffering but also there is no happiness etc. I would love to hear some tips on how to accept the inevitable and enjoy the here and now more. Mindfulness helps a lot but sometimes the thought still jumps into my mind.

I started practising compassion meditation, and initially it worked very well. Yet, I feel more averse to it than initially, and when I meditate I sometimes experience a kind of distorted facial expression, almost as if I experienced pain. Part of my psychology-related background leads me to think this is either fear of compassion, or even repressed contents surfacing to consciousness. **1) Is there any way to bypass this obstacle to meditation?** **2) Is there anything in Buddhist literature about *fearing/aversion to* compassion?** **3) Is there anything to suggest some memories or karma may surface in meditation, or even simply other inner contents?** Thank you

After years of abandoning Buddhism and becoming an agnostic, I somehow finally experienced/felt the Four Noble Truths yesterday, or at least the truth of the first three. Then the same thing happened with anatta. What followed was mostly a relief. Then a sense of calmness, concentration, clarity and energy. But there was an ego struggle. I was scared, that I am giving up, who I am. That I won't care so deeply about things, that used to matter to me anymore. Right now I can kind of feel this... f.e. when I am listening to the music right now, I no longer consider it a part of my identity, nor do I connect so deeply with it in a sense, that its sadness nor joy resonate with my ego. The thing is, I liked being attached to it, I used to be an obsessive person - hobbies, people, music, ideas, beauty, art... Everything. Today, I feel basically the same way, both a relief and a little fear, even though my ego fear is weaker. So, I suppose, this is not a 100% realization of anatta. Is it possible to go fully back to my old attachments? :D Or is it possible to live somewhere in between? Btw, yesterday it also occured to me, that samsara and bhavacakra are just metaphors for person's psychological development both throughout life and day... Similar with karma. (I remain agnostic regarding taking them literally. Just like with anything else, like God.). I somehow feel like I will still be me. But without attaching to everything including my identity. Does that make sense? It is also radically different from a discomfort of depersonalisation, that I had a chance to briefly experience in my life. Still a little scared though. Thanks for reading this.

**Does anyone know if the Buddha said anything about social anxiety and how to deal with it?** I believe social anxiety is common in our day and age because people are more isolated now, but may not have been as common in the time of the Buddha. So if there is nothing specifically about social anxiety, can you provide info on what the Buddha said about dealing with anxiety (in general) (Also as a related question: Is anxiety considered a mild form of fear or are they separate in the Buddhist teachings?) Please provide sources if you can, thanks!