How To Deal With Fear
Living in this life, we can experience all different types of fear. It could be fear of losing what we have, fear of not getting what we want, fear of a relationship breakdown, fear of our financial situation, fear of death, fear of the unknown, and many more. However, if we examine the essence of fear, we'll realize that it's caused by our own thoughts, responses, and attitudes towards a situation. Two people facing the same situation can have entirely different attitudes, with one feeling fearful while the other is unafraid. It all boils down to our mindset - the mind is everything. What we think, we become. Therefore, if we want to overcome our fears, we need to transform our way of thinking.
An effective way to deal with fear is through Amitabha-recitation or also known as Nianfo. Whenever you feel fear creeping in, transform that thought into the name of Amitabha Buddha. By doing so, you will change your thoughts, responses, and attitudes towards the situation. The objective situation may not change, but your perspective will.
We also need to remember that all our experiences in this world are temporary. Whatever we think we own is just under our name for a certain time. In essence, we never really own anything because everything is temporary. If we realize this, we won't be too attached, and we won't lose anything because we never truly owned it in the first place! We come alone, and we will leave alone.
The life of the Buddha is a great inspiration to us all. He was a prince who had everything he could ever want but gave it all up voluntarily because he realized it was temporary. He never really owned anything. When we understand that everything in life is temporary, we won't be too afraid of losing it.
The fear of death is the biggest fear of all. However, for Pure Land practitioners, this fear is not a problem. When we die, we can recite the name of Amitabha Buddha for ten recitations and vow to go to His Pure Land. Many people have seen Amitabha Buddha and attained rebirth in His Pure Land since ancient times in China until today. By reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, we can transcend all illusions and realize our ultimate potential, Buddhahood.
So just remember that the feeling of fear is caused by our own thoughts, responses, and attitudes towards a situation. We can transform our mindset by reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha. Everything in life is temporary, and we never really own anything. By understanding this, we won't be too afraid of losing what we think we own.
For Pure Land practitioners, the fear of death is not a problem because we know that we can attain rebirth in His Pure Land by reciting His name with faith and vow. We can transcend the suffering of the cycle of Samsara, the repeated births and deaths, and realise enlightenment quickly upon attaining rebirth in the Pure Land. This is indeed real as since ancient time in China, many people have seen Amitabha Buddha and have attained rebirth in the Pure Land through Nianfo with faith and vow. Hence, one shall not doubt about the Buddha's teachings.
Namo Buddhaya
Namo Amitabhaya
