Courage and fear

[NikolaiI]

I have always been of the view that courage is the correct view, and fear is the negative emotion. . . and when I later encountered Swami Vivekananda, I found this expressed even more powerfully; as he avers that everything that's wrong in the world can be traced back to fear. Fearlessness is certainly espoused as a virtue in practically every culture. . .

Then later on still, when I began learning from da Vinci, I encountered a somewhat opposite view, that fear preserves life. This was a very thought-provoking concept to come across, and it was definitely an interesting thing to consider. So I thought I would propose the topic for discussion. . .

Obviously, fearlessness is more universally considered as a virtue, and I see it in every culture, every religion as one of the best virtues. . But I feel like both can be true. Da Vinci and Swami Vivekananda were both exceptionally brilliant people, as well as moral, insofar as all of my investigation and understanding of them has revealed. In any case. . . that's the topic. What are your thoughts? Have you ever come across da Vinci's views before?



da Vinci:

Fear or timidity is the prolongation of life.


He who fears dangers will not perish by them.


He who is without fear often incurs great losses, and is often full of regret.


Thoughts on Art and Life (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29904/29904-h/29904-h.htm)


Swami Vivekananda;

“Face the brutes.” That is a lesson for all life—face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them.


Tell the truth boldly, whether it hurts or not. Never pander to weakness. If truth is too much for intelligent people and sweeps them away, let them go; the sooner the better.


Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in the world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.


Quotes at UT Dallas website (http://www.utdallas.edu/~ramakrishnan/Swami_Vivekananda.htm)

[Pompey Bum]

Well, Leonardo had an empirical outlook, so it is not surprising that his leanings are toward the practical. Personally I'm with the Swami on this one, but that doesn't mean that one can't adopt Da Vinci's code (as it were) at times when it is the right thing to do. Those in the corporate world, for example, often find themselves pressured none to gently to go along with things that, while not illegal, they know to be morally wrong. In such cases, the cost of standing up to the beasts would likely be fearful indeed--perhaps resulting in unemployment in an economy that isn't exactly made of jobs--while the benefit would be knowing that one had the courage to do the right thing.

But that decision could be infinitely complicated by a spouse or children who are really counting on your keeping that job. Would it really be right for you to sacrifice your children's healthcare or home because you wouldn't play along at the office? But what if it was more than playing along? What if it involved (for example) the technically legal trial of an experimental and potentially lethal drug on a human population in the developing world. Your company had worked things financially out with the elites of the country, none of whom remotely care if some villages in East Podunkistan get wiped out. And you think that some of them probably will.

And so one is thrust again into the dark night of the soul. One moment you're walking the Narrow Path and the next (to keep stealing from Dante), you're lost in a Dark Wood. And the ugly truth is that there's no Virgil to light the way. It takes a some Leonardo and a some Swami Vivekananda; the proportion of which each of us determines individually. That decision is what personal morality is all about, really.

[TheAlertDriver]

As someone who was very timid and anxious in the past I can tell you from research and experience. Fear is part of life, you can diminish it by quieting your mind and living in the present but you can't just get rid of it. It's a defense mechanism, it's alright to be afraid if you're in real physical danger, your senses are heightened and there are changes in your physiology to help you deal with the crisis at hand. However if there is no physical danger and your fear is more mind made, then obviously it'll do more harm than good. In any case I don't believe there is such as a thing as "fearlessness" only courage. In the words of James Neil Hollingworth: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than one's fear."

[NikolaiI]

Leto put it succinctly: "Fear is the mind-killer. I will not fear. I will face my fear, I will let it pass through me."

:-)

The Atreides' litany against fear. . . actually, I suppose it is the Bene Gesserit's litany against fear.

From the Dune series, but especially the third book is a masterpiece.

[NikolaiI]

"Because you are alive, everything is possible."
-Thich Nhat Hanh

http://www.uth.tmc.edu/pathology/hematopathology/Nguyen/TNH-Quotes-2.htm

You also reminded me of a poem, translated by Vivekananda, about fear. . .

Verse 26 of the Vairâgya Shatakam by Bhartrihari. . .

In enjoyment is the fear of disease;
In high birth, the fear of losing caste;
In wealth, the fear of tyrants;
In honour, the fear of losing her;
In strength, the fear of enemies;
In beauty, the fear of the other sex;
In knowledge, the fear of defeat;
In virtue, the fear of scandal;
In the body, the fear of death.
In this life, all is fraught with fear.
Renunciation alone is fearless.

(from http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_9/writings_prose_and_poems/bhartriharis_verses.htm#fn2)

And of course Rumi: :)

“Forget safety.
Live where you fear to live.
Destroy your reputation.
Be notorious.”

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/875661.Rumi

[NikolaiI]

again by Thay

“Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.”