On Fear

by Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche

". . . This realm provides us with a style of confusion, a way of entertaining and occupying ourselves so as not to have to face our fundamental uncertainty, our ultimate fear that we may not exist."

"The source of the effort to confirm our solidity is an uncertainty as to whether or not we exist. Driven by this uncertainty, we seek to prove our own existence by finding a reference point outside ourselves, something with which to have a relationship, something solid to feel separate from."

"The fear of the absence of self, of the egoless state, is a constant threat to us."

"One must constantly try to prove that one does exist by feeling one's projections as a solid thing. Feeling the solidity of something seemingly outside you reassures you that you are a solid entity as well."

"The whole development of (ego) is an attempt on our part to shield ourselves from the truth of our insubstantiality."

- exerpts from The Myth of Freedom

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