Understanding Fear and Anxiety: The The Buddhist View of Fear and How to be Fearless

Fear and anxiety. They creep in slowly or rise up all at once, filling our heart with panic and crippling our mind with dread. Anxiety traps us in dizzying spirals, running worst case scenarios over and over, and tying us up in knots. In the grip of fear we lose all perspective and become the weakest, most vulnerable version of ourselves. Our environment feels hostile and threatening, and no matter how hard we try, we’re unable to control our racing, paralysing thoughts. 

If you know these feelings you’re in good company. Not surprisingly, anxiety is the most common mental health problem reported in America today, with levels rising annually, and so far an estimated 42.5 million sufferers nationwide in 2025.

The reasons? Just look around. With unprecedented global uncertainty and geo-politictal turmoil, more and more people are struggling to stay calm and centered. Even for those who try to avoid the news, the pace of life is ramping up endlessly, sending tensions sky high. We are drowning in a tsunami of pressures and demands. And this is bringing forth an enormous amount of fear.

But what if you were to be told that it didn’t have to be this way? What if someone declared that it was possible to find peace in the eye of the storm? That it is possible in these times to live entirely without fear? For more than two millennia, Buddhist meditators have been doing just that, and on September 11th, world-renowned Kadampa Buddhist teacher Gen-La Dekyong will be coming to New York City to explain how we can do the same: find peace in the very heart of the city by finding peace in our own hearts. We can be fearless.

How is this possible? According to Buddha, fear doesn’t come from the external situation but instead arises from within our own mind. It is our own mind’s relationship to difficulties that creates anxiety. Which means fear can be released if we simply learn to relate to difficult situations differently.

Meditation gives us this revolutionary insight, that it is peace, rather than panic, that is natural to the mind. Although we may be very familiar with anxiety, the mind’s actual nature is calmness and peace. We simply need to gain access. A daily meditation practice allows us to tune into and nurture that natural peace, offering us a brand new perspective on life and a newfound ability to control our mind in the face of external challenges.

As we become more and more familiar with inner peace we also develop a brand new identity – directly experiencing ourself as a peaceful, confident person who is able to respond skillfully to difficulties without fear or anxiety. 

On September 11th at The Town Hall,  discover how Buddhist meditation can unveil this inner resource of positivity and resilience, and how a life beyond fear lies just a mere mental shift away.