That morning, after a night of rain, a large rock had rolled down and blocked the narrow path leading to the hermitage.

The teacher looked at the rock and said:

“We must move it now. The longer it stays, the harder it will be to shift. And if it rolls further down, it will be dangerous.”

The young man rolled up his sleeves.
Together, he and the teacher used a sturdy log as a lever to push the rock aside.

The rock was heavier than he expected.

Each time he exerted force, his whole body tightened, his breath deepened, his feet pressed firmly into the earth.

Then, in one moment—
as he gathered all his strength—
something strange happened:

He no longer felt a “me” pushing.

There was only:

· force
· breath
· body
· earth
· rock
· movement

No “doer.”
No “one trying.”
No “one afraid of failing.”

A strange spaciousness opened inside him—
light, bright, without boundaries.

Finally, the rock settled safely off the path.

The teacher looked at him and smiled.

“What did you see?”

The young man exhaled, still surprised:

“When I pushed the rock, I didn’t feel a ‘me’ doing it.
There was only the action.
And… no fear at all.”

The teacher nodded.

“Good.
Today you touched the deepest meaning of fearlessness:

Fearlessness is nonself.”

 

1. Fear exists only when there is a ‘self’

The teacher said:

“Jiddu Krishnamurti pointed out:

Fear always revolves around the ‘self.’

· I will be hurt
· I will lose
· I will fail
· I will be damaged
· I will not be enough

If there is no ‘I,’
who is afraid?”

The young man recalled the moment—
indeed, there was no “I,”
so there was nothing to fear.

 

2. Avatamsaka: No independent entity to be threatened

The teacher continued:

“The Avatamsaka teaching says all phenomena are nonself.
There is no fixed entity behind action.

When you pushed the rock,
body – force – earth – breath – movement
were one stream of dependent origination.

There was no ‘pusher.’
Only pushing happening.

If there is no ‘pusher,’
there is no ‘fearer.’”

The young man felt a clear lightness—
as if a heavy coat had slipped off his shoulders.

 

3. Fearlessness is not strength — it is the absence of anyone to fear

The teacher said:

“Fearlessness is not becoming stronger than fear.
It is not defeating fear.

Fearlessness is:

no ‘self’ to be threatened.

When the self dissolves,
fear dissolves.

When the self is absent,
action becomes clear,
light,
precise.”

The young man nodded—
he had felt exactly that while pushing the rock.

 

4. When there is no self, the mind is vast like the sky

The teacher said:

“When the ‘self’ dissolves,
the mind becomes vast like the sky.

Clouds may come,
but they do not frighten the sky.

Wind may blow,
but it does not harm the sky.

Thunder may roar,
but it does not shake the sky.

Fear can only shake the ‘self,’
never the sky.”

The young man looked up at the postrain sky—
so clear it seemed almost empty.

 

5. Practice: live as if there is no center

The teacher said:

“From today, whatever you do,
try doing it without placing a ‘self’ in the center.

No ‘I am doing well.’
No ‘I must succeed.’
No ‘I am afraid of being wrong.’
No ‘I want to be praised.’

Only the action happening.

When there is no center,
fearlessness is natural.”

The young man looked at the rock now resting quietly beside the path.
It lay there like a silent teaching.

He understood:

Fearlessness is not something to achieve.
Fearlessness appears when the self disappears.