The illusion of fear: the Zen tale that teaches us about emotional freedom

Fear is an emotion that we can happen to feel and that can sometimes prevent us from living peacefully. If it blocks us, it's time to face it, a Zen story teaches us how.

La fear it is an emotion that we can happen to feel and that can sometimes prevent us from living peacefully. If it blocks us, it's time to face it, a Zen story teaches us how.





I Zen tales they are small pearls of oriental wisdom that are transmitted from generation to generation and together with the Kōan they aim to induce meditation. But the former are clearer than the latter, in fact the Kōan are often 'riddles without solution' and there are also those who spend their whole life interpreting one.

The theme of fear is also one of the many that are found between the lines written by Buddhist monks. It must be recognized and accepted and it does not necessarily have to be viewed in a negative way.
Eliminating fear is not only wrong, it is probably even impossible. But fear can be understood, managed or faced depending on the life situations we are going through.

The Illusion Of Fear

Here is a Zen tale about the so-called illusion of fear.

In an ancient Chinese monastery, there was a monk, who every time he retired to meditate, he saw an angry wolf chasing him. He could no longer meditate because of this vision. He too had begun to be afraid to fall asleep in the evening, because every time he closed his eyes he was attacked by that animal so real to his senses.

So one day he went to his master to ask him for advice, and he said, “Beloved master, help me. An angry wolf haunts me. I am very afraid, I can no longer meditate or even sleep. What should I do? The Master replied: "Keep this marker, when you see the wolf draw a beautiful cross on his chest and you will see that he will disappear". The disciple was a little hesitant, but he was also very confident in his revered teacher, so he immediately began to meditate with the marker in his hand.


When he closed his eyes, after a few moments, the wolf appeared. Taken with great strength and will to overcome that fear, when the wolf jumped on top of him, he took the marker and made a beautiful cross in his chest and the wolf, suddenly disappeared.


Taken from great joy, the young monk, went to his master to tell him about the success and said: “Master, you were right, when I made a cross on the wolf, he suddenly disappeared. I have overcome my fear, for this I am grateful, but please explain to me what happened to the wolf? ".

The teacher smiled and said to him: "Did you see your chest?". The disciple, thus, looked down on his body and saw that it was marked by a cross, the same one made a moment before to the wolf. Thus he understood that fears and worries are only the result of his thoughts, but not of concrete realities.

The illusion of fear: the Zen tale that teaches us about emotional freedom

Other beautiful Zen tales:

  • The master and the scorpion: the Zen story that teaches not to change one's nature
  • The Zen water drop

What does this Zen story teach us?

Fears and worries arise in our thoughts, but sometimes we think about it so much that it seems to us that they can become concrete realities.

The teacher tells us that the time has come to live without fear which means nothing more than to feel free to express ourselves, even when this can make us feel bad.


The illusion of fear: the Zen tale that teaches us about emotional freedom

Photo: © Amanda Cass

Let's learn to manage fear:


  • It is time to live without fear
  • How to overcome fear and train the mind to deal with it
  • How to overcome the fear of being alone (the good side of loneliness)

Our emotional freedom must therefore not be blocked by it because by doing so we risk becoming prisoners of the unhappiness that prevents us from taking care of our true needs.

Dominella Trunfio

Cover photo: © Amanda Cass

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