{"id":511,"date":"2008-07-24T18:39:00","date_gmt":"2008-07-24T18:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate\/"},"modified":"2008-07-24T18:39:00","modified_gmt":"2008-07-24T18:39:00","slug":"smiles-fearless-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html","title":{"rendered":"Smiles: Fearless Chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\"\"<\/a>Chocolate by mail!<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
A couple months ago I blogged about a breakthrough I had had on retreat<\/a>: bringing up some unconscious fears I had been holding onto (or that had been holding onto me<\/span>). It was a difficult process for me, though deeply freeing at the same time.\n

I commented then, but can\u2019t say often enough that a meditation retreat can be a very powerful experience. On my first long retreat I really wasn\u2019t dealing with any fears\/issues of my own, but witnessed many people around me bringing up and working through some of the most horrific pains in their lives. This time it was my turn \u2013 not very fun in one sense (I could barely touch the meditative absorptions known as <\/span>jhanas\/dhyanas<\/span> which are so blissful), but there were things to be dealt with, and they were<\/span>.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>Buddha in Abhaya Mudra<\/span>, Fearless Posture. Image from exoticindiaart.com.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t to say there isn\u2019t more<\/span> there to be dealt with (there certainly is!). Reading the abhaya sutta<\/span><\/a> we can see that true fearlessness requires four conditions:\n
    \n
  1. The abandonment of sensual craving\/thirst<\/span>; not to be equated with giving up all sensual joys or even a healthy sex life, but more specifically the underlying psychological condition of need<\/span> for that object in order to be happy.<\/li>\n
  2. The abandonment of cling\/passion for one\u2019s own body<\/span>; coming to terms with its impermanence and ultimate dissolution and not fighting this, though still protecting <\/span>the body with a healthy lifestyle.<\/li>\n
  3. The doing of good acts, protecting the fearful, and abandoning malice<\/span>.<\/li>\n
  4. Overcoming doubt and perplexity with regard to reality<\/span>, meaning understanding fully the selflessness, unsatisfactoriness, and impermanence of all things in life. It also means understanding processes of causes and conditions, and cultivating clarity in one\u2019s own mind about one\u2019s actions and their consequences.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, I still certainly have a great deal of work to do (baby steps), as do most of us.<\/p>\n

    Anywho\u2026 one of my actions was that blog post and one rather wonderful consequence was to get a chocolate bar from Fearless Chocolate<\/a> today. (Thanks Brian!) So, as I continue to meditate on, research, and attempt to practice fearlessness <\/span>in my life, I have some of the best fuel I could ask for.<\/span> And<\/span>, as we all know, one of the best things we can do when good fortune comes into our lives is to share it<\/span>. So, I\u2019ll be gladly sharing this with my good friends at dinner tonight.<\/p>\n

    Be grateful, pay it forward.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Chocolate by mail! A couple months ago I blogged about a breakthrough I had had on retreat: bringing up some unconscious fears I had been holding onto (or that had been holding onto me). It was a difficult process for me, though deeply freeing at the same time. I commented then, but can\u2019t say often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSmiles: Fearless Chocolate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chocolate by mail!A couple months ago I blogged about a breakthrough I had had on retreat: bringing up some unconscious fears I had been holding onto (or\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smiles: Fearless Chocolate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chocolate by mail!A couple months ago I blogged about a breakthrough I had had on retreat: bringing up some unconscious fears I had been holding onto (or\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Buddhist Perspectives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-07-24T18:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3120\/2698416185_073698a43b.jpg?v=0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Justin Whitaker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Whitaker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html\",\"name\":\"Smiles: Fearless Chocolate\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-07-24T18:39:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-07-24T18:39:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9\"},\"description\":\"Chocolate by mail!A couple months ago I blogged about a breakthrough I had had on retreat: bringing up some unconscious fears I had been holding onto (or\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Smiles: Fearless Chocolate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/\",\"name\":\"American Buddhist Perspectives\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9\",\"name\":\"Justin Whitaker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Justin Whitaker\"},\"description\":\"I am an almost-life-long Montanan; a baptized Catholic; an ardent Atheist; a practicing Buddhist; a lover of Wisdom. I have a BA and almost an MA in (Western) Philosophy from the University of Montana-Missoula, an MA in Buddhist Studies from Bristol University, UK, and I am currently working on a Ph.D. in Buddhist Ethics at the U of London. My main academic foci are early Buddhist ethics and Kant (odd combination, I know). I also study Western ethics, Tibetan Buddhism, Theravada, Comparative philosophy, and Environmental ethics. I also like photography, running, drinking wine, and eating peanut butter (often in that order).\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/author\/justinwhitaker\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smiles: Fearless Chocolate","description":"Chocolate by mail!A couple months ago I blogged about a breakthrough I had had on retreat: bringing up some unconscious fears I had been holding onto (or","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smiles: Fearless Chocolate","og_description":"Chocolate by mail!A couple months ago I blogged about a breakthrough I had had on retreat: bringing up some unconscious fears I had been holding onto (or","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html","og_site_name":"American Buddhist Perspectives","article_published_time":"2008-07-24T18:39:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3120\/2698416185_073698a43b.jpg?v=0"}],"author":"Justin Whitaker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Justin Whitaker","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html","name":"Smiles: Fearless Chocolate","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-07-24T18:39:00+00:00","dateModified":"2008-07-24T18:39:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9"},"description":"Chocolate by mail!A couple months ago I blogged about a breakthrough I had had on retreat: bringing up some unconscious fears I had been holding onto (or","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2008\/07\/smiles-fearless-chocolate.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Smiles: Fearless Chocolate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/","name":"American Buddhist Perspectives","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9","name":"Justin Whitaker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","caption":"Justin Whitaker"},"description":"I am an almost-life-long Montanan; a baptized Catholic; an ardent Atheist; a practicing Buddhist; a lover of Wisdom. I have a BA and almost an MA in (Western) Philosophy from the University of Montana-Missoula, an MA in Buddhist Studies from Bristol University, UK, and I am currently working on a Ph.D. in Buddhist Ethics at the U of London. My main academic foci are early Buddhist ethics and Kant (odd combination, I know). I also study Western ethics, Tibetan Buddhism, Theravada, Comparative philosophy, and Environmental ethics. I also like photography, running, drinking wine, and eating peanut butter (often in that order).","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/author\/justinwhitaker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}