Publication:
The Role of Fear (Bhaya) in the Nikāyas and in the Abhidhamma

dc.contributor.authorGiuliano Giustarinien_US
dc.contributor.otherMahidol Universityen_US
dc.date.accessioned2018-06-11T04:32:13Z
dc.date.available2018-06-11T04:32:13Z
dc.date.issued2012-10-01en_US
dc.description.abstractAccording to Buddhist soteriology, fear is a direct cause of suffering and one of the main obstacles in the path to liberation. Pāli Suttas and Abhidhamma present a number of sophisticated strategies to deal with fear and to overcome it. Nevertheless, in the Nikāyas and in the Abhidhamma there are also consistent instructions about implementing fear in meditative practices and considering it as a valuable ally in the pursuit of nibbāna By means of a lexicographical study of selected passages and especially of two compounds (bhayūparata and abhayūparata), this paper demonstrates that fear may have the crucial function of stimulating the meditator: through reiterated admonishments and reflections that evoke a feeling of dread, the meditator gets weary of unwholesome patterns and is prompted to put effort in his/her own practice. Evidence proves that this set of instructions is ultimately consistent with the several teachings that emphasize the importance of counteracting fear and fostering fearlessness, which is described as a quality of liberation as well as an attitude to be cultivated. In fact, a close analysis of the dynamics involved in bhaya (fear) and abhaya (fearlessness) as graphically depicted in the Nikāyas and in the Abhidhamma texts, reveals that stirring fear and letting go of fear are two essential steps of the same process. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.en_US
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Indian Philosophy. Vol.40, No.5 (2012), 511-531en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s10781-012-9164-1en_US
dc.identifier.issn15730395en_US
dc.identifier.issn00221791en_US
dc.identifier.other2-s2.0-84867844468en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/13532
dc.rightsMahidol Universityen_US
dc.rights.holderSCOPUSen_US
dc.source.urihttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84867844468&origin=inwarden_US
dc.subjectArts and Humanitiesen_US
dc.subjectSocial Sciencesen_US
dc.titleThe Role of Fear (Bhaya) in the Nikāyas and in the Abhidhammaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dspace.entity.typePublication
mu.datasource.scopushttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84867844468&origin=inwarden_US

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