Henry went on his first hunting trip. When he got back to his office his partner Morris couldn’t wait to hear all about his trip. Henry told him, “Well, I went into the woods with the guide. You know me, two minutes in the woods, I get lost. I’m walking extra quiet, when all of a sudden the biggest bear you ever did see is standing right in front of me. I turn around and run just as fast as I can and that bear, he is running even faster. Just when I feel his hot breath on my neck, he slipped and fell. I jumped over a brook and kept running, but I was losing my breath and sure enough there was that bear getting close to me again. He was almost on top of me when he slipped again and fell. I kept on running and finally I found myself in the clearing of the woods. The bear was running as fast as he could and I knew I didn’t stand a chance. I saw the other hunters and shouted for help, and just then the bear slipped and fell again. My guide was able to take aim and he shot the bear and killed him.”
Morris said, “Henry, that was quite a story. You are a very brave man. If that would have happened to me, I would have made in my pants.”
Henry looked at him and shrugged, “Morris, what do you think the bear was slipping on?”
The so-called religions are just out of fear. And anything based on fear can never be beautiful. Your gods, your churches, your temples, if they have come out of your fear they stink — they are bound to stink of your fear.
Buddha’s religion is not based in fear at all. That’s why he says the first step is to drop all beliefs. Those beliefs are because of the fear. Dropping the beliefs you will become aware of your fear, and that is good, to become aware of your fear. You will become aware of your death. You will become aware of this whole infinite cosmos — nowhere to go, nobody to guide, nowhere to find any security. In that fear, in that awareness of fear, the only place left will be to start going with inwards — because there is no point in going anywhere. It is so vast.
