"The first time I met Trungpa Rinpoche was with a class of fourth graders who asked him a lot of questions about growing up in Tibet and about escaping from the Chinese Communists into India. One boy asked him if he was ever afraid. Rinpoche answered that his teacher had encouraged him to go places like graveyards that scared him and to experiment with approaching things he didn't like. Then he told a story about traveling with his attendants to a monastery he'd never seen before. As they neared the gates, he saw a large guard dog with huge teeth and red eyes. It was growling ferouciously and struggling to get free from the chain that held it. The dog seemed desperate to attach them. As Rinposche got closer, he could see its blueish tongue and spittle spraying from its mouth. They walked past the dog, keeping their distance, and entered the gate. Suddenly the chain broke and the dog rushed at them. The attendants screamed and froze in terror. Tinpoche turned and ran as fast as he could –– straight at the dog. The dog was so surprised that he put his tail between his legs and ran away.

....The spiritual journey involves going beyond hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory, continually moving forward. THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF BEING ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH MAY BE TO JUST KEEP MOVING. Usually, when we reach our limit, we feel exactly like Rinpoche's attendants and freeze in terror. Our bodies freeze and so do our minds."

--When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron