Dharma Roadside Dialogue. Abhaya Dana.More Than Words.Five Buddhist Practices to Truly Comfort Someone in Pain.

Dear friends,

Let us meet once more for our monthly dialogue.

Saturday November 29th, 2025  at 1:30 pm East coast time (EST),

7:30 pm European time (CET).

Join us for a 90mn session of questions and answers by clicking this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88203132402

This month topic will be:

Abhaya Dana.

More Than Words.

Five Buddhist Practices to Truly Comfort Someone in Pain.

We’ve all been there. A friend is grieving, a family member is anxious, or a loved one is facing a terrifying diagnosis. We want to help, to say the right thing, but the words feel hollow and our actions clumsy. In these moments of profound suffering, our desire to console can leave us feeling helpless, awkward, and inadequate. What can you possibly do when someone’s world is falling apart? This feeling of inadequacy stems from a common misunderstanding of what real support is. We often think our job is to fix the problem or say something that will magically make the pain disappear. But Buddhist wisdom offers a different, more profound framework for showing up for others. It’s a practice called Abhayadāna—the “giving of protection from fear.”

This isn’t about having the perfect script or a grand solution. It’s about cultivating a certain kind of presence that offers safety, peace, and solace in a world of uncertainty.

Here are five powerful principles from this tradition that can transform how you support the people you care about.