The gift of fearlessness

I’m doing a ground-up study of Buddhist ethics, which may seem strange since I’ve practice, with varying degrees of fervency, Buddhism for most of my adult life. But I’m trying to do a Buddhism as it is rather than the new-age filtered Buddhism that’s popular in the West. And it’s been worthwhile, but more on that later.

One thing that keeps coming up in the Buddhist ethical system is ‌abhaya dāna, the gift of fearlessness. By following the precepts, you give the people around fearlessness.

By not drinking, I allow my wife to never have to worry about me coming home from work drunk.

By not being a gossip, people never have to fear that I’m going to betray their confidence.

By not being aggressive, people around can relax.

Etc.

This is one of the greatest gifts you can give.