A Buddhist Antidote to Fear and Anxiety | Devin Berry

Quick Overview

Buddhist practice, particularly Metta (loving-kindness) meditation, serves as a crucial antidote to fear, anger, and the pervasive sense of separation fostered by individualistic culture.

Key Points: Devin Berry's initial introduction to meditation occurred sitting in the back of a van with someone who claimed to teach meditation after returning from India, though Berry initially thought it was "complete BS" made up by hippies. Berry traced his deep-seated anger and competitiveness to personal feelings of disappointing family and self, manifesting physically as tightness and a scowl during his daily commute. He initially resisted Metta meditation, believing it was "something made up by some hippies in Marin County at Spirit Rock," but later found success by treating the phrases as pointers to connect with the feeling underneath the words. Metta is one of the four 'Brahma Viharas' (divine abodes), which include compassion (Karuna), sympathetic joy (Mudita), and equanimity (Upekkha), all working together. The goal of Metta is not always soaring into unconditional love; sometimes achieving a feeling of non-ill will—the ability to walk out the door without being angry or screaming—is sufficient and great. The Buddha purportedly taught the Metta Sutta to 500 monks as a direct antidote to fear after they were tormented by forest spirits (Davas) because they lacked its protective quality. Berry emphasizes that focusing solely on mindfulness (insight practice) misses essential components of the path like generosity (Dana) and the Brahma Viharas, which are crucial for householders.

Context: The conversation features Devin Berry discussing his journey into meditation, which began during a difficult period in his life marked by prickly behavior and anger, exacerbated by a personal tragedy involving a friend's overdose. His initial encounters with meditation were skeptical, involving a strange experience at the San Francisco Zen Center and a Grateful Dead show, before eventually finding structure through MBSR and Jack Kornfield's teachings, leading him to explore Metta meditation.