10% Happier with Dan Harris

A Buddhist Antidote To Fear And Anxiety | Devin Berry

February 18, 2026

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  • Loving-kindness (Metta) practice, initially resisted by the skeptical host and the guest, is presented as a powerful antidote to fear, anxiety, anger, and ill will, offering psychological and physiological benefits. 
  • The four Brahma-viharas (Metta, Compassion/Karuna, Sympathetic Joy/Mudita, and Equanimity/Upeka) are interconnected mental skills that support each other, with Metta often serving as the foundational practice. 
  • Generosity (Dana) is highlighted as a crucial practice, often taught before formal meditation, because the act of giving and stepping outside of self-interest is a fundamental form of 'letting go' central to spiritual progress. 
  • Devin Berry's year-long experiment with Mettā practice deepened his personal relationships by allowing him to offer less of his "snappy, sarcastic, dry side" and be more directly generous. 
  • Mettā practice serves as an effective concentration tool that can help combat distraction, potentially leading to deeper states of absorption known as jhanas, though intense desire for these states can be an obstacle. 
  • The value of Dharma practice, including Mettā, lies in its inherent goodness at every stage ("good in the beginning, it's good in the middle, it's good in the end"), regardless of achieving advanced states like jhanas. 

Segments

Dan’s Skepticism and Guest’s Background
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(00:00:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Devin Berry transformed from a self-described scowling, sarcastic skeptic into an expert meditator focused on Metta.
  • Summary: Dan Harris introduces Devin Berry, noting his dramatic conversion from a prickly personality to a Metta teacher. Metta practice involves systematically sending good wishes (e.g., ‘May you be happy’) to beings. The practice is noted for having compelling psychological, physiological, and behavioral benefits, originally designed as an antidote to fear.
Devin’s Path to Meditation
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(00:05:47)
  • Key Takeaway: Devin’s initial entry into meditation stemmed from a need to soothe anger and grief following personal difficulties and a friend’s overdose.
  • Summary: Devin first encountered meditation via breathing exercises at a Grateful Dead show in 1985, but later sought formal practice due to an aversive personality marked by anger and competitiveness. His initial attempts at Zen Center were unsuccessful, leading him to MBSR and the teachings of Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock.
Resistance to Loving-Kindness Practice
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(00:10:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Initial resistance to Metta practice often stems from perceiving it as cheesy or being scared by the emotions that bubble up during the practice.
  • Summary: Devin initially believed Metta was ‘complete BS’ made up by hippies and actively avoided Metta sittings because emerging emotions scared him. His shift occurred when he began treating the phrases as pointers, focusing on the underlying feeling, and resting his attention on them like the breath, rather than seeking a grand breakthrough.
Defining the Brahma-Viharas
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(00:12:58)
  • Key Takeaway: Metta, or loving-kindness, is one of the four Brahma-viharas (divine abodes), defined as well-wishing, friendliness, and benevolence.
  • Summary: Metta is one of four related mental skills; the practice uses phrases like ‘May I be happy and peaceful’ as pointers to connect with the underlying sense of goodwill. To avoid rote practice, Devin primes the pump with humor or joy, often using a personal, absurd memory to enter an ’easy’ state before beginning.
Metta Progression and Non-Attachment
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(00:17:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The Metta practice progression moves from easy beings (pets/children) to self, mentor, neutral, difficult, and finally all beings, emphasizing non-separation over forced bliss.
  • Summary: The practice often starts with an easy being (like a pet or child) before moving to the self, which helps prime the heart for more challenging subjects. Success is not measured by soaring into unconditional love, but by achieving a feeling of non-ill will or non-hatred, which allows for effective engagement without fear or hatred.
Brahma-Viharas Interplay and Antidote to Fear
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(00:24:31)
  • Key Takeaway: The four Brahma-viharas work synergistically, with Equanimity requiring the support of Metta, Compassion, and Joy to prevent collapse under pressure.
  • Summary: Compassion (Karuna) involves touching another’s suffering and wishing them well, which can lead to action or, when action is impossible, bearing witness with equanimity. Equanimity (Upeka) is framed as ‘standing in the middle of all of this’ without collapsing, achieved by acknowledging reality before strategizing.
Buddha’s Invention of Metta Mythology
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(00:43:24)
  • Key Takeaway: The mythology surrounding the Metta Sutta suggests the Buddha invented the practice as a direct antidote to fear, used to protect monks from frightening forest spirits.
  • Summary: The legend involves 500 monks being harassed by forest beings until the Buddha gave them the Metta Sutta for protection. The Sutta itself sets a high, aspirational bar, such as protecting all beings like a mother protects her only child, but newcomers should focus on small steps like starting with an easy being.
Mindfulness vs. Heart Qualities
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(00:50:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Focusing solely on mindfulness meditation neglects other crucial elements of the path, such as the Brahma-viharas and generosity, which are vital for those who find insight practice difficult.
  • Summary: Mindfulness alone is not a cure-all; the Buddha taught other practices like Metta and generosity (Dana). For some, especially those with trauma, generosity or Metta may be more accessible entry points to the path than direct insight meditation.
Generosity (Dana) as Letting Go
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(00:59:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Generosity (Dana) is fundamentally an act of letting go, dissolving the attachment to self and acquisition, which complements the goal of spiritual practice.
  • Summary: Being kind and generous is stepping outside of the self-centered drive to acquire and collect. Devin ran a year-long experiment prioritizing Dana, which involved supporting teachers and engaging generously with Uber drivers, dissolving his former prickly identity. This practice of giving and receiving generosity circles back to cultivating Metta.
Year-Long Experiment Impact
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(01:05:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Generosity and heart-sharing deepened relationships more than reducing sarcasm.
  • Summary: The year-long experiment deepened relationships with family and friends. The speaker consciously offered less of their naturally snappy and sarcastic personality. Directly offering generosity was highlighted as a helpful and supportive action toward those immediately around them.
Mettā as Concentration Tool
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(01:06:29)
  • Key Takeaway: Mettā practice is a potent tool for concentration, countering modern distraction.
  • Summary: Mettā is beneficial for concentration, which is a major obstacle for meditators facing modern distractions from phones and culture. Consistent Mettā practice can lead toward states of high concentration or absorption known as jhanas. Achieving jhanas requires significant time and continuity in practice.
Desire Hinders Deep States
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(01:07:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Intense desire for jhanas or samadhi creates greed that prevents the necessary mental quietude.
  • Summary: If a practitioner strongly desires the experience of jhanas, that wanting itself becomes an obstacle due to underlying greed. The best approach is cultivating Mettā for its own sake over a long period, allowing deeper states to unfold naturally. Knowing the possibility exists is sufficient motivation without demanding the experience.
Value of Practice Process
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(01:09:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Meditation progress requires accepting the neutral state, as wanting to ‘get somewhere’ is a barrier.
  • Summary: The desire to advance in meditation acts as a barrier, requiring the mind to settle into a neutral spot to move forward. The Dharma practice is valuable at every stage—beginning, middle, and end—even if enlightenment is not reached. Cultivating helpful conditions like generosity clears the mind and supports both Mettā and insight practice.
Guest Contact Information
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(01:11:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Devin Berry’s website is dedinberry.org, and IMS retreats are listed on dharma.org.
  • Summary: The easiest way to find information about Devin Berry is via his website, dedinberry.org. Retreats he teaches can also be found on the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) website, dharma.org. The host also promoted his 10% with Dan Harris app available at danharris.com.