Tea with Mara

"Come Together, Right Now" is a dharma talk offered at Two Hands Sangha on conflict and difficulty in community and how to address it. We draw advice from the Vinaya and various sutras to help us learn ways of bringing harmony and accord to community challenges. I hope you don't need this talk, but if you do, I hope it's helpful. Enjoy!

"What's The Difference" is a Dharma talk offered at Two Hands Sangha on the topic of "The Whole Mass of Suffering" sutta (MN13). We read the sutta and discuss it, with all it's gruesome sounding language as a way of seeing that the direct experience of letting go of clinging is the way to be free from the whole mass of suffering. I hope you find value in this talk. Enjoy!

"Be A Lantern" is a Dharma Talk and guided meditation (30:46) on the topics of our personal practice and the community. It seems as though the world is experiencing a bit more struggle than even the norm of struggle lately, and also this seems like a fitting end to a long series of related talks I've offered for many weeks now. So I hope this topic lands for you, and that you find it useful in some way to your life. Enjoy!

"Managing Overwhelm" is a Dharma talk and guided meditation on how to relate to overwhelming stress and discomfort when life seems to be too much. We see this everywhere today, and hopefully this talk helps you find a way to relate to this kind of stress more skillfully. Enjoy!

"Tying It All Together" is a Dharma Talk and Guided Meditation (GM starts at 33:48) on the Five Precepts and how a simple piece of rope can teach us the dharma. I hope that this talk will give you a different way of viewing the ethical guidelines the Buddha offered us to moor our spiritual lives. Enjoy!

"Reflecting On Room of Mirrors" is exactly that. A dharma talk and guided meditation (28:30) based on the lyrics of the Metallica song, from their 72 Seasons album, called "Room of Mirrors". It's all about vulnerability and overcoming fear and judgment within ourselves, in order to do so for others. I love this song, and hope you'll find some dharma in its lyrics as I did. Enjoy!

"Facing The Unknown" is a Dharma Talk and Guided Meditation (33:25) on the ways that we can meet fear and uncertainty with things like mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion to develop the only real control we have which is how we relate to the unknown. I hope you find any of this useful. Enjoy!

"The Sound of Compassion" is a Dharma talk and guided meditation (GM starts at 30:20) on the topic of how to listen compassionately and speak skillfully to help loosen fixed views. It's a practice that can be very helpful in our current climate and might just save the world. Let's find out! Enjoy!

"The Weight of Certainty" is a dharma talk from Two Hands Sangha about strong fixed views, and how we can ease our grip on them to live a better life particularly as it relates to our present day political climate. We don't get into politics in this, but focus instead on how to hold differing views with equanimity and allow for the possibility that we might not always be right. I hope this talk will help those who find themselves dealing with strong fixed views, whether from their friends and family, or themselves! Enjoy!

"If The Answer Is No, Let It Go" is a dharma talk and guided meditation (meditation starts at 32:15) on the topic of misinformation and how the Buddha might have addressed this challenge we face so exhaustingly in our world today. I hope it is helpful and that you enjoy it!