Tea with Mara

Mindfulness Monday Dharma Talk and Meditation on the topic of dealing with anger and apathy. Enjoy!

Dharma Talk on MN89, The Dhammacetiya Sutta. This talk was started with the idea of a common question about Buddha Statues, but also can serve as a great intro to practice talk. If you're new to practice this sutta does a fine job of letting us know what matters in terms of how we live and practice. Let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!

A dharma talk about harmony in community, and what Paul McCartney and the song Penny Lane can teach us about conflict resolution. This dharma talk followed by brief meditation were a joy for me to express, so I hope you'll enjoy!

Regular people, regularly doing great things. In this Dharma talk and meditation, I invoke the names or teachings of several teachers. Two in particular. I talk about how great it would have been to witness a person embody the dharma so fully, and why we don't have to wish we had met those teachers. Enjoy!

This dharma talk on the fourth hindrance of restlessness and worry is beneficial by itself, but is actually the third in a series of talks about equanimity and letting go of preferences, and how to do so. The previous two talks posted are complete the trio if you want to hear them in relation to one another. Either way, enjoy!

Answering a question from the community at Monday's Equanimity talk on how to let go of preferences, this dharma talk discusses the topic further and is followed by a short meditation. Enjoy!

Dharma Talk from Mindfulness Monday in the TwT Community, speaking on the topic of equanimity, followed by a meditation. Hope you enjoy!

A short Dharmette on facing our fears from Two Hands Sangha. A sangha member shared that their child was afraid of the dark, and fear is something we all can learn to handle better, so I share about demons and tree spirits and what they can teach us about fear and compassion. Enjoy!

An off the cuff, lighthearted evening about starting the new year with a routine practice or bolstering an existing one. We also cover the basics of buddhism as a system, with a highly paraphrased short version of the core teachings and practices. I hope you enjoy!

A brief New Year's Day talk about Intentions, a meditation contemplating the year ahead, sharing of community Intentions, an offering (to those present and interested) of the Three Refuge's and the Five Precepts were all a part of this beautiful evening together. This was a special night, and I hope you'll find it useful.

Dharma Talk/Meditation reflecting on our past year of practice, and preparing us for the New Years Day Intention Setting Ceremony.  Pondering questions in the form of a meditation reflecting on the past year of practice as a way of preparing ourselves to set our intentions for 2024. I have a document with 30 questions (15 reflections and 15 to ponder for next year) available on my website, on the...

This very brief "Dharmette" was offered on Christmas Day 2023 for an intimate group in VRChat. The short talk was focused on how to deal with changing plans at the holidays and how I navigated that myself. We did a lengthy sharing portion, which isn't recorded, so I explain that in the middle where the sharing would have been, and follow it with a meditation. I hope you'll find s...

It's Christmas Eve, so no Sangha tonight. I've been looking for an excuse to share this one again from April 13th 2023, so I really hope you'll listen to this one. It's very special to me on so many levels. And of course, there's some great dharma here. Enjoy this Dharma talk and meditation inspired by the one and only Miya Folick . I'd love to hear your thoughts on the tal...

A Dharma Talk and Meditation addressing the question from a community member about "How do I find happiness, when I'm aware of so much misery in the world? And, Am I selfish to seek out my own personal happiness?"

This short Dharma Talk starts with a question I saw on Kusala Bhikshu's facebook page "Does wisdom lead to compassion faster than compassion leads to wisdom?" and discusses it followed by a meditation. Enjoy!

Two Hands Sangha Dharma Talk about how to stay centered and sane in a chaotic world. Recorded live on December 17th, 2023.

I'm away tonight helping with my daughter's ballet performance, so we'll enjoy this replay of a Dharma talk and brief meditation from October 27th, 2022. This talk is about my thoughts on being a good teacher of the dharma, how to find a good teacher, and what the Buddha had to say about all these things. Thanks for listening!

A Dharma talk on compassion and how neuroscience is proving the assertions made by the Buddha over 2500 years ago, followed by a compassion mediation.

Dharma Talk from Two Hands Sangha on Generosity, the science that backs up the Buddhist perspective, and how to work with it around the holidays. Recorded live at Two Hands Sangha, converted from video and auto-edited.

Dharma Talk poking a little light-hearted fun at the dharma based on a saying I use a lot as a joke - "Buddhism ruins everything!" referring to how the dharma dismantles unwholesome habits and perspectives, making room for greater peace, understanding, and compassion. Offered live in Virtual Reality for the Together with TRIPP community.

Dharma Talk addressing "How do I deal with racist relatives at the holidays?" Offered live in Virtual Reality for the Together with TRIPP community. Calendar | Website