Tea with Mara

"Now I Know What I Got" is a lyric from a Cinderella song...but more importantly it's a Dharma talk and guided meditation (31:49) on the topic of moving from generosity (last week's talk) into gratitude. Specifically, gratitude as the other side of the coin from generosity and how the two are part of a beneficial cycle we can use in our daily lives. Enjoy!

"Need A Little Patience" is a Dharma Talk offered at Two Hands Sangha, about patience. More specifically, about learning to rest in the moment, and let wisdom arise before rushing into judgment or action. I hope this is helpful, and I promise I only quote GnR briefly once. ;) Enjoy! https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

"Sustaining Generosity" is a Dharma talk on the topic of generosity and all it's aspects, with a (rare for me) focus on the financial aspect as it has become a hot topic lately in our community (IYKYK). :) Though I offered this talk with a specific community purpose in mind, the message applies to all spiritual communities and might help soften the heart and mind around the often uncomfortable top...

"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 som...

"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 d...

"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 hop...

"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!

This Dharma Talk called "The Kusalakamma Loop" is what I call it when you create a sort of sustaining feedback loop of wholesome actions. After the last few talks ranging from fear of death, to fear in general, and - last night - Cultivating Courage...the next step is what to do with that courage. Apply it to wholesome actions. And this talk is about how to do so. The guided meditation b...

"Cultivating Courage" is a dharma talk offered at Two Hands Sangha drawing inspiration from Thich Nhat Hanh, as well as the Bhaya-bherava Sutta (MN4) about how we can cultivate courage in the face of fear. I hope you find this helpful, at a time when the world seems especially fearful. Enjoy!

"Fear Not" is a dharma talk and guided meditation (starts at 30:25) exploring how to face and transform fear with wisdom and compassion through mindfulness, equanimity, and community encouraging embracing fear without being consumed by it, using Buddhist teachings to cultivate resilience and peace. Enjoy!

"On Death And Dying" is a Dharma talk and guided meditation about being mindful of death and dying (Maranasati). Much of our suffering around the topic of death and dying comes from not talking enough about it, let alone practicing around it. My hope is that this talk helps you find a loving, joyful way of holding this often heavy topic, which need not be so heavy.

"Oh, What A Relief It Is!" is a Dharma talk and meditation about relief. Whether from the minor little aches and pains of life, or the lasting relief of Nibbana, the Buddha was teaching us that relief is possible, and how to find it within our experience. I hope this talk is helpful to you. Enjoy!

"Serve The Truth" is a Dharma Talk and Meditation on the three marks of Existence. Drawing inspiration everywhere from Ruth King to Panic, an of course The Buddha this talk aims to make the use of these marks more useful and relatable in your life. Enjoy!

"Tea Time and Tool Time" is a dharma talk and guided meditation drawing from the post-canonical, modern, story of sitting down for Tea With Mara (where our name comes from) and from a set of ten practices that can be used with recognition, allowing, exploring, and engagement to know what is happening, when it happens, and have the skills to help move us forward in life and quite literall...

In The Noble Search, a dhamma talk and meditation based on the Ariyapariyesana Sutta, we reflect on the Buddha's path from indulgence in worldly pleasures to discovering the path of true liberation. In a world that often measures success by wealth, status, and appearance, the Buddha's teachings remind us that these pursuits are ultimately fleeting and unsatisfying. Let's support each o...

Continuing where Two Hands Sangha left off last Sunday, this dharma talk is about the seven conditions for a nation's welfare that the Buddha shared, and how we can embody these qualities and then recognize them in our leaders to help cultivate a fair and just society without the divisive blaming and shaming of identity politics and party lines. I hope this is timely for you as you seek to fin...

Dharma talk and meditation on how current challenges often stem from past neglect, avoidance, or inaction, and emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for these consequences with courage and mindfulness, with a little help from our old friend Anugulimala. I hope you find this helpful!

Dharma talk and meditation on MN20, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, where we talk about five ways the Buddha recommended to work with unwholesome thoughts during meditation. I hope this is useful for your practice in some way!

The title suggests this talk was political, but really it isn't, I promise. It is however about the Gopaka Moggallana Sutta (MN 108) and urges us to practice for our own wisdom and compassion, and points to the idea that if we live by these things, this practice, then we know what to look for and expect from whomever we might vote for as a leader. So it's not political, but it is definitel...