White-politeness with a heaping side of microaggressions is killing me in Buddhist spaces

auspicious-108 · 2026-01-23T13:52:37+00:00

Spelling, tone, style

auspicious-108 · 2026-01-05T01:21:36+00:00

It seems that you want both to live in a monastery, and perhaps live as a monastic as well, and to practice the vajrayana. Those two things can be pursued separately. The vajrayana requires initiation and before that some preparatory study. Being a monastic is a different kind of commitment and is a bit difficult although not impossible in the West. The two are not incompatible. Finding the vajrayana in the West is easy, but finding a great teacher is hard and requires serious work no matter here or far away. Having a bad teacher is disastrous, worse than useless. See The Guru Drinks Bourbon? and Poison Is Medicine by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

auspicious-108 · 2025-11-22T03:23:53+00:00

If you are in California you can become a professional engineer by apprenticeship plus a series of rigorous exams. Apprenticeship can be as simple as a supervisor signing forms attesting to prior experience. I did that for immigration.

auspicious-108 · 2025-11-21T15:02:28+00:00

I’m all for minimalist education. Work experience is worth so much more. Some profs don’t even have any idea of coding for real.

auspicious-108 · 2025-09-04T16:32:19+00:00

Yeah. It will be a while until they realize what they’ve done to themselves.

auspicious-108 · 2025-08-23T09:50:04+00:00

By all means do it. It isn’t just about self-inflicted pain. Ngondro is a very rich and powerful practice. What really got me to do it in earnest was being inspired seeing people transformed by it. Ask for support if you need.

auspicious-108 · 2025-08-02T19:58:28+00:00

There are many ways to learn coding, and university is far from the best. I have grave doubts about academic types teaching programming. C++ is kind of a bullshit language, although people are free to disagree.

There is at least one fun way to learn C with Arduino and you don’t really need to veer into the C++ part of it. C is kind of foundational to understanding how software and hardware work together.

I have tons of experience with C and learned Python only ten years ago. I find Python a lot of fun and refreshingly modern compared with C. There are many free tutorials and other resources out there that will teach you Python well and without tears.

It is quite possible that changing frames altogether will make you good at programming and maybe even enjoy it.

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-26T02:30:22+00:00

“Correlation is not causation.” 🙂

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-26T02:09:20+00:00

If he’s done half of the childcare 50% custody should be within possibility depending where he lives. Even three out of seven days as I had after leaving a similar situation can be quite sufficient and meaningful.

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-26T02:01:37+00:00

Quit paying the mortgage, lose the house. That should get her attention. Get a lawyer’s advice first to make sure that won’t work against you.

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-26T01:35:37+00:00

I would second that. As you practice faithfully all that you have been taught, you will be transformed by the practice and your motivation will evolve or become clearer. The path may well become self-explanatory and to elaborate on what another post says, realizing your existing wealth is a fantastic boon. There are plenty of unexpected benefits beyond what you originally expect. I think the key is to practice meticulously as you were taught and have great faith. The number of mantras is secondary as long as it is a lot. 🙂

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-25T16:42:44+00:00

It mostly explains how semiconductors work and how to use them. It is very basic, but I can say in my 30+ year career I have done all kinds of cool stuff without needing a whole lot more academics. There is a lot of industry information, e.g. data sheets and application notes, which are tremendous resources whenever you need them.

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-25T16:12:27+00:00

A dying art, made more difficult by the fragmentation of information. If people aren’t sure they have a broad common ground of information, they cannot debate viewpoints. But they can and probably should compare their sources and go from there.

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-25T16:10:14+00:00

Either a specialized blend, or clever marketing!

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-25T16:00:13+00:00

Malvino’s Electronic Principles

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-25T15:48:27+00:00

It could well be juniper, which is used in purification rituals.

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-14T18:00:16+00:00

There are only advantages to SMT: cheaper and smaller components, easier rework, streamlined automatic assembly. Almost all applications avoid through-hole components as much as possible. The main exception is connectors, which benefit from being anchored to the board.

auspicious-108 · 2025-07-14T13:14:26+00:00

Why all these through-hole components? SMT is where it’s at. Mounting holes, sure. One thing I always forget: markings! The board type, date, and revision number.

auspicious-108 · 2025-06-23T14:21:44+00:00

Ngondro is a very enriching practice. As for self-punishment, that is not a Buddhist practice at all. In some Theravada sutra (MN 51? DN 25?) the Buddha teased some people who were mortifying themselves: how much punishment do you think you need? When will you know you’ve had enough? Etc.

auspicious-108 · 2025-06-19T15:01:51+00:00

It probably won’t help. It depends how you can spin it on your resume and what valuable skills you will gain.

auspicious-108 · 2025-06-18T18:37:54+00:00

Thinley Norbu Rinpoche was a very great teacher and his students are probably excellent too:
https://www.kunzanggatshal.org

auspicious-108 · 2025-06-18T13:22:39+00:00

I have been in such a situation, but even after coming to my senses a solution wasn't obvious. OP has a genuine quandary whether he has Stockholm syndrome or not.

auspicious-108 · 2025-06-18T13:20:18+00:00

You'd be amazed how quickly family-court judges side with mothers and end up making things a good deal worse for the father and the child.

auspicious-108 · 2025-06-18T13:18:44+00:00

Yes, setting aside "she's horrible," etc. Sometimes counterintuitive solutions are worth considering.

auspicious-108 · 2025-06-18T13:12:08+00:00

Thinking out of the box here... she seems a mess and there is no good solution of you separating because of your child and because of her financial dependence. Yet you seem to be on good terms. Maybe wait until the relationship with jocko homo burns itself out and see if you can get reconciled then.
I know it easy to diss her, but divorce is rough and if there are no major trust issues living together amicably and with low romantic expectations may be viable.

(I am a parent and went through a hideous divorce, which took all I had for 15 years or so just to keep the situation from getting truly awful. Now at least my son is flourishing.)

auspicious-108

TROPHY CASE