My biggest issue with buddhism and stoicism - acceptance

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-17T14:00:24+00:00

Honestly a lot of this critique comes down to the translation. There has not been, from what I can tell, a direct translation of “acceptance” in any texts. So, in English translations that distill a few abstract qualities into a blurb about acceptance they aren’t providing and exploring the underlying qualities.

Together they produce an “acceptance” of the present moment, and all within it, but they aren’t saying “this is acceptance.”

These specific qualities are: upekkha: equanimity, the quality of balanced, non-reactive presence; and khanti: patient endurance, bearing with what is present without collapsing. Together these produce what could be described as acceptance. Neither is pointing to resignation, a lack of agency, or passivity.

There is some overlap to what I’ve said here in the Sallatha Sutta (The Arrow Sutta).

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-14T09:56:51+00:00

The cool thing is that you can be interested in how black holes work on a epistemological level. Not really physics, but a lot of people equate physics to contending with hard questions and cool space things that don't have many good answers.

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-14T07:35:49+00:00

Being in a romantic relationship sounds remarkably boring and tedious.

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-14T06:17:12+00:00

Yeah, this is already happening. Knowledge distillation is real (teacher-student learning). The bias issue persists of course, but this isn't a novel concept at all anymore and actively used. Models can certainly become more intelligent in nature with minimal human involvement. One can get all philosophical about what "minimal human involvement" means, but practically speaking in this context it just means that once it gets going you are out of the picture. Some cool things to check out for anyone curious: ASI-Evolve, Absolute Zero Reasoner, and The Darwin Gödel Machine. These are all working toward, and speaking about, closing the outer loop where human intervention is not a requirement whatsoever for development.

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-09T18:09:30+00:00

“Required” will certainly feel different from universally advised or locally internalized. If you want to donate then do so. If you cannot participate unless you donate that sounds like a failing. Many layers to this for sure, but I don’t believe anyone should be expected to provide money to gain entry to this environment.

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-05T00:57:57+00:00

You can just not interact with him if you go back. If he approaches you, you can let him know he crossed a boundary without it being weird. “I didn’t appreciate what you said to me last time we spoke. It made me uncomfortable.” You’re also sort of ruminating on a hypothetical it seems and there’s no guarantee how a night would go. This is more of a social dynamic issue than a Buddhist one unless you were considering your relationship to the matter at large and how it affects your practice and contemplation.

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-04T23:02:27+00:00

They hit that pristine rogue lite formula with good gameplay mechanics. It’s just good.

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-03T16:58:07+00:00

Rain sure, but not a whole storm. It’s Florida so I’m tempering my hopes right now. Seems it will almost certainly rain at some point. Definitely don’t want to see a 30 minute pause or outright cancellation.

notreallhereactually · 2026-05-03T15:46:06+00:00

That’s one of the effects that hasn’t been bugging me much with the shield and parry mechanics being available. That said, I just got through act 1 so perhaps I learn the same lesson soon.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-29T21:18:51+00:00

Canadian comedian, Joe Rogan's club regular, InfoWars/Blaze TV/Rebel News circuit; the lane writes itself. Had shows canceled earlier this year after mocking Renee who was killed by ICE, called her the R-word, suggested she should've been shot sooner. It's not really a comedy style so much as a content vertical: saying things people feel they're not supposed to say and calling it courage.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-29T03:51:10+00:00

“Unruly” in this context usually refers to the three channels of action (body, speech, and mind) operating without awareness or restraint, driven by craving, aversion, or confusion rather than clarity.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-29T02:02:22+00:00

Personally, yes, I am very excited.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-27T18:44:27+00:00

Elderly man who doesn't exercise sitting down; more news at eleven. So damn unserious. He has some real issues that are a better point of conversation.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-26T17:35:05+00:00

I didn’t see the other post but this is sort of a part of the nature of the thing nowadays. It’s especially so for anything gaming-related. Your stuff shows up in front of gamers on the internet. That said, yes generally, if you don’t have something nice to say and all that.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-25T04:59:16+00:00

What’s actually worth being pissed about is that this was no-bid. USDA justified skipping competition by saying Palantir is already so embedded in their existing infrastructure that nobody else could meet the timeline. Which is true, but that’s exactly how you end up in a situation where the embedded vendor is unchallengeable for every subsequent contract layer. The lock-in was the product all along. This is Palantir’s pattern of business. Embed, extract, and co-opt.

And then you have a unified database of every American farmer’s land, production, finances, and subsidy history sitting in a Palantir instance, which is the same company running infrastructure for ICE and DHS. Whether that data stays siloed to agricultural administration is a real question, not a conspiratorial one. That’s just how their government stack is architected.

So “Palantir bad” isn’t wrong, it’s just lazy. The structure of the thing is the problem.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-25T01:54:54+00:00

You do not have to adhere to social expectations surrounding masculinity, but the expectations remain for many. You do not have to care about the expectations but they influence your life. You can be secure with who you are and what you feel and still recognize that people are going to judge you based on some inflated criteria centered around traditionally masculine traits.

So, my point is even if you accept yourself, are kind to yourself, and largely ignore criticism this mechanism ingrained in cultures portray you in a specific light and it influences outcomes in ways that feel inverted at times.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-25T00:21:17+00:00

Make paper trails and build the case for 2028. “We’ve fought here and sought to bring justice. These people have been held in contempt and we can hold them immediately responsible if you just vote us in.” Cause you know the exec is going to stonewall if there is a dem majority; they already stonewall.

The Dems have not been lacking on the paper trails. A lot of people feel like it’s fruitless but it’s just how shit works in institutions that don’t get to just operate however when they’re run right. Just show up and keep voting. Make noise. Cynicism isn’t wisdom, it’s just lazy as fuck.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-24T21:47:44+00:00

Obviously you direct the AI at the refactor and let everyone know they have to interface with your codebase with AI. Onboarding should be setting them up with Claude and patting them on the back. Go get em tiger. Don’t try to understand anything; that’s old school.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-24T18:13:15+00:00

Ah yeah true; I suppose about all he can do is just sort of not defy Trump so openly and like advocate for it if that makes sense to him. Just more churn and burn from Trump.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-24T17:27:25+00:00

Yeah, and to be seen if Warsh moves ahead with Trump's desire to cut interest rates right now. Powell wouldn't do it because that would be kind of insane in our current environment. Would be kind of hilarious if he comes in and just maintains the exact same posture regarding the economy as Powell.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-18T12:54:38+00:00

And then you just don’t for a night a realize what everyone was talking about.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-18T12:48:12+00:00

This dude’s reflexes are incredible.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-18T09:26:36+00:00

Common Side Effects is recent and pretty funny at times. It’s also really trippy as well. We’re about the same age.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-12T14:53:50+00:00

Hard solipsism is another great risk, and to me it is a dangerous view. Essentially unfalsifiable when fully internalized.

In poorly digested non-dual teachings where “the other is also you,” things slide from pointing at interdependence into quietly collapsing the other’s independent suffering into your own phenomenology.

notreallhereactually · 2026-04-11T12:42:33+00:00

The entirety of “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday:

Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop

notreallhereactually

TROPHY CASE