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vacchagotta @vacchagotta.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Wrong speech includes speech that is harsh, and wrong intention includes thoughts of ill-will/anger/aversion. Nothing about the object of the speech or thought

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vacchagotta @vacchagotta.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Who are your favorite artists who went crazy and died before their time? Mine are Jaco Pastorius and Barney Bubbles

000

vacchagotta @vacchagotta.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Hunger is the foremost illness, as the Dhammapada aptly states

Christians sincerely believe that Satan/demons are a solution to the problem of evil, despite that making no sense. I recently read these citations in Joe Carlsmith's Deep Atheism essay

From Bentley Hart, in The Doors of the Sea: "In the New Testament, our condition as fallen creatures is explicitly portrayed as a subjugation to the subsidiary and often mutinous authority of angelic and demonic 'powers;' which are not able to defeat God's transcendent and providential governance of all things, but which certainly are able to act against him within the limits of cosmic time" (Chapter 2).

From Lewis in The Problem of Pain: "Now it is impossible at this point not to remember a certain sacred story which, though never included in the creeds, has been widely believed in the Church and seems to be implied in several Dominical, Pauline, and Johannine utterances – I mean the story that man was not the first creature to rebel against the Creator, but that some older and mightier being long since became apostate and is now the emperor of darkness and (significantly) the Lord of this world ... It seems to me, therefore, a reasonable supposition, that some mighty created power had already been at work for ill on the material universe, or the solar system, or, at least, the planet Earth, before ever man came on the scene: and that when man fell, someone had, indeed, tempted him. This hypothesis is not introduced as a general 'explanation of evil': it only gives a wider application to the principle that evil comes from the abuse of free will. If there is such a power, as I myself believe, it may well have corrupted the animal creation before man appeared." (p. 86)

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I was going to make a post like "the Buddha never had an ice-cold refreshing Coca-Cola" but then I thought, the Buddha could recall all his past lives, countless expansions and contractions of the world-system, he probably enjoyed beverages the likes of which we could scarcely imagine

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decisionmaking is also the crux of the AI "art" debate, I claim

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there's a difference between doing tasks and making decisions making decisions can oftentimes feel empowering it makes sense that people feel skeptical about ceding their decisionmaking, even in "trivial" cases

110

Like you want to talk about including mathematicians in the process? Here you go, take a look at this! Would they really be happier if the work was completely perfect and they had nothing to pore over, nothing to critique?

He used to be a really big deal when he wrote for the New Yorker but after 2016 or so he basically fell off the face of the earth

And if I am being completely honest here I do get a sick thrill from the prospect of seeing intelligent, successful people freak out and struggle. Like it's very funny seeing T. Tao do a volte-face when GPT actually gets good at math. I definitely have some "work to do" regarding that impulse.

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I feel alright heading into the singularity because I have little ego, not much materially to lose and I'm not particularly attached to living. If I had built my life up into some kind of impressive, respectable edifice I would feel more threatened but my life hasn't really gone that way. Oh well!

3100

Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The Buddha is progressive on matters of sex - he doesn't care what kind of sex you're having or who you're having it with - it's all equally bad

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Reposted by vacchagotta

Early 20th century travelers reported seeing a Burmese pagoda that appeared to rock in the wind. The Sampan Pagoda stood atop a huge boulder in eastern Myanmar, but it seemingly no longer survives, leaving a few photographs as the last evidence of its existence. 🧵 🗃️ 📜 #Myanmar

A textured halfton-lithographic image shows a tall, tiered golden stupa or shrine rising from a large, dark, weathered rock. The structure is centered and tapers upward into a narrow spire that extends beyond the top edge of the image. Its broad lower tiers have curved, horizontal bands in gold, olive, and dark brown. The rock has an irregular, rounded shape with mottled gray, brown, and black surfaces and rests on a darker base. Behind it is a bright turquoise-blue sky with wispy white clouds and a pale peach-colored horizon. The image has a grainy, painterly texture.

A vintage color postcard shows a tall, gold-colored pagoda standing on a large, dark, rounded rock formation. The pagoda has a tiered, conical spire with ornate bands and a pointed finial. A single person stands among pale rocks in the lower-left foreground, providing a sense of scale. Behind the formation, hazy mountains extend across the horizon beneath a bright blue sky with thin white clouds. The image has worn edges and a faded, textured appearance. A white caption strip along the bottom identifies the site.

Transcribed Text:

The Sampan Pagoda — Shwegyen.

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Mobius is doing something like that bsky.app/profile/mino...

040

I'm half trolling? If the model can do math better than the average mathematician, why would we assume it couldn't also do "math communication"? That's kind of the point you get to, when you try to reason about AGI - any time you think of a task left over for a human to do, the AI can just do it.

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An LLM could tell you. Boom problem solved. That's kind of the point of living in the dawn of artificial general intelligence.

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vacchagotta @vacchagotta.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

This is the future of every field of human intellectual endeavor. Results too numerous and complex to comprehend. We should reach for acceptance and not be assmad about it.

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Wow Niccolo Soldo is still around, huh

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vacchagotta @vacchagotta.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Like oh yeah when I look at the problems in the world, they're definitely caused by a surplus of long term thinking. Lol. Lmao, even.

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vacchagotta @vacchagotta.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

This is already how democratic politics and shareholder capitalism function?

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Deep atheism and AI risk - Joe Carlsmith

I was inspired to revisit the Raṭṭhapālasutta after reading this Joe Carlsmith essay on "Deep atheism and AI risk" joecarlsmith.com/2024/01/04/d... - part of a really interesting series of essays and a fascinating thinker overall, glad he's at Anthropic

joecarlsmith.com

On a certain kind of fundamental mistrust towards Nature.

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Claude's adherence to the first precept is not great but better than most humans probably

021

The IMAX tickets sold out in literal seconds. Like I was on that shit as soon as they went up and the website froze and then they were gone

They have freeze dried candy now. And also more spicy candy. Is it good? Hell I don't know.

000

Raṭṭhapāla explains the four statements to King Koravya in MN 82 #Buddhism

“‘The world is unstable and swept away.’ So the worthy Raṭṭhapāla said. How should I see the meaning of this statement?”

“What do you think, Great King? When you were twenty or twenty-five years of age, were you well-versed at riding elephants, horses, and chariots, and at archery and swordsmanship? Were you strong in thigh and arm, capable, and battle-hardened?”

“I was, worthy Raṭṭhapāla. Sometimes it seems as if I had superpowers then. I don’t see anyone who could have equaled me in strength.”

“What do you think, Great King? These days are you just as strong in thigh and arm, capable, and battle-hardened?”

“No, worthy Raṭṭhapāla. For now I am old, elderly, and senior, I’m advanced in years and have reached the final stage of life. I am eighty years old. Sometimes I intend to step in one place, but my foot goes somewhere else.”

“This is what the Buddha was referring to when he said: ‘The world is unstable and swept away.’”

In this royal court you can find divisions of elephants, cavalry, chariots, and infantry. They will serve to defend us from any threats. Yet you said: ‘The world has no shelter and no savior.’ How should I see the meaning of this statement?”

“What do you think, Great King? Do you have any chronic ailments?”

“Yes, I do. Sometimes my friends and colleagues, relatives and kin surround me, thinking: ‘Now the king will die! Now the king will die!’”

“What do you think, Great King? Can you get your friends and colleagues, relatives and kin to help: ‘Please, my dear friends and colleagues, relatives and kin, all of you here share my pain so that I may feel less pain.’ Or must you alone feel that pain?”

“I can’t get my friends to share my pain. Rather, I alone must feel it.”

“This is what the Buddha was referring to when he said: ‘The world has no shelter and no savior.’”

In this royal court you can find abundant gold, both coined and uncoined, stored above and below ground. Yet you said: ‘The world has no owner—you must leave it all behind and pass on.’ How should I see the meaning of this statement?”

“What do you think, Great King? These days you amuse yourself, supplied and provided with the five kinds of sensual stimulation. But is there any way to ensure that in the next life you will continue to amuse yourself in the same way, supplied and provided with the same five kinds of sensual stimulation? Or will others make use of this property, while you pass on according to your deeds?”

“There’s no way to ensure that I will continue to amuse myself in the same way. Rather, others will take over this property, while I pass on according to my deeds.”

“This is what the Buddha was referring to when he said: ‘The world has no owner—you must leave it all behind and pass on.’”

You also said this: ‘The world is wanting, insatiable, the slave of craving.’ How should I see the meaning of this statement?”

“What do you think, Great King? Do you reign over the prosperous land of Kuru?”

“Indeed I do.”

“What do you think, Great King? Suppose a trustworthy and dependable man were to come from the east. He’d approach you and say: ‘Please, Great King, you should know this. I come from the east. There I saw a large country that is successful and prosperous, populous and full of people. They have many divisions of elephants, cavalry, chariots, and infantry. And there’s plenty of money and grain, plenty of gold, coined and uncoined, worked and unworked, and plenty of women for the taking. With your current forces you can conquer it. Conquer it, Great King!’ What would you do?”

“I would conquer it and reign over it.”

“What do you think, Great King? Suppose a trustworthy and dependable man were to come from the west, north, south, or from over the ocean. He’d approach you and say the same thing. What would you do?”

“I would conquer it and reign over it.”

“This is what the Buddha was referring to when he said: ‘The world is wanting, insatiable, the slave of craving.’ And it was after knowing and seeing and hearing this that I went forth from the lay life to homelessness.”