Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
@bentg104.bsky.social
Cyclist, mechanic, Buddhist, leftist, sailor, father.
Like me, all beings wish to be happy and free from suffering. It often goes to hell from there.
Like me, all beings wish to be happy and free from suffering. It often goes to hell from there.
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
August 1, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
the one thing i genuinely did not anticipate from this administration was its vicious, know nothing hostility to any and everything that might even be adjacent to science and scientific research. they genuinely one to destroy the entirety of the nation’s research capacity. and for what, exactly?
If you think I've forgotten about the hurricane satellites, think again. The Navy is permanently unplugging them this week, on the brink of the busiest stretch of the season. There's so much more to this story, and I have the latest scoop. ⬇️
Navy Set to Unplug Critical Hurricane Satellites this Week
Abrupt termination of satellite data by U.S. Department of Defense sends forecasters scrambling for a fix on the brink of the busiest stretch of the hurricane season
michaelrlowry.substack.com
July 29, 2025 at 1:49 PM
the one thing i genuinely did not anticipate from this administration was its vicious, know nothing hostility to any and everything that might even be adjacent to science and scientific research. they genuinely one to destroy the entirety of the nation’s research capacity. and for what, exactly?
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
When a mute tastes the sweetness of sugar, he can taste it, but he is unable to describe the experience. Similarly, when we look directly into the nature of mind we cannot really describe how this mind is actually experienced.
― Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (in Crystal Clear)
― Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (in Crystal Clear)
July 29, 2025 at 3:05 PM
When a mute tastes the sweetness of sugar, he can taste it, but he is unable to describe the experience. Similarly, when we look directly into the nature of mind we cannot really describe how this mind is actually experienced.
― Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (in Crystal Clear)
― Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (in Crystal Clear)
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
🌹💎~ "We can just allow things to be the way they are, allow tension to be. Even if you are stressed out, you can allow it, you can let it be the way it is. You can allow whatever mental states you have, even your compulsive, obsessive tendencies, to be what they are, not in order to see them as
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Buddhist read: Everyday Buddhist: Guilt and Tendencies towards Negativity, by Ajahn Sumedho wp.me/pFy3u-1fD.
Guilt and Tendencies towards Negativity, by Ajahn Sumedho
In the Western world we have a lot of problems around guilt. We can feel guilty all the time, and this of course is very much a cultural tendency that we have…
wp.me
July 25, 2025 at 9:22 AM
🌹💎~ "We can just allow things to be the way they are, allow tension to be. Even if you are stressed out, you can allow it, you can let it be the way it is. You can allow whatever mental states you have, even your compulsive, obsessive tendencies, to be what they are, not in order to see them as
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Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
Human life expectancy is uncertain; death can come at any time.
Holding this thought in mind, I am attentive to each moment.
― Joan Halifax (in Being with Dying)
Holding this thought in mind, I am attentive to each moment.
― Joan Halifax (in Being with Dying)
July 25, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Human life expectancy is uncertain; death can come at any time.
Holding this thought in mind, I am attentive to each moment.
― Joan Halifax (in Being with Dying)
Holding this thought in mind, I am attentive to each moment.
― Joan Halifax (in Being with Dying)
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
Vajrayana teaches that the world and life are not samsara. Samsara only comes into being when our mind is veiled by the fundamental ignorance that does not see the enlightened nature of all things. So samsara is purely a state of mind.
~ Anam Thubten
~ Anam Thubten
July 23, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Vajrayana teaches that the world and life are not samsara. Samsara only comes into being when our mind is veiled by the fundamental ignorance that does not see the enlightened nature of all things. So samsara is purely a state of mind.
~ Anam Thubten
~ Anam Thubten
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
Please read this and share it:
Commentary: Protecting Human Dignity from the Threat of Moral Nihilism
In Vietnam for the UN International Day of Vesak in Ho Chi Minh City from May 5-8., Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi gave the May 6th keynote address. His topic: “Protecting Human Dignity from the Threat of...
www.lionsroar.com
June 19, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Please read this and share it:
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
15 years ago the Supreme Court decided corporations are people under the First Amendment.
Today, billionaire political spending is up 160-fold since that ruling.
Citizens United is among the worst decisions in history. It corrupts our system every day.
Today, billionaire political spending is up 160-fold since that ruling.
Citizens United is among the worst decisions in history. It corrupts our system every day.
April 13, 2025 at 10:00 PM
15 years ago the Supreme Court decided corporations are people under the First Amendment.
Today, billionaire political spending is up 160-fold since that ruling.
Citizens United is among the worst decisions in history. It corrupts our system every day.
Today, billionaire political spending is up 160-fold since that ruling.
Citizens United is among the worst decisions in history. It corrupts our system every day.
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
When faith arises as a result of analysis, it is much more stable.
~ Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
~ Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
April 12, 2025 at 2:29 PM
When faith arises as a result of analysis, it is much more stable.
~ Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
~ Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
New Mexico made child care free for most families. Believe it or not, the good thing is good.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
New Mexico made childcare free. It lifted 120,000 people above the poverty line
The state, which has long ranked worst in the US for child wellbeing, became the first and only in the country to offer free childcare to a majority of families
www.theguardian.com
April 12, 2025 at 3:33 PM
New Mexico made child care free for most families. Believe it or not, the good thing is good.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
The abuser’s classic playbook is to isolate you from your friends, create a sense of helplessness, make it difficult to connect with others and force you to simply think about your survival from one day to the next. We are seeing that playbook applied to the nation as a whole.
March 30, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The abuser’s classic playbook is to isolate you from your friends, create a sense of helplessness, make it difficult to connect with others and force you to simply think about your survival from one day to the next. We are seeing that playbook applied to the nation as a whole.
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
“An effective method to overcome fear is to shift one's concern from oneself to others. When we actually see the difficulties that other people face, our own seem less enormous. When we come to the aid of others, our confidence is boosted and our fear and anguish are lessened.”
Advice from Heart
Advice from Heart
March 30, 2025 at 8:37 PM
“An effective method to overcome fear is to shift one's concern from oneself to others. When we actually see the difficulties that other people face, our own seem less enormous. When we come to the aid of others, our confidence is boosted and our fear and anguish are lessened.”
Advice from Heart
Advice from Heart
Since all phenomena, outer and inner, are dependently existent mere appearances,
They have no inherent nature, they are just appearance-emptiness.
If you know how they resemble dreams and illusions,
All comings and goings will be open and relaxed.
--Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
They have no inherent nature, they are just appearance-emptiness.
If you know how they resemble dreams and illusions,
All comings and goings will be open and relaxed.
--Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
March 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Since all phenomena, outer and inner, are dependently existent mere appearances,
They have no inherent nature, they are just appearance-emptiness.
If you know how they resemble dreams and illusions,
All comings and goings will be open and relaxed.
--Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
They have no inherent nature, they are just appearance-emptiness.
If you know how they resemble dreams and illusions,
All comings and goings will be open and relaxed.
--Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
Self-occurring awareness is beyond arising, ceasing, and abiding.
Rest within this great primordial wisdom,
beyond the mind of conceptual ideas.
Realizing samsara and nirvana to be the dharmakaya
is utterly delightful.
~ Sera Khandro
Rest within this great primordial wisdom,
beyond the mind of conceptual ideas.
Realizing samsara and nirvana to be the dharmakaya
is utterly delightful.
~ Sera Khandro
March 19, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Self-occurring awareness is beyond arising, ceasing, and abiding.
Rest within this great primordial wisdom,
beyond the mind of conceptual ideas.
Realizing samsara and nirvana to be the dharmakaya
is utterly delightful.
~ Sera Khandro
Rest within this great primordial wisdom,
beyond the mind of conceptual ideas.
Realizing samsara and nirvana to be the dharmakaya
is utterly delightful.
~ Sera Khandro
From Ogmin's post:
We are the openness of presence offering hospitality to the shifting patterns we take to be identity.
~ James Low
We are the openness of presence offering hospitality to the shifting patterns we take to be identity.
~ James Low
March 15, 2025 at 1:31 AM
From Ogmin's post:
We are the openness of presence offering hospitality to the shifting patterns we take to be identity.
~ James Low
We are the openness of presence offering hospitality to the shifting patterns we take to be identity.
~ James Low
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
Aid agencies distributing U.S. food aid in Ethiopia's war-affected Tigray region say they have had to stop feeding millions of people because of the Trump administration's restrictions on foreign aid.
'We will just die in silence': US aid cuts hit Ethiopia's fragile Tigray region
Aid agencies distributing U.S. food aid in Ethiopia's war-affected Tigray region say they have had to stop feeding millions of people because of the Trump administration's restrictions on foreign aid.
bit.ly
March 14, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Aid agencies distributing U.S. food aid in Ethiopia's war-affected Tigray region say they have had to stop feeding millions of people because of the Trump administration's restrictions on foreign aid.
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
"The Thus-Gone One is not pleased with beings with extensive wealth, nor displeased with beings who are poor. Rather, he extends great uninhibited love to those who have embarked on the correct path, and great uninhibited compassion to those who have embarked on a mistaken path."
The Dharma Council / 84000 Reading Room
The Dharma Council is a Great Vehicle sūtra in which the path of a bodhisattva is taught initially by the Buddha, but principally by a host of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas. Among them, the bodhisattva Ni...
84000.co
February 14, 2025 at 9:32 PM
"The Thus-Gone One is not pleased with beings with extensive wealth, nor displeased with beings who are poor. Rather, he extends great uninhibited love to those who have embarked on the correct path, and great uninhibited compassion to those who have embarked on a mistaken path."
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
"I come not to praise education but to murder it."
SCOOP: Now that Linda McMahon is confirmed/sworn in as secretary, Trump will be imminently issuing an executive order eliminating the Department of Education.
I’ve obtained a draft of an email that McMahon will be sending to staff re: the EO and the department’s “final mission”.
Here is a portion:
I’ve obtained a draft of an email that McMahon will be sending to staff re: the EO and the department’s “final mission”.
Here is a portion:
![After President Trump's inauguration last month, he has steadily signed a slate of executive orders to keep these education promises: combatting critical race theory, DEl, gender ideology extremism, and discrimination in admissions. President Trump has also been focused on eliminating wasteful bureaucracy and harmful programs in the federal government. To that end, today he signed [Executive Order XYZ, entitled "Eliminating the Department of Education,] which has given us a clear and final mission.
We are to identify which of the Department's functions, programs, and offices are not mandated by statute, and eliminate them. This reorganization will impact staff, budgets, reporting, and more —and in coming months, we will determine how it can be accomplished with minimal delay and disruption. The President further tasked us with creating a plan to reallocate and reassign functions of the Department of Education that would be more effectively managed by other agencies. This plan will offer Congress a road map toward fulfilling the expectations of the President and the American people.
The new vision—which I hope each of you will embrace going forward—can be expressed as four main convictions:
Parents are the primary decision makers in their children's education.
Students deserve to be protected from physical violence, racial discrimination, medical tyranny, and gender extremism ideology on campus.
Postsecondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs.
Taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning: proficiency in math, reading, and core subjects, and patriotism in American history and civics.
As we move to reduce the Department's middleman role in education, these four convictions must guide us toward conscientious and pragmatic action. The elimination of bureaucracy should free us, not limit us, in our pursuit of these goals
Removing red tape and bureaucratic barriers will empower parents to make th](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ejihld4sywvvqwe67cdkn4jq/bafkreictcxubqhd7foyjwbms62bj3cxmfyepqk2ms3l6ctabsa6fvpm5ju@jpeg)
March 4, 2025 at 12:08 AM
"I come not to praise education but to murder it."
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
HERE COMES THE TRUMP RECESSION-- Collapsing Jobs AND Rampaging Inflation
The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) for 1Q of 2025 is -2.8 %
The Atlanta Fed’s GDP estimate was +3% when Trump took Jan 20 to -2.8% today.
www.atlantafed.org/cqer/researc...
The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) for 1Q of 2025 is -2.8 %
The Atlanta Fed’s GDP estimate was +3% when Trump took Jan 20 to -2.8% today.
www.atlantafed.org/cqer/researc...
March 3, 2025 at 8:02 PM
HERE COMES THE TRUMP RECESSION-- Collapsing Jobs AND Rampaging Inflation
The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) for 1Q of 2025 is -2.8 %
The Atlanta Fed’s GDP estimate was +3% when Trump took Jan 20 to -2.8% today.
www.atlantafed.org/cqer/researc...
The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) for 1Q of 2025 is -2.8 %
The Atlanta Fed’s GDP estimate was +3% when Trump took Jan 20 to -2.8% today.
www.atlantafed.org/cqer/researc...
Reposted by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney
