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https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/even-more-bay-area-house-party

[Previously: Every Bay Area House Party, Another Bay Area House Party]

People talk about \\u201cfuck-you money\\u201d, the amount you\\u2019d have to make to never work again. You dream of fuck-you social success, where you find a partner and a few close friends, declare your interpersonal life solved, and never leave the house from then on. Still, in the real world you clock into your job at Google every day, and in the real world you attend Bay Area house parties. You just hope this one won\\u2019t focus on the same few topics as all the others . . .

\\u201cThere\\u2019s no alpha left in bringing Buddhism to the West\\u201d, says a guy in an FTX Risk Management Department t-shirt. \\u201cPeople have been bringing Buddhism to the West for a hundred years now. It\\u2019s done. Stop trying to bring more Buddhism to the West.\\u201d

\\u201cThat\\u2019s so cheems mindset,\\u201d says the woman he\\u2019s talking to. Her nametag says \\u2018Astra\\u2019, although you don\\u2019t know if that\\u2019s her real name, her Internet handle, or her startup. \\u201cThere\\u2019s no alpha left in bringing Buddhism to California. When was the last time you heard of someone preaching the dharma in a red state? Never, I bet.\\u201d

\\u201cI don\\u2019t think red state conservatives would really go for Buddhism,\\u201d says Risk Management Guy.

\\u201cCheems mindset again!\\u201d says Astra. \\u201cThink about it for five seconds! Buddhism is about self-liberation. Conservatives love the self, and they love liberating things! The only problem is a hundred years of western progressives interpreting it in western progressive terms. Have you even read David Chapman? You just have to rephrase it in the right language.\\u201d

\\u201cAnd what\\u2019s the right language?\\u201d

\\u201cGlad you asked! I\\u2019m working on a new translation of the Pali Canon. I translate nirvana as \\u2018freedom\\u2019, maya as \\u2018fake news\\u2019, and Mahayana as \\u2018monster truck\\u2019. G\\u0101dhrak\\u016bta is \\u2018Mt. Eagle\\u2019. Some parts don\\u2019t even have to be retranslated! The sutras say that you attain the formless jhanas by \\u2018passing beyond bodily sensations and paying no attention to perceptions of diversity\\u2019. See, it\\u2019s perfect! Red state conservatives already hate paying attention to diversity!\\u201d

\\u201cThat\\u2019s offensive,\\u201d says a man in a t-shirt with a circular labyrinth on it.

\\u201cOh, and you\\u2019re some kind of expert in offense?\\u201d asks Astra.

\\u201cAs a matter of fact, yes! I\\u2019m Ben Dannis-Arnold, Offensiveness Consultant, at your service.\\u201d He hands Astra a business card.