u/AbidinginAnubhava

I was checking out the "getting started" section of this subreddit, which recommends a lot of the work of Bettin Bäumer, Mark Dyczkowski, Sthaneshwar Timalsina, Thakur Jaideva Singh, Lakshmanjoo, etc., but I noticed under the section on "Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam of Kṣemarāja," Wallis's The Recognition Sutras was left out. In fact, while writing this question, a message popped up stating, "A defining feature of this sub is its strong focus on authenticity, which ensures accurate teachings and combats appropriation of the tradition. Your post references an organization or figure flagged as not being an authentic representative of the living tradition and lineages of Kashmir Śaivism." So could someone share here what exactly is wrong with his work? I can understand how he lacks transmission, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate his work as a translator. Would someone share what is wrong with his translations, etc? Because an article Wallis wrote summarizing Sanderson's own assessment of the history of Kashmir Shaivism compared to other tantric traditions, including Buddhist tantra, is cited with approval.

I am not trying to start an argument, nor am I a follower or student of Christopher Wallis. I just want to genuinely understand not just which authorities are trusted on this sub, but why some are, and others aren't. I appreciate any feedback!

I am making a mid-life career change. I spent twenty years working overseas at universities or on military contracts teaching English as a Foreign Language. I got a BA and an MA in English from top schools, lots of experience with editing and proofreading, academic writing, working with "diverse" clients, etc. But I decided I want to stay in the US after so many years abroad, and I found a well-respected, ABA-approved post-baccalaureate program to become a paralegal that includes a one-semester internship with a court or law firm. (It's also a program that is accepted as a credential to become a certified paralegal in this state through the state bar association.) The whole thing should take 10 months, or possibly 13 if I push the internship to the very end. The cost is also affordable.

I posted this question several months before, and I received one of the most vicious comments I have ever seen on the internet. (Ah, Reddit...) So I took that post down. But I haven't seen anyone receive such a backlash since; in fact, I have seen a lot of good advice from different people to different posters. So I'm going to try again: Is this a crazy idea to make such a transition, or does it sound like a good transition? I know nobody knows the future, and you don't know whether I have a host of pathologies to boot, but given the information above, is it crazy to make this career change? Or should I go back to Asia?

Like the title says, two dudes having a chat...

I remember following the debate in 2009 and a few years after that, the documentary The Grammar of Happiness (2012), and, of course, the news that more linguists were heading to the Amazon to study the language. I enjoyed Dan Everett's books, but having cut my teeth in a minority area of linguistics (i.e., Tibeto-Burman languages), I was well aware that too few researchers often led to extraordinary claims that could later be debunked.

So it's 2026, and I've been out of graduate school for over 2 decades. Have there been any new research that might have clarified the debate?

People who ask about life changes usually get the crap beaten out of them in the comments on Reddit ("have you searched the subreddit?" Yes!), but I'm going to try it anyway! Any advice would be appreciated!

I have been a lifelong teacher of English as a Foreign Language. Except for two stints in graduate school, my entire adult life has been teaching English overseas. I have mostly taught in either universities (academic reading and writing in all-English-speaking univeristies) or military training programs (US companies that train 'customers' in how to use their toys; I taught them English to read the manuals and recognize what the flashing "pull up" light means), but I also taught in some high schools and primary schools as well as in corporations (e.g., a year as a communications specialist at Microsoft in Shanghai). I have an M.A. in English (Applied Linguistics) and a CELTA, so I could always find work in the US at a community college or in a university ESL program.

Having said that, I returned home to a care for a parent who had a medical emergency. While readjusting to life in this happiest of times, I discovered that a university (part of the same university system that I did my second M.A. in) is offering a post-baccalaureate path for ESL licensure in K-12 education. It's all night classes done online until they set you up for student teaching, eventually dedicating a whole semester to that, after which you get your license in ESL K-12.

The thing is, I'm 53. I'll be 54 when I get my license. Is it too late to try to do this? I got a substitute teacher's license and the local school district has hired me for the fall, so I will have income while still helping at home. I also have plenty of savings (Saudi Arabia pays extremely well), so I can easily pay for the program out of pocket.

I've done the math about retirement: I know I'd begin at entry level, and I'm not worried about savings, social security, whatever pension I'd get here in my remaining years--these are all fine. I'd be happy with what I get via a teacher's path. My question is, will school districts want a 54-year old recovering EFL teacher setting up as a full-time ESL teacher? I know this state has an ESL teacher shortage (i.e., they had to issue several thousand emergency teacher licenses), so I would think that there is a demand, but I just don't know. I literally don't know anyone working in K-12 right now. (The handful of cousins who worked in schools abandoned it decades ago for their mom's real estate empire and are now sitting on hoards of wealth like dragons... or are they fearfully looking at markets? I don't know, I never ask them about money!)

Anyway, sorry for the long ramble.

TL;DR: I taught overseas for 23 years in EFL (university, corporate, military) and have a pathway to get an ESL K-12 licensure in a year here. Worth doing at 53 or try to find something else?