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"The Power of Now" talks about living in the moment,

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but why is the ego so hard to dissolve?

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This book has sold over 16 million copies worldwide.

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Its core message is just four words:

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Live in the now.

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You might have read it,

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or it might have sat on your shelf for years,

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waiting for the right mood to flip it open.

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First, let me ask you a question.

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Are you,

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right now, living in the moment?

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If you're driving,

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is your mind thinking about what you're doing next?

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If you're playing with your kids,

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are you worrying about an unread email?

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If you're listening to me now,

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has a part of your attention

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already drifted away?

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Most people

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are not in the present.

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And odds are,

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even after reading this book,

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you still won't be.

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This isn't your fault,

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nor is it Tolle's.

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It's a deeper issue,

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one that requires a more complete framework to see clearly.

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Hello,

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everyone,

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I'm Wang Lijie.

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Today we're breaking down a global bestseller,

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Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now."

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I'm going to do something Tolle himself hasn't done:

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translate his findings using the framework of Yogacara Buddhism,

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and then show you

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how far his map goes,

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and what lies beyond

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the edge of that map.

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First, let's talk about the man.

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Tolle is German,

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born in 1948 in a small town in the Ruhr region.

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He studied Languages and History at the University of London,

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and then became a researcher and supervisor at Cambridge University.

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At twenty-nine,

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he fell into extreme depression.

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He described that period as

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waking up every morning

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feeling that living itself was a form of torture.

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Then, late one night,

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when the pain reached its peak,

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a thought suddenly popped into his head:

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"I cannot live with myself any longer."

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Then he paused.

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Wait,

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this sentence is a bit strange.

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"I" and "myself"—

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are there two of me?

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If the one I can't stand is myself,

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then who is can't standing whom?

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It was this very question

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that triggered a profound inner change.

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He later described that,

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at that moment,

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everything changed.

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The voice in his head suddenly went quiet.

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He fell into a stillness he had never experienced before.

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The next morning when he woke up,

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he went to the window

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and saw a tree outside.

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He said that tree was more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen,

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more real.

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He just stood there,

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thinking of nothing,

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simply observing.

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For the next nearly two years,

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he lived on friends' sofas

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and often sat on park benches in London's Russell Square,

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doing nothing,

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just being.

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His neighbors thought he'd gone mad.

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But he said he had never been more lucid.

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Later, he took this experience,

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along with his understanding of consciousness,

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and wrote the book "The Power of Now."

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Alright.

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Let's look at the core premise of this book.

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Tolle says

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that human suffering

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comes from something called the Ego.

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What is the Ego?

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It's that voice in your head that never stops talking.

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Have you ever noticed

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that your mind is almost never quiet?

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The moment one thing ends,

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another begins immediately.

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You're thinking about work while eating;

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worrying about the future while working;

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reviewing the day's conversations before bed;

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thinking about something you said wrong two years ago at 3:00 AM.

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This voice

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is the Ego.

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We previously discussed a Stanford brain-computer interface experiment.

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Every word you say in your mind

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causes the motor cortex to fire in sync.

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This voice isn't a metaphor;

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it's a real, measurable stream of neural activity.

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It isn't you.

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It's an automated program operating within your consciousness.

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But because its voice sounds so much like yours,

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you think it is you.

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Tolle also proposed a concept

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called the "Pain-Body."

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He says

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every emotional trauma you've experienced in the past,

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every bit of pain that wasn't fully processed,

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never disappeared.

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They remain as energetic residue,

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stored in your body,

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forming a dormant emotional entity.

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This entity is activated periodically.

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Once activated,

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it takes over your thoughts and behavior,

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making you relive past pain with doubled intensity.

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I believe many have experienced this.

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You think you've moved on from a relationship,

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then one day,

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you hear a song on the subway,

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your chest suddenly tightens,

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and you completely break down.

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That wasn't your choice;

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that was the Pain-Body being triggered.

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What is Tolle's prescription?

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Simple: observation.

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He says

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when you can observe your thoughts

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instead of being carried away by them,

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you are no longer that thought.

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You become the observer.

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When you notice the Pain-Body start to operate,

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you only need to stay present,

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remain aware,

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and not identify with it.

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Then it loses its power.

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Alright.

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At this point,

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I want to say something many readers of this book might not expect.

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This entire system Tolle describes

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was systematized by Yogacara over a thousand years ago.

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It's not just a faint resemblance;

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there are complete technical specifications.

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Let's do a translation.

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Tolle's "Ego"

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corresponds to Yogacara's seventh consciousness:

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Manas-vijnana.

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We've mentioned this name many times in this series.

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What does Manas-vijnana do?

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It has a function

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called "constant deliberation and grasping."

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"Constant" means it never stops.

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"Deliberation" means scrutinizing.

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'Contemplation' means judging and measuring.

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It works 24 hours a day to do one thing:

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Labeling activities deep in our consciousness.

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"This is mine."

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"This is about me."

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"What does this mean for me?"

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Say you're eating with a friend.

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Their phone rings.

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They glance down at it.

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Manas-vijnana activates: "Are they uninterested in me?"

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"Do they find our conversation boring?"

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"They weren't like this before."

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"Have they been distancing themselves lately?"

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It could just be a delivery notification,

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but within a second, Manas-vijnana

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has turned it into a story about you.

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This voice

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is what Tolle calls the 'Ego.'

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What Tolle calls the 'Pain-Body'

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corresponds to 'Seeds manifesting' in Yogacara.

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Alaya-vijnana,

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the eighth consciousness,

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is the seed warehouse of your deep consciousness.

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Imprints from all your past experiences

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exist there in the form of seeds.

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These seeds usually remain dormant,

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but when they encounter the right external conditions,

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they 'manifest.'

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They erupt from a state of potentiality

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into your current experience and reactions.

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When Tolle says the Pain-Body is activated,

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he's describing this mechanism:

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seeds manifesting upon meeting conditions.

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That song that moves you

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is an external condition.

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The wound you thought had scarred over

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is actually just a seed not yet fully transformed;

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it's waiting for the next trigger.

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And what Tolle calls 'Presence'—

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the observer watching the ego—

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is, in Yogacara terms,

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similar to 'Svasamvitti' (Self-Awareness).

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In the 'Four Aspects' theory,

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Svasamvitti is the function that perceives its own cognition.

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You aren't just looking at the tree;

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you know that you are looking at it.

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You aren't just hijacked by anger;

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you can sense yourself being hijacked.

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This meta-level awareness

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is what Tolle calls 'Presence.'

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You see,

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a German man

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sits on a park bench for two years

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and describes something in his own language

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that matches the framework built by ancient Indian practitioners,

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different versions of the same system.

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This in itself is fascinating.

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It shows that certain truths about consciousness

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are not cultural inventions;

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they can be discovered independently.

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But now we come to the most interesting part.

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Where does Tolle stop?

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He saw the Manas-vijnana,

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the manifestation of the seeds,

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and even the existence of Svasamvitti.

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But his prescription for all of this

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is just one word: 'Observe.'

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Here lies the problem.

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If observation alone could solve it,

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why do so many people read 'The Power of Now'

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and observe for years,

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yet the ego still returns every morning?

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This isn't mocking Tolle.

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It's a very serious question.

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The answer lies in Alaya-vijnana.

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Tolle found the Manas-vijnana,

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but he didn't address why it is so powerful

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and so difficult to shake.

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The answer from Yogacara is

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the source of Manas-vijnana's power.

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is the seeds within the Alaya-vijnana.

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You can see the Manas-vijnana in operation,

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but the seeds reside at a deeper level,

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taking effect before you ever notice the Manas.

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It's like seeing a whirlpool on the river surface,

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but its power comes from the undercurrent at the bottom.

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You stare at the whirlpool,

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but it won't disappear,

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because what drives it lies where you cannot see.

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This explains a common confusion among practitioners:

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"I'm already very mindful;

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I know when anger arises;

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I can observe it,

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yet it's still so powerful,

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still affects my behavior,

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and still pops up when I'm not paying attention."

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Yogacara's answer: Observation is indeed useful,

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but it acts on the level of the Manas-vijnana.

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What you truly need to address

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is the seed structure at the Alaya level.

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Only observing the Manas

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is like using a rag to wipe a leak every time you find it,

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without ever fixing the leaking pipe.

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The Manas is just the outlet,

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the seed-store house is the source.

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So, how is the seed structure transformed?

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Yogacara provides a complete method

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called "perfuming."

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Like placing white cloth next to flowers,

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the fragrance gradually seeps into the fabric.

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Every time you keep a precept,

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every time you chant the Buddha's name,

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every time you meditate,

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every time you think deeply—

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you are essentially planting new seeds into the Alaya-vijnana,

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while allowing old, negative seeds to lose vitality from lack of nourishment.

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This is a process that requires time;

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it's a continuous, iterative process,

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not something achieved through a single epiphany or observation.

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Of course,

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sudden enlightenment does exist.

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But the conditions for its occurrence

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usually require a vast accumulation at the Alaya level.

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The seeds are already ripe,

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waiting only for a final external catalyst.

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Tolle's two years on the park bench

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00:09:36,591 --> 00:09:39,548
were likely a deep, natural purification process,

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though he lacked this specific vocabulary to describe it.

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Now,

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I'm going to tell you something a bit ironic.

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After *The Power of Now* was published,

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00:09:47,471 --> 00:09:49,067
it spawned an entire industry.

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00:09:49,350 --> 00:09:51,668
You can attend Tolle's live seminars,

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00:09:51,711 --> 00:09:52,847
buy his meditation audios,

295
00:09:53,150 --> 00:09:54,187
buy his calendars,

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00:09:54,390 --> 00:09:56,748
and buy mugs printed with his quotes.

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Millions of people worldwide

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00:09:59,191 --> 00:10:01,868
now define themselves as followers of *The Power of Now*.

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They share states of "presence" on social media,

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00:10:05,270 --> 00:10:06,748
discuss the traps of the ego,

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and point out when someone is still identifying with it.

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Do you see the problem?

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00:10:12,431 --> 00:10:15,268
When someone defines themselves as "living in the now"

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and actively maintains and promotes this identity,

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this very behavior

306
00:10:19,030 --> 00:10:22,227
is exactly the Manas-vijnana operating under a new guise.

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00:10:22,510 --> 00:10:24,347
"I want to be a spiritual person;"

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00:10:24,471 --> 00:10:26,868
"I want others to see me living in the now;"

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"I am different from those ordinary people still living in ego."

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This isn't practice;

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00:10:31,510 --> 00:10:33,107
this is spiritual consumerism.

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The Manas hasn't disappeared;

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it has simply found a more high-end brand.

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In my years of investing,

315
00:10:39,510 --> 00:10:41,227
I've seen too many similar phenomena.

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00:10:41,591 --> 00:10:43,548
Many people read numerous business books,

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00:10:43,671 --> 00:10:45,107
attend countless bootcamps,

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00:10:45,350 --> 00:10:48,080
and upgrade their self-narrative from "ordinary person"

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00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:49,908
to "someone with first-principles thinking"

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or "someone with systematic cognition."

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00:10:51,990 --> 00:10:53,467
But if you look closely,

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you will find these new labels

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00:10:55,030 --> 00:10:58,067
are structurally no different from the old ones.

324
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Manas is still Manas;

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00:11:00,350 --> 00:11:02,107
it has simply changed into more decent clothes.

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00:11:02,510 --> 00:11:04,628
There is a common phenomenon in the startup world:

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00:11:04,831 --> 00:11:07,467
founders talk about 'user first' on stage,

328
00:11:07,551 --> 00:11:11,028
while behind the scenes, every decision revolves around 'I cannot lose'

329
00:11:11,110 --> 00:11:13,028
and 'my judgment cannot be denied.'

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This is Manas speaking while wearing the cloak of values.

331
00:11:17,471 --> 00:11:21,107
Yogacara has an extremely precise description of this trap:

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Parikalpita-svabhāva, or the 'imagined nature.'

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00:11:23,230 --> 00:11:26,187
You take things that arise dependently and slap fixed labels on them,

334
00:11:26,350 --> 00:11:28,187
and then you become attached to those labels.

335
00:11:28,591 --> 00:11:31,107
Before, you were attached to 'I am a successful person.'

336
00:11:31,311 --> 00:11:34,508
Now, you are attached to 'I am a person living in the now.'

337
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The labels have changed,

338
00:11:36,191 --> 00:11:37,788
but the mechanism of attachment remains the same.

339
00:11:38,110 --> 00:11:39,988
The deeper irony lies here:

340
00:11:40,071 --> 00:11:42,347
Tolle himself actually realized this problem.

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00:11:42,431 --> 00:11:43,467
He says in the book,

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if you treat this book as knowledge to be acquired,

343
00:11:46,630 --> 00:11:47,788
you've missed the point.

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00:11:48,030 --> 00:11:49,707
It is not a system of thought;

345
00:11:49,831 --> 00:11:52,187
it is merely a finger pointing at the moon.

346
00:11:52,431 --> 00:11:53,870
Yet, how many people

347
00:11:53,870 --> 00:11:55,990
are studying the artistic shape of that finger

348
00:11:55,990 --> 00:11:57,187
instead of looking at the moon?

349
00:11:57,390 --> 00:11:58,368
There's a saying in Buddhism

350
00:11:58,671 --> 00:12:00,408
that is even more direct: 'Even the Dharma must be abandoned,'

351
00:12:00,750 --> 00:12:01,748
'let alone the non-Dharma.'

352
00:12:01,990 --> 00:12:03,248
A raft is for crossing the river;

353
00:12:03,591 --> 00:12:05,227
once across, you must let it go.

354
00:12:05,390 --> 00:12:07,107
'The Power of Now' is also a raft,

355
00:12:07,270 --> 00:12:09,307
but many people have put the raft on an altar.

356
00:12:09,389 --> 00:12:10,150
Alright.

357
00:12:10,150 --> 00:12:12,548
We now come to the deepest question of this episode.

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Regarding Tolle's presence—

359
00:12:14,791 --> 00:12:16,629
that observer who watches the ego—

360
00:12:16,630 --> 00:12:17,788
who exactly is it?

361
00:12:18,191 --> 00:12:20,788
We discussed this before using Taoist language:

362
00:12:21,150 --> 00:12:22,587
the one speaking is the 'Cognitive Spirit,'

363
00:12:22,671 --> 00:12:23,947
and the one listening is the 'Original Spirit.'

364
00:12:24,311 --> 00:12:27,388
But Yogacara is not satisfied with just giving the observer a name.

365
00:12:27,551 --> 00:12:29,668
It asks a sharper question.

366
00:12:30,150 --> 00:12:30,687
Tolle says

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00:12:31,071 --> 00:12:32,628
it is your true Being,

368
00:12:32,831 --> 00:12:34,187
your original self,

369
00:12:34,390 --> 00:12:37,467
the pure awareness beyond thought and ego.

370
00:12:37,831 --> 00:12:41,590
But Buddhism asks: is this observer

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00:12:41,591 --> 00:12:43,727
an independent, stable entity?

372
00:12:44,030 --> 00:12:44,528
Or rather,

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00:12:44,870 --> 00:12:46,648
is it also a function of the consciousness system?

374
00:12:47,150 --> 00:12:47,888
Yogacara speaks of

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00:12:48,350 --> 00:12:49,227
'Svasamvitti' (self-awareness).

376
00:12:49,270 --> 00:12:51,629
That function of being aware that one is cognizing

377
00:12:51,630 --> 00:12:53,707
is itself a part of consciousness.

378
00:12:53,870 --> 00:12:56,347
It is not a God's-eye view standing outside the system;

379
00:12:56,431 --> 00:12:59,028
it is a self-monitoring mechanism within the system.

380
00:12:59,270 --> 00:13:01,107
This distinction is crucial.

381
00:13:01,350 --> 00:13:05,227
If the observer is a real, transcendent existence outside the system,

382
00:13:05,311 --> 00:13:07,548
then liberation can be achieved simply through observation.

383
00:13:07,831 --> 00:13:10,827
But if the observer is also part of the system,

384
00:13:10,951 --> 00:13:12,707
then the problem becomes much more complex.

385
00:13:12,951 --> 00:13:16,028
This explains why many people meditate for years,

386
00:13:16,191 --> 00:13:17,908
and develop strong awareness,

387
00:13:18,150 --> 00:13:19,947
yet their afflictions still return.

388
00:13:20,230 --> 00:13:21,587
It's not that their awareness is insufficient,

389
00:13:21,750 --> 00:13:24,707
but that the observer itself still carries 'seeds.'

390
00:13:25,270 --> 00:13:27,148
You can observe anger rising,

391
00:13:27,551 --> 00:13:29,148
but your observation of that anger

392
00:13:29,311 --> 00:13:32,947
might itself carry a subtle aversion to it.

393
00:13:33,191 --> 00:13:34,087
And this aversion

394
00:13:34,350 --> 00:13:35,707
is another seed.

395
00:13:35,990 --> 00:13:37,388
You think you are observing,

396
00:13:37,750 --> 00:13:39,587
but in fact, you are using one seed

397
00:13:39,711 --> 00:13:41,628
to try and suppress another.

398
00:13:41,951 --> 00:13:43,908
Buddhism's approach to this problem

399
00:13:44,030 --> 00:13:45,827
ultimately leads to 'non-self.'

400
00:13:46,230 --> 00:13:49,388
It's not that a pure observer is watching the ego.

401
00:13:49,591 --> 00:13:51,988
But when the function of awareness matures enough,

402
00:13:52,150 --> 00:13:54,748
even the label of the observer falls away.

403
00:13:55,030 --> 00:13:56,168
There is no one observing;

404
00:13:56,630 --> 00:13:57,909
there is only awareness itself.

405
00:13:57,910 --> 00:13:58,868
No subject,

406
00:13:58,910 --> 00:13:59,567
no object,

407
00:13:59,951 --> 00:14:00,947
only clarity.

408
00:14:01,270 --> 00:14:04,107
Yogacara calls this state the Mirror-like Wisdom,

409
00:14:04,270 --> 00:14:06,508
the transformed state of the eighth consciousness.

410
00:14:06,711 --> 00:14:08,668
Like a dust-free mirror,

411
00:14:08,711 --> 00:14:10,107
it reflects everything as it is,

412
00:14:10,270 --> 00:14:10,847
without distortion,

413
00:14:11,071 --> 00:14:11,567
without addition,

414
00:14:11,791 --> 00:14:12,628
and without attachment.

415
00:14:13,110 --> 00:14:15,587
During Tolle's two years in the park,

416
00:14:15,630 --> 00:14:18,107
he likely touched the edges of this state.

417
00:14:18,750 --> 00:14:20,067
He calls it presence.

418
00:14:20,191 --> 00:14:22,827
But he doesn't provide the complete path to get there.

419
00:14:22,990 --> 00:14:23,648
He simply says,

420
00:14:23,990 --> 00:14:24,847
"Let go of the ego,

421
00:14:25,071 --> 00:14:26,227
and stay aware."

422
00:14:26,551 --> 00:14:27,368
This isn't wrong,

423
00:14:27,711 --> 00:14:28,788
but it's incomplete.

424
00:14:28,990 --> 00:14:30,048
It's like someone telling you

425
00:14:30,311 --> 00:14:31,748
to get from Shanghai to Xinjiang,

426
00:14:31,750 --> 00:14:33,388
you just need to head west.

427
00:14:33,591 --> 00:14:34,750
The direction is correct,

428
00:14:34,750 --> 00:14:36,868
but you still need a complete map

429
00:14:36,870 --> 00:14:38,067
to actually arrive.

430
00:14:38,350 --> 00:14:40,347
The Power of Now gives you the direction;

431
00:14:40,510 --> 00:14:42,307
Yogacara gives you the map.

432
00:14:42,630 --> 00:14:44,668
This isn't to say Tolle isn't good enough.

433
00:14:44,951 --> 00:14:45,947
On the contrary,

434
00:14:46,030 --> 00:14:48,427
I think he did something truly remarkable.

435
00:14:48,591 --> 00:14:51,227
Using language modern Westerners can accept,

436
00:14:51,270 --> 00:14:55,227
he brought a core insight buried for millennia in Asian traditions

437
00:14:55,230 --> 00:14:56,748
into the mainstream.

438
00:14:57,431 --> 00:15:00,467
He helped over 16 million people realize for the first time

439
00:15:00,510 --> 00:15:02,427
that the voice in their head is not them.

440
00:15:02,431 --> 00:15:04,307
That is a significant contribution.

441
00:15:04,431 --> 00:15:06,268
But a contribution is not the same as completeness.

442
00:15:06,630 --> 00:15:07,727
So, one last question

443
00:15:08,230 --> 00:15:09,148
for you to consider:

444
00:15:09,630 --> 00:15:11,988
If even the thought "I want to live in the now"

445
00:15:11,990 --> 00:15:14,067
is itself an operation of the ego;

446
00:15:14,551 --> 00:15:16,788
if even the impulse to seek enlightenment

447
00:15:16,870 --> 00:15:20,107
is just the Manas consciousness saying "I want to be a better me;"

448
00:15:20,471 --> 00:15:20,807
then,

449
00:15:21,191 --> 00:15:22,508
is there a practice

450
00:15:22,551 --> 00:15:25,947
that doesn't require a self-improving "I" to initiate it?

451
00:15:26,191 --> 00:15:27,187
Buddhism has one,

452
00:15:27,350 --> 00:15:29,427
but that is the starting point of another map.

453
00:15:29,668 --> 00:15:30,469
This question

454
00:15:30,591 --> 00:15:34,307
is more worth a lifetime of exploration than the entire book.

455
00:15:34,671 --> 00:15:35,768
Have you read this book?

456
00:15:36,431 --> 00:15:39,988
Have you ever found Tolle's methods failing you?

457
00:15:40,191 --> 00:15:41,768
What happened in that moment?

458
00:15:42,230 --> 00:15:43,748
I'd love to hear your thoughts.

459
00:15:44,471 --> 00:15:45,168
I am Wang Lijie.

460
00:15:45,591 --> 00:15:46,748
I'll see you next time.