1 00:00:00,311 --> 00:00:01,447 Rewrite your life's script 2 00:00:01,671 --> 00:00:03,267 Start with self-awareness 3 00:00:03,511 --> 00:00:04,948 Have you ever experienced this? 4 00:00:05,230 --> 00:00:07,187 Looking back at a turning point in your life, 5 00:00:07,391 --> 00:00:09,147 it felt like a complete accident at the time, 6 00:00:09,391 --> 00:00:10,087 but in hindsight, 7 00:00:10,510 --> 00:00:12,708 every step seemed perfectly orchestrated. 8 00:00:13,391 --> 00:00:14,407 You were five minutes late, 9 00:00:14,711 --> 00:00:15,987 missed the subway, 10 00:00:16,231 --> 00:00:19,228 and ended up meeting your future partner on the platform. 11 00:00:19,631 --> 00:00:20,928 You randomly opened a book, 12 00:00:21,510 --> 00:00:22,908 happened upon a single passage, 13 00:00:23,150 --> 00:00:25,147 and it resolved a conflict that troubled you for years. 14 00:00:25,591 --> 00:00:27,068 You think it's just a coincidence. 15 00:00:27,431 --> 00:00:29,867 But late one night, lying in bed, 16 00:00:29,990 --> 00:00:31,987 you suddenly connect these coincidences, 17 00:00:32,191 --> 00:00:33,948 and realize the line they form 18 00:00:33,990 --> 00:00:36,188 doesn't look random at all. 19 00:00:36,591 --> 00:00:38,948 In that moment, you get a chill down your spine. 20 00:00:39,350 --> 00:00:39,648 Hello, 21 00:00:39,990 --> 00:00:40,408 everyone, 22 00:00:40,710 --> 00:00:41,667 I'm Wang Lijie. 23 00:00:42,030 --> 00:00:43,247 A viewer once left me a comment saying, 24 00:00:43,670 --> 00:00:45,067 "Everything seems random, 25 00:00:45,151 --> 00:00:46,588 yet it feels inevitable." 26 00:00:46,831 --> 00:00:48,468 That sentence kept me thinking for a long time, 27 00:00:48,790 --> 00:00:52,079 because it hits on an ultimate question humans have pondered 28 00:00:52,079 --> 00:00:52,908 for thousands of years without an answer. 29 00:00:53,310 --> 00:00:55,987 Is your life a roll of the dice, 30 00:00:56,151 --> 00:00:57,968 or a script written in advance? 31 00:00:58,551 --> 00:00:59,908 Let's start with science. 32 00:01:00,390 --> 00:01:01,508 Over two hundred years ago, 33 00:01:01,591 --> 00:01:05,028 French mathematician Laplace proposed a thought experiment. 34 00:01:05,430 --> 00:01:05,768 He said, 35 00:01:06,191 --> 00:01:07,947 if there were a super-intelligence 36 00:01:08,191 --> 00:01:11,908 that knew the position and velocity of every particle in the universe, 37 00:01:11,990 --> 00:01:14,347 it could calculate the entire future of the universe. 38 00:01:14,710 --> 00:01:15,367 In other words, 39 00:01:15,751 --> 00:01:17,548 from the moment of the Big Bang, 40 00:01:17,831 --> 00:01:19,668 everything was already decided. 41 00:01:19,870 --> 00:01:21,947 You drank coffee today instead of tea; 42 00:01:22,430 --> 00:01:24,787 you fell in love with that person instead of someone else; 43 00:01:24,911 --> 00:01:28,108 you're watching this video instead of something else— 44 00:01:28,350 --> 00:01:32,268 all are inevitable results of that bang 13.8 billion years ago. 45 00:01:32,551 --> 00:01:33,787 This is called Determinism. 46 00:01:33,911 --> 00:01:35,227 It sounds quite hopeless. 47 00:01:35,350 --> 00:01:36,388 But a hundred years later, 48 00:01:36,430 --> 00:01:39,067 Quantum Mechanics dealt Determinism a fatal blow. 49 00:01:39,311 --> 00:01:41,628 Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle tells us 50 00:01:41,671 --> 00:01:44,908 you cannot precisely know both the position and velocity of a particle. 51 00:01:45,031 --> 00:01:46,828 This isn't because our measurement technology is poor, 52 00:01:46,911 --> 00:01:49,268 but because the fundamental rules of the universe forbid it. 53 00:01:49,510 --> 00:01:50,328 At the quantum level, 54 00:01:50,551 --> 00:01:51,867 everything is probability. 55 00:01:52,031 --> 00:01:54,748 Where an electron will land after passing through double slits— 56 00:01:54,790 --> 00:01:56,188 even God doesn't know 57 00:01:56,271 --> 00:01:58,188 until the very moment it actually lands. 58 00:01:58,551 --> 00:01:58,888 So, 59 00:01:59,150 --> 00:02:01,030 the foundation of the universe is not deterministic, 60 00:02:01,031 --> 00:02:02,147 it is probabilistic. 61 00:02:02,350 --> 00:02:04,147 Randomness truly exists. 62 00:02:04,430 --> 00:02:05,548 But here's the catch: 63 00:02:05,671 --> 00:02:07,168 Probability works at the quantum level, 64 00:02:07,430 --> 00:02:08,668 but at the macroscopic level, 65 00:02:08,751 --> 00:02:12,027 the statistical averages of massive particles become extremely precise. 66 00:02:12,270 --> 00:02:13,608 The sun will rise tomorrow. 67 00:02:13,991 --> 00:02:15,108 If you pour a glass of water, 68 00:02:15,151 --> 00:02:16,427 it will definitely flow downward. 69 00:02:16,871 --> 00:02:20,587 The Law of Large Numbers makes the macro world seem fully deterministic. 70 00:02:20,751 --> 00:02:22,627 So something strange happens: 71 00:02:22,871 --> 00:02:24,627 The micro level is random, 72 00:02:24,670 --> 00:02:26,907 the macro level seems fixed. 73 00:02:27,031 --> 00:02:28,110 What about the middle ground? 74 00:02:28,110 --> 00:02:30,348 The scale of your life and mine 75 00:02:30,431 --> 00:02:32,467 is exactly where the two intertwine. 76 00:02:32,550 --> 00:02:35,948 Chaos theory has a famous metaphor: the Butterfly Effect. 77 00:02:36,350 --> 00:02:39,747 Meteorologist Edward Lorenz asked a question in 1972: 78 00:02:40,031 --> 00:02:42,467 Can the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil 79 00:02:42,550 --> 00:02:46,008 set off a tornado in Texas? 80 00:02:46,751 --> 00:02:48,427 The answer is: Yes, it is possible. 81 00:02:48,670 --> 00:02:50,788 It's not that the butterfly has superpowers, 82 00:02:50,871 --> 00:02:52,627 but in a nonlinear system, 83 00:02:52,751 --> 00:02:55,987 tiny differences in initial conditions are exponentially amplified. 84 00:02:56,270 --> 00:02:58,508 Your life is a chaotic system. 85 00:02:58,790 --> 00:03:00,828 Say you slept three extra minutes this morning; 86 00:03:00,950 --> 00:03:05,039 this tiny variable could, ten years later, push your life in a 87 00:03:05,039 --> 00:03:06,508 completely different direction. 88 00:03:07,311 --> 00:03:11,707 So the scientific answer isn't a choice between randomness or destiny— 89 00:03:11,790 --> 00:03:13,228 it is both. 90 00:03:13,350 --> 00:03:15,627 It depends on the scale you use to look at it. 91 00:03:15,911 --> 00:03:18,467 I've had a very deep realization about this myself. 92 00:03:18,670 --> 00:03:19,627 In 2015, 93 00:03:19,711 --> 00:03:22,668 I invested in a solid-state LiDAR tech company 94 00:03:22,751 --> 00:03:24,027 called Hesai Technology. 95 00:03:24,431 --> 00:03:27,388 The decision-making process then was full of randomness. 96 00:03:27,550 --> 00:03:30,508 It started from an entrepreneur meetup I organized in Silicon Valley. 97 00:03:30,911 --> 00:03:32,747 Later, Hesai went public. 98 00:03:32,911 --> 00:03:34,247 Would you say that was random? 99 00:03:34,790 --> 00:03:36,948 The meetup was indeed accidental. 100 00:03:37,151 --> 00:03:38,487 Would you say it was destined? 101 00:03:39,031 --> 00:03:41,427 Over twenty entrepreneurs attended that day, 102 00:03:41,510 --> 00:03:43,228 but I only invested in three of them. 103 00:03:43,510 --> 00:03:44,927 Why didn't I invest in the others? 104 00:03:46,031 --> 00:03:46,967 Looking at it more macroscopically, 105 00:03:47,031 --> 00:03:48,189 over the past decade, 106 00:03:48,191 --> 00:03:50,907 I've invested in 300 tech startups. 107 00:03:51,230 --> 00:03:52,888 97% failed, 108 00:03:53,031 --> 00:03:54,828 and only 3% succeeded. 109 00:03:55,031 --> 00:03:57,548 So, my successful exit from Hesai— 110 00:03:57,591 --> 00:03:58,508 was it a fluke, 111 00:03:58,510 --> 00:04:00,328 or an inevitability within a large enough sample size? 112 00:04:00,911 --> 00:04:03,427 Zoom out to a cosmic scale, 113 00:04:03,591 --> 00:04:04,948 and the Law of Large Numbers dominates; 114 00:04:04,991 --> 00:04:06,828 everything seems inevitable. 115 00:04:07,151 --> 00:04:10,987 Zoom in to a specific day or a specific choice, 116 00:04:11,431 --> 00:04:15,587 and quantum fluctuations and chaos make results uncertain. 117 00:04:15,830 --> 00:04:19,228 Your subjective experience sits right between these two scales. 118 00:04:19,630 --> 00:04:20,648 That's why you feel 119 00:04:20,951 --> 00:04:22,708 everything is both random 120 00:04:22,711 --> 00:04:23,947 and destined at the same time. 121 00:04:24,190 --> 00:04:25,908 It's not that your perception is flawed; 122 00:04:26,190 --> 00:04:27,908 it's that the scale you live on 123 00:04:27,990 --> 00:04:30,708 is where randomness and inevitability meet. 124 00:04:31,151 --> 00:04:32,048 Having discussed physics, 125 00:04:32,310 --> 00:04:33,788 let's look from another perspective. 126 00:04:34,110 --> 00:04:35,908 In previous videos, I've mentioned 127 00:04:36,190 --> 00:04:39,827 how Yogācāra compares consciousness to an eight-layered system. 128 00:04:40,110 --> 00:04:42,228 The deepest layer is called the Alaya-vijnana. 129 00:04:42,430 --> 00:04:44,468 It's like a vast seed warehouse, 130 00:04:44,711 --> 00:04:47,867 storing traces of all your actions and thoughts. 131 00:04:48,151 --> 00:04:50,867 I've compared it to parameters in a Large Language Model. 132 00:04:51,031 --> 00:04:52,668 An AI has trillions of parameters. 133 00:04:52,790 --> 00:04:54,867 These aren't knowledge itself, 134 00:04:54,990 --> 00:04:57,427 but the geometric shape of relationships between knowledge. 135 00:04:57,750 --> 00:04:58,708 Humans are the same. 136 00:04:58,790 --> 00:05:02,228 The "seeds" in your Alaya-vijnana are not specific memories, 137 00:05:02,310 --> 00:05:04,947 but your predisposed patterns of reacting to the world. 138 00:05:05,711 --> 00:05:08,307 These seeds determine what kind of predictions and reactions 139 00:05:08,391 --> 00:05:10,867 your brain will produce when encountering a situation. 140 00:05:11,110 --> 00:05:13,307 That's why some are born afraid of snakes, 141 00:05:13,391 --> 00:05:15,307 some are naturally sensitive to music, 142 00:05:15,310 --> 00:05:18,307 and some repeatedly fall into the same painful relationships. 143 00:05:18,670 --> 00:05:20,548 It's not because a god is arranging it, 144 00:05:20,711 --> 00:05:22,788 but because your seeds are running automatically. 145 00:05:23,271 --> 00:05:24,387 From this angle, 146 00:05:24,391 --> 00:05:26,507 your life does seem destined, 147 00:05:26,670 --> 00:05:29,108 because seeds shape your every reaction. 148 00:05:29,350 --> 00:05:30,987 But seeds are not fixed. 149 00:05:31,230 --> 00:05:32,208 Seeds manifest in action, 150 00:05:32,511 --> 00:05:33,788 and action perfumes the seeds. 151 00:05:34,031 --> 00:05:36,548 If you make a choice today that differs from your past, 152 00:05:36,790 --> 00:05:39,507 this new choice will plant a new seed, 153 00:05:39,670 --> 00:05:41,507 altering your future reaction patterns. 154 00:05:41,790 --> 00:05:42,987 I've said before, 155 00:05:43,271 --> 00:05:45,747 "Your bank balance is determined by the script." 156 00:05:46,110 --> 00:05:46,767 I've also said, 157 00:05:47,190 --> 00:05:48,867 "The power of will can rewrite the code." 158 00:05:49,190 --> 00:05:50,728 These two statements seem contradictory, 159 00:05:51,031 --> 00:05:52,228 but they aren't. 160 00:05:52,711 --> 00:05:54,908 The script determines your default path. 161 00:05:55,190 --> 00:05:57,348 It is the result of your seeds running automatically 162 00:05:57,430 --> 00:05:59,228 when you make no active changes. 163 00:05:59,951 --> 00:06:01,187 Aspiration rewriting the code 164 00:06:01,190 --> 00:06:03,307 means actively becoming aware of these seeds 165 00:06:03,550 --> 00:06:06,028 and choosing to plant a different one instead. 166 00:06:06,310 --> 00:06:07,608 Hearing this, you might say, 167 00:06:08,071 --> 00:06:08,548 "Fine, 168 00:06:08,670 --> 00:06:11,088 I'll just work hard at my practice and try to change." 169 00:06:11,870 --> 00:06:13,987 But some viewers have raised a deeper question: 170 00:06:14,430 --> 00:06:16,387 What if the very thought of wanting to change 171 00:06:16,471 --> 00:06:18,447 is also automatically generated by a seed? 172 00:06:19,031 --> 00:06:20,228 If you can achieve enlightenment, 173 00:06:20,310 --> 00:06:23,588 does it mean seeds of awakening were already in your Alaya consciousness? 174 00:06:23,870 --> 00:06:25,548 Does it mean you can change your fate 175 00:06:25,670 --> 00:06:28,867 only because changing it was already written in your script? 176 00:06:29,071 --> 00:06:30,427 You think you're using a cheat code, 177 00:06:30,550 --> 00:06:32,867 but maybe the cheat was preset by the system. 178 00:06:33,071 --> 00:06:33,487 To be honest, 179 00:06:33,990 --> 00:06:34,788 logically, 180 00:06:34,790 --> 00:06:36,427 this question is impossible to refute. 181 00:06:36,711 --> 00:06:37,947 Think about it carefully, 182 00:06:38,031 --> 00:06:39,968 doesn't it feel like being trapped? 183 00:06:40,630 --> 00:06:42,627 It's like a Mobius strip. 184 00:06:43,031 --> 00:06:45,468 You think you've flipped from one side to the other, 185 00:06:45,630 --> 00:06:46,867 but as you keep walking, 186 00:06:46,911 --> 00:06:48,668 you find the back is still the front. 187 00:06:48,990 --> 00:06:51,028 You think you've jumped out of the frame of fate, 188 00:06:51,310 --> 00:06:53,067 but the act of jumping itself 189 00:06:53,190 --> 00:06:54,908 might just be part of the framework. 190 00:06:55,190 --> 00:06:57,788 Neuroscience is asking the same thing. 191 00:06:58,031 --> 00:06:59,427 In the 1980s, 192 00:06:59,550 --> 00:07:02,708 neuroscientist Benjamin Libet conducted a famous experiment. 193 00:07:02,790 --> 00:07:05,987 He asked subjects to press a button at a time of their choosing 194 00:07:06,071 --> 00:07:07,947 while recording their brain signals. 195 00:07:08,110 --> 00:07:09,067 The results showed that 196 00:07:09,190 --> 00:07:12,348 hundreds of milliseconds before you realize you want to press the button, 197 00:07:12,391 --> 00:07:14,627 your brain has already started preparing for the action. 198 00:07:14,790 --> 00:07:15,668 In other words, 199 00:07:15,750 --> 00:07:17,867 you think you decided to press the button, 200 00:07:17,951 --> 00:07:21,228 but your brain made the decision before your conscious mind did. 201 00:07:21,550 --> 00:07:23,908 This experiment terrified many people. 202 00:07:24,110 --> 00:07:25,189 It seemed to suggest 203 00:07:25,190 --> 00:07:27,348 that free will is an illusion; 204 00:07:27,990 --> 00:07:29,387 you aren't making decisions. 205 00:07:29,511 --> 00:07:32,387 The inference model inside your brain is making them, 206 00:07:32,471 --> 00:07:35,307 giving you the illusion that you are in control. 207 00:07:35,591 --> 00:07:38,788 But recent research offers a new interpretation. 208 00:07:39,230 --> 00:07:41,620 In 2012, cognitive scientist Schurger 209 00:07:41,620 --> 00:07:43,887 published a paper in the PNAS journal 210 00:07:43,990 --> 00:07:44,908 offering a fresh perspective. 211 00:07:45,031 --> 00:07:46,668 He suggested that 212 00:07:46,990 --> 00:07:50,827 the early signal seen in the Libet experiment 213 00:07:50,831 --> 00:07:52,867 isn't the brain making a decision, 214 00:07:52,990 --> 00:07:56,468 but the result of random neural noise reaching a threshold. 215 00:07:56,711 --> 00:07:59,908 It's like when you're hesitating to stand up from the sofa; 216 00:08:00,071 --> 00:08:01,788 the internal impulse slowly builds up, 217 00:08:01,870 --> 00:08:03,867 and at a certain point, you stand. 218 00:08:03,990 --> 00:08:06,747 This accumulation process *is* your decision-making process, 219 00:08:06,831 --> 00:08:09,067 not some external force acting for you. 220 00:08:09,548 --> 00:08:10,271 So, 221 00:08:10,271 --> 00:08:13,067 the brain acting milliseconds before the conscious awareness 222 00:08:13,110 --> 00:08:15,788 doesn't prove you don't have free will. 223 00:08:15,790 --> 00:08:16,790 It only proves 224 00:08:16,790 --> 00:08:19,588 that your understanding of free will might be too simplistic. 225 00:08:19,831 --> 00:08:23,148 Free will isn't a momentary on-off switch, 226 00:08:23,230 --> 00:08:25,627 but a continuous, dynamic process. 227 00:08:25,911 --> 00:08:29,187 This is the scientific basis for mindfulness in Buddhism. 228 00:08:29,951 --> 00:08:32,707 Mindfulness isn't about control at the moment of decision; 229 00:08:33,191 --> 00:08:34,668 it works much earlier. 230 00:08:35,071 --> 00:08:36,748 Through continuous awareness, 231 00:08:37,110 --> 00:08:40,067 it changes the direction and threshold of that build-up process. 232 00:08:40,630 --> 00:08:43,347 You're not pressing the pause button at the last second; 233 00:08:43,671 --> 00:08:47,947 you're adjusting your entire inner operation much earlier. 234 00:08:48,350 --> 00:08:51,587 Quantum mechanics hides an even deeper revelation. 235 00:08:52,110 --> 00:08:53,268 We mentioned earlier that 236 00:08:53,390 --> 00:08:55,947 particles in the quantum world, before being observed, 237 00:08:56,030 --> 00:08:58,268 exist in a superposition of all possible states. 238 00:08:58,510 --> 00:09:00,148 Only when you observe them 239 00:09:00,311 --> 00:09:02,427 do they collapse into a definite state. 240 00:09:02,711 --> 00:09:03,587 The key is... 241 00:09:03,630 --> 00:09:06,467 The way you observe influences the direction of its collapse. 242 00:09:06,711 --> 00:09:08,427 How you choose to look 243 00:09:08,510 --> 00:09:10,307 determines the result that manifests. 244 00:09:10,671 --> 00:09:12,789 If you scale this up to your life, 245 00:09:12,791 --> 00:09:14,908 you'll find a fascinating correspondence. 246 00:09:15,390 --> 00:09:17,388 The 'seeds' in your Alaya-vijnana, 247 00:09:17,510 --> 00:09:19,148 when you aren't aware of them, 248 00:09:19,311 --> 00:09:21,067 behave like a quantum superposition, 249 00:09:21,311 --> 00:09:23,827 running automatically according to default probability distributions. 250 00:09:24,390 --> 00:09:27,668 Your fears, attachments, and reaction patterns, 251 00:09:27,750 --> 00:09:29,587 they operate on their own. 252 00:09:29,951 --> 00:09:31,827 You don't even know they're active. 253 00:09:32,030 --> 00:09:33,587 But when you begin to awaken, 254 00:09:33,671 --> 00:09:36,248 observing your own consciousness and thoughts, 255 00:09:36,630 --> 00:09:38,227 and your own behavioral patterns, 256 00:09:38,551 --> 00:09:41,827 you become the observer measuring the quantum state. 257 00:09:42,311 --> 00:09:43,549 Your observation itself 258 00:09:43,551 --> 00:09:46,548 is influencing which direction those seeds collapse. 259 00:09:46,990 --> 00:09:49,587 So, the rewrite of your innate, initialized script 260 00:09:49,711 --> 00:09:51,748 doesn't start 261 00:09:51,831 --> 00:09:54,268 with some earth-shattering decision. 262 00:09:54,471 --> 00:09:56,668 It starts the moment you begin to observe yourself. 263 00:09:57,110 --> 00:09:58,168 Awakening is not the destination; 264 00:09:58,711 --> 00:10:00,347 it is the start of observation. 265 00:10:00,711 --> 00:10:01,248 And observation, 266 00:10:01,630 --> 00:10:03,307 in the context of quantum physics, 267 00:10:03,390 --> 00:10:05,988 is an act of participating in the creation of reality. 268 00:10:06,311 --> 00:10:09,148 You may think you're just watching your thoughts, 269 00:10:09,350 --> 00:10:10,268 but your watching 270 00:10:10,390 --> 00:10:12,508 is already changing their trajectory. 271 00:10:12,750 --> 00:10:13,668 Speaking of which, 272 00:10:13,671 --> 00:10:18,028 we previously compared Alaya seeds to the parameters of an LLM. 273 00:10:18,510 --> 00:10:20,548 Thinking a layer deeper with this analogy, 274 00:10:20,711 --> 00:10:22,748 you'll discover something crucial. 275 00:10:23,071 --> 00:10:25,707 An AI cannot rewrite its own underlying code. 276 00:10:26,110 --> 00:10:27,628 If you ask ChatGPT, 277 00:10:27,831 --> 00:10:30,908 it can't open its source code and change a line. 278 00:10:31,048 --> 00:10:31,791 However, 279 00:10:31,791 --> 00:10:34,548 an AI's training process can rewrite its parameters. 280 00:10:34,951 --> 00:10:35,990 Every round of training 281 00:10:35,990 --> 00:10:38,827 uses new data to fine-tune those parameters, 282 00:10:39,071 --> 00:10:41,669 so that next time the model faces a similar input, 283 00:10:41,671 --> 00:10:43,187 it gives a different output. 284 00:10:43,630 --> 00:10:44,548 Humans are the same. 285 00:10:44,910 --> 00:10:47,227 You can't change the underlying code of this world, 286 00:10:47,390 --> 00:10:48,988 nor can you change the laws of physics. 287 00:10:49,150 --> 00:10:51,748 You can't even change the seeds you've already planted. 288 00:10:52,030 --> 00:10:52,807 But your awareness 289 00:10:53,071 --> 00:10:54,467 is your training process. 290 00:10:54,711 --> 00:10:56,628 Every time you observe your thoughts 291 00:10:56,750 --> 00:10:58,508 and your reaction patterns, 292 00:10:58,671 --> 00:11:00,227 seeing them without judgment, 293 00:11:00,311 --> 00:11:03,107 this 'seeing' itself is fine-tuning your parameters. 294 00:11:03,431 --> 00:11:05,388 You're not rewriting the script of the universe; 295 00:11:05,551 --> 00:11:08,067 you're rewriting the parameters of your own model. 296 00:11:08,390 --> 00:11:09,807 And what do parameters determine? 297 00:11:10,350 --> 00:11:13,268 They determine your default behavior in autopilot mode. 298 00:11:13,630 --> 00:11:15,727 The reactions you make without thinking, 299 00:11:16,270 --> 00:11:20,307 the emotions you think are instinct, the habits you think are unchangeable— 300 00:11:20,471 --> 00:11:22,347 they are all driven by old parameters. 301 00:11:22,551 --> 00:11:26,187 But as you fine-tune these parameters through continuous awareness, 302 00:11:26,390 --> 00:11:30,268 new parameters will gradually change your autopilot mode. 303 00:11:30,671 --> 00:11:32,070 When you encounter the same situation, 304 00:11:32,071 --> 00:11:33,707 you no longer have the same reaction. 305 00:11:34,030 --> 00:11:35,508 This is the path of diligence. 306 00:11:35,910 --> 00:11:37,947 It's not attaining Buddhahood overnight; 307 00:11:38,150 --> 00:11:40,748 it's a round of fine-tuning with every act of awareness. 308 00:11:41,471 --> 00:11:42,687 Awareness changes parameters; 309 00:11:43,071 --> 00:11:44,548 parameters change behavior; 310 00:11:44,750 --> 00:11:46,587 behavior plants new seeds; 311 00:11:46,671 --> 00:11:48,827 new seeds become new parameters. 312 00:11:48,990 --> 00:11:50,227 It is a cycle. 313 00:11:50,471 --> 00:11:52,347 And the first step to starting this cycle 314 00:11:52,350 --> 00:11:53,868 is to begin observing. 315 00:11:54,150 --> 00:11:54,327 Alright, 316 00:11:54,711 --> 00:11:56,668 back to the Mobius strip question. 317 00:11:57,270 --> 00:11:58,990 If everything is predestined, 318 00:11:58,990 --> 00:12:00,908 even your awakening, 319 00:12:00,951 --> 00:12:02,207 then is effort still necessary? 320 00:12:02,551 --> 00:12:03,587 My answer is: 321 00:12:03,591 --> 00:12:05,748 This question itself is a trap. 322 00:12:05,928 --> 00:12:06,408 Why? 323 00:12:06,831 --> 00:12:09,467 Because it assumes you can see the complete script. 324 00:12:09,791 --> 00:12:12,107 Only when you know the ending 325 00:12:12,230 --> 00:12:13,947 does destiny become meaningful to you. 326 00:12:14,030 --> 00:12:15,388 But you can't see the script. 327 00:12:15,711 --> 00:12:16,788 No one can. 328 00:12:17,110 --> 00:12:19,509 You don't know what will happen in the next second, 329 00:12:19,510 --> 00:12:21,307 or who you will meet tomorrow. 330 00:12:21,471 --> 00:12:24,268 You don't know if your awakening will occur in this lifetime. 331 00:12:24,711 --> 00:12:26,587 In the face of this complete unknown, 332 00:12:26,671 --> 00:12:28,990 destiny and randomness, on the level of your experience, 333 00:12:28,990 --> 00:12:30,028 are equivalent. 334 00:12:30,551 --> 00:12:31,467 In other words, 335 00:12:31,591 --> 00:12:34,988 even if the universe is a machine of extreme precision, 336 00:12:35,071 --> 00:12:38,067 and everything was determined from the moment of the Big Bang, 337 00:12:38,191 --> 00:12:40,748 as long as you're inside and can't see the blueprint, 338 00:12:40,910 --> 00:12:42,628 then this machine, to you, 339 00:12:42,630 --> 00:12:45,187 is no different from pure randomness. 340 00:12:45,711 --> 00:12:46,868 Pause and think for a moment. 341 00:12:47,071 --> 00:12:49,508 This is the most subtle part of the question. 342 00:12:49,750 --> 00:12:50,768 It cannot be proven, 343 00:12:51,071 --> 00:12:52,268 nor can it be falsified. 344 00:12:52,671 --> 00:12:55,707 But its unfalsifiability is exactly what gives you freedom. 345 00:12:56,191 --> 00:13:00,908 Since you can never know if your struggle is spontaneous or programmed, 346 00:13:01,030 --> 00:13:04,908 your only rational strategy is to assume your choices matter, 347 00:13:05,110 --> 00:13:06,827 and then live life to the fullest. 348 00:13:07,431 --> 00:13:08,509 Imagine two people, 349 00:13:08,510 --> 00:13:10,988 neither knowing if life is predestined. 350 00:13:11,191 --> 00:13:11,768 One says, 351 00:13:12,311 --> 00:13:13,909 "Since it might be destined anyway, 352 00:13:13,910 --> 00:13:15,187 I might as well just give up." 353 00:13:15,551 --> 00:13:16,587 The other says, 354 00:13:16,711 --> 00:13:18,590 "Since I don't know if it's destined, 355 00:13:18,591 --> 00:13:19,687 I'll act as if it isn't, 356 00:13:20,030 --> 00:13:21,067 and live with all my heart." 357 00:13:21,471 --> 00:13:22,508 Did you notice? 358 00:13:23,071 --> 00:13:24,528 The choice to give up 359 00:13:24,831 --> 00:13:26,187 is also a choice. 360 00:13:26,471 --> 00:13:28,187 If everything is destined, 361 00:13:28,350 --> 00:13:30,668 then your choice to give up is also destined. 362 00:13:30,870 --> 00:13:33,028 But if even giving up is destined, 363 00:13:33,150 --> 00:13:36,067 then you must willingly accept the consequences. 364 00:13:36,270 --> 00:13:38,110 If your actions truly align with your beliefs, 365 00:13:38,110 --> 00:13:38,847 and you accept it completely, 366 00:13:39,270 --> 00:13:40,388 that's fine too. 367 00:13:40,671 --> 00:13:41,870 But most people, 368 00:13:41,870 --> 00:13:44,028 I believe, are not content with mediocrity. 369 00:13:44,230 --> 00:13:46,388 So why not try the other path? 370 00:13:46,551 --> 00:13:47,488 The path that is more vibrant, 371 00:13:47,791 --> 00:13:49,268 and filled with hope. 372 00:13:49,471 --> 00:13:51,467 This is the "power of will" I keep talking about. 373 00:13:51,711 --> 00:13:53,307 Willpower is not a superstition, 374 00:13:53,350 --> 00:13:55,067 nor is it self-deception. 375 00:13:55,350 --> 00:13:57,868 It's the narrative direction you actively choose 376 00:13:57,910 --> 00:13:59,707 while unable to see the script. 377 00:14:00,431 --> 00:14:02,548 You don't know if destiny has a main plot line, 378 00:14:02,591 --> 00:14:04,788 but you choose to live your own version. 379 00:14:04,951 --> 00:14:06,947 If the future exceeds your expectations, 380 00:14:06,951 --> 00:14:08,388 you've successfully changed your fate. 381 00:14:08,791 --> 00:14:10,548 Even if it doesn't, 382 00:14:10,551 --> 00:14:13,148 at least you lived each moment earnestly. 383 00:14:13,471 --> 00:14:14,427 A viewer once said, 384 00:14:14,591 --> 00:14:17,148 "Free will isn't about having to do something, 385 00:14:17,270 --> 00:14:18,467 it's choosing to do it." 386 00:14:18,711 --> 00:14:19,567 "I could choose not to, 387 00:14:19,990 --> 00:14:21,107 but I'm willing to." 388 00:14:21,350 --> 00:14:23,028 That really resonated with me. 389 00:14:23,390 --> 00:14:27,268 True freedom isn't proving your choices are uninfluenced; 390 00:14:27,390 --> 00:14:28,587 that's impossible. 391 00:14:28,990 --> 00:14:31,947 True freedom is when, under all those influences, 392 00:14:31,951 --> 00:14:33,988 you still feel yourself choosing, 393 00:14:34,311 --> 00:14:36,467 and you remain willing to take responsibility for it. 394 00:14:36,910 --> 00:14:40,467 Buddhism actually gave a very subtle answer long ago. 395 00:14:40,990 --> 00:14:42,368 It doesn't say everything is destined, 396 00:14:42,791 --> 00:14:44,307 nor that everything is random. 397 00:14:44,750 --> 00:14:46,788 Buddhism speaks of "conditioned arising." 398 00:14:47,191 --> 00:14:47,967 The "cause" is the seed, 399 00:14:48,270 --> 00:14:49,388 the "condition" is the environment. 400 00:14:49,910 --> 00:14:51,488 The seed is relatively fixed. 401 00:14:51,870 --> 00:14:53,628 But conditions are uncertain. 402 00:14:53,831 --> 00:14:54,909 The same seed, 403 00:14:54,910 --> 00:14:58,707 when sown in different soil, climates, and times, 404 00:14:58,831 --> 00:15:01,067 will grow into something entirely different. 405 00:15:01,191 --> 00:15:03,908 Countless seeds are stored in your Alaya-vijnana. 406 00:15:04,110 --> 00:15:06,788 Which seed will be activated and when 407 00:15:06,831 --> 00:15:08,868 depends on the conditions you encounter. 408 00:15:09,471 --> 00:15:13,388 Every new action and thought you initiate 409 00:15:13,431 --> 00:15:15,548 is changing this field of causes and conditions. 410 00:15:16,030 --> 00:15:17,288 You aren't fighting fate; 411 00:15:17,630 --> 00:15:19,148 you are adjusting the conditions. 412 00:15:19,471 --> 00:15:20,347 For example, 413 00:15:20,591 --> 00:15:21,847 you have a deck of cards in your hand. 414 00:15:22,230 --> 00:15:23,549 The deck is already shuffled, 415 00:15:23,551 --> 00:15:24,827 and the order is fixed. 416 00:15:24,990 --> 00:15:25,847 These are your seeds; 417 00:15:26,110 --> 00:15:27,028 you cannot change them. 418 00:15:27,110 --> 00:15:29,067 But you can choose your strategy for playing them. 419 00:15:29,390 --> 00:15:30,467 With the same hand, 420 00:15:30,551 --> 00:15:33,307 a master and a novice will get completely different results. 421 00:15:33,551 --> 00:15:34,368 The cards are fixed, 422 00:15:34,711 --> 00:15:35,988 but how you play them is not. 423 00:15:36,270 --> 00:15:38,788 Your seeds are the sum of your past actions. 424 00:15:39,030 --> 00:15:40,947 You can't change seeds already sown, 425 00:15:41,191 --> 00:15:45,148 but you can choose when and how to respond to them. 426 00:15:45,390 --> 00:15:46,988 That is the power of conditions. 427 00:15:47,350 --> 00:15:50,148 So don't ask if your life is predestined. 428 00:15:50,510 --> 00:15:51,668 You should ask: 429 00:15:51,750 --> 00:15:53,827 Beyond these invisible seeds, 430 00:15:53,951 --> 00:15:55,768 what new conditions can I create? 431 00:15:56,910 --> 00:16:01,148 Neuroscientist Evers proposed a concept called "Variable Determinism." 432 00:16:01,711 --> 00:16:03,789 She says we are determined 433 00:16:03,791 --> 00:16:05,508 yet free at the same time. 434 00:16:05,870 --> 00:16:10,227 Your brain is shaped by genes, environment, and past experiences, 435 00:16:10,431 --> 00:16:11,947 but within these shapes, 436 00:16:11,951 --> 00:16:13,827 there is still room for variation. 437 00:16:14,431 --> 00:16:16,908 Though this space may be small, 438 00:16:17,110 --> 00:16:19,707 it is enough for you to plant a new seed. 439 00:16:20,030 --> 00:16:21,128 And one new seed 440 00:16:21,431 --> 00:16:22,307 is enough. 441 00:16:22,951 --> 00:16:27,508 This is rewriting the parameters of your carbon-based AI model through awareness, 442 00:16:27,791 --> 00:16:30,067 then using those updated parameters 443 00:16:30,150 --> 00:16:32,947 to drive your future "autopilot" behavior. 444 00:16:33,191 --> 00:16:34,467 I always encourage people: 445 00:16:34,551 --> 00:16:36,470 if you are happy with life right now, 446 00:16:36,471 --> 00:16:37,427 that's wonderful. 447 00:16:37,471 --> 00:16:38,168 Dwell in the present 448 00:16:38,551 --> 00:16:40,067 and enjoy every moment. 449 00:16:40,230 --> 00:16:41,508 But if you feel unsatisfied, 450 00:16:41,510 --> 00:16:43,427 if you feel you deserve a better life, 451 00:16:43,431 --> 00:16:44,707 then make a great vow. 452 00:16:45,030 --> 00:16:46,288 That vow doesn't need to be logical 453 00:16:46,591 --> 00:16:47,707 or realistic; 454 00:16:47,831 --> 00:16:49,107 it only needs to be sincere. 455 00:16:49,311 --> 00:16:53,067 Because a sincere vow is a powerful seed in itself. 456 00:16:53,270 --> 00:16:54,947 When you plant this seed, 457 00:16:55,110 --> 00:16:57,028 you don't know when it will sprout 458 00:16:57,350 --> 00:16:59,227 or what it will look like. 459 00:16:59,270 --> 00:17:00,168 But what you do know is 460 00:17:00,551 --> 00:17:01,628 that you planted it. 461 00:17:02,110 --> 00:17:02,648 This act 462 00:17:03,030 --> 00:17:03,988 was done by you, 463 00:17:04,510 --> 00:17:07,667 regardless of anyone saying it was in the script. 464 00:17:07,911 --> 00:17:09,667 Finally, let me ask you a question. 465 00:17:10,030 --> 00:17:12,067 At this moment, you are listening to me. 466 00:17:12,270 --> 00:17:15,188 Whether this is a coincidence or an arrangement, 467 00:17:15,310 --> 00:17:16,627 it has already happened. 468 00:17:16,790 --> 00:17:18,468 What will you do next? 469 00:17:18,510 --> 00:17:20,468 Will you wait for fate to provide the answer, 470 00:17:20,471 --> 00:17:22,807 or will you stand up and create one yourself? 471 00:17:23,351 --> 00:17:25,708 I don't know what's in your script, 472 00:17:25,911 --> 00:17:27,307 but I know one thing: 473 00:17:27,550 --> 00:17:29,948 the bravest decision you've ever made, 474 00:17:30,230 --> 00:17:31,228 before you made it, 475 00:17:31,270 --> 00:17:33,307 you didn't know where it would lead. 476 00:17:33,590 --> 00:17:36,147 That decision changed your life 477 00:17:36,310 --> 00:17:38,107 not because it was written in the script, 478 00:17:38,310 --> 00:17:41,067 but because in that moment, you decided to stop waiting. 479 00:17:41,270 --> 00:17:42,907 Even if the script has a main plot, 480 00:17:42,951 --> 00:17:44,587 you cannot see where it's going. 481 00:17:45,391 --> 00:17:47,349 So, why not just live out your own script? 482 00:17:47,351 --> 00:17:48,548 Wouldn't that be great? 483 00:17:48,550 --> 00:17:49,248 I'm Wang Lijie. 484 00:17:49,510 --> 00:17:50,667 See you next time.