1 00:00:00,343 --> 00:00:01,675 The devil in Faust 2 00:00:01,743 --> 00:00:03,435 lives in everyone's mind. 3 00:00:03,589 --> 00:00:04,383 A man 4 00:00:04,383 --> 00:00:09,035 has mastered philosophy, law, medicine, and theology. 5 00:00:09,223 --> 00:00:09,976 He is a professor, 6 00:00:10,303 --> 00:00:11,236 a doctor, 7 00:00:11,343 --> 00:00:13,476 the most learned man in the eyes of his students. 8 00:00:13,743 --> 00:00:14,695 But late one night, 9 00:00:15,063 --> 00:00:16,356 sitting in his study, 10 00:00:16,382 --> 00:00:18,056 surrounded by walls of books, 11 00:00:18,422 --> 00:00:19,435 he said one thing: 12 00:00:19,623 --> 00:00:20,736 "This is my world. 13 00:00:21,182 --> 00:00:22,635 This is a prison." 14 00:00:23,062 --> 00:00:24,155 Among all the books on those walls, 15 00:00:24,182 --> 00:00:27,356 not one could answer the real question in his heart. 16 00:00:27,829 --> 00:00:28,295 What question? 17 00:00:28,983 --> 00:00:29,995 He couldn't put it into words. 18 00:00:30,382 --> 00:00:30,936 He only knew that 19 00:00:31,303 --> 00:00:32,396 the more knowledge he gained, 20 00:00:32,423 --> 00:00:33,496 the heavier that question became, 21 00:00:34,023 --> 00:00:35,716 so heavy that he wanted to drink poison. 22 00:00:36,143 --> 00:00:36,816 At that very moment, 23 00:00:37,262 --> 00:00:38,276 the devil arrived. 24 00:00:38,503 --> 00:00:39,015 The devil said, 25 00:00:39,343 --> 00:00:40,676 "Give me your soul, 26 00:00:40,743 --> 00:00:43,875 and I will let you experience what books never can: 27 00:00:44,423 --> 00:00:45,256 the pleasure of life, 28 00:00:45,703 --> 00:00:46,576 the thrill of power, 29 00:00:46,902 --> 00:00:47,956 the ultimate beauty." 30 00:00:48,302 --> 00:00:49,295 "There is only one condition: 31 00:00:49,662 --> 00:00:50,701 If one day 32 00:00:50,703 --> 00:00:52,095 you say to a single moment, 33 00:00:52,503 --> 00:00:53,475 'Linger on now, 34 00:00:53,542 --> 00:00:54,136 thou art so fair,' 35 00:00:54,622 --> 00:00:55,095 at that moment, 36 00:00:55,383 --> 00:00:56,835 your soul shall be mine." 37 00:00:57,262 --> 00:00:59,576 This is Goethe's 'Faust,' which took sixty years to write. 38 00:01:00,063 --> 00:01:00,415 Hello, 39 00:01:00,622 --> 00:01:01,095 everyone. 40 00:01:01,302 --> 00:01:02,356 I am Wang Lijie. 41 00:01:02,622 --> 00:01:04,915 This is the series: 'Deconstructing Classics through Buddhism.' 42 00:01:05,143 --> 00:01:08,635 Previously, we explored the seeds and seasons of 'Flowers in the Mirror,' 43 00:01:08,822 --> 00:01:10,876 conceptual attachment in 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' 44 00:01:11,183 --> 00:01:12,415 the restless mind-monkey of 'Journey to the West,' 45 00:01:12,942 --> 00:01:14,635 emotional obsession in 'The Peony Pavilion,' 46 00:01:14,903 --> 00:01:17,115 the five stages of morality in 'Su Shu,' 47 00:01:17,222 --> 00:01:19,316 the fork of Samatha and Vipassana in 'Meditations,' 48 00:01:19,503 --> 00:01:21,355 and the incompleteness of 'Gödel, Escher, Bach.' 49 00:01:21,662 --> 00:01:25,036 Today, we reach one of the peaks of Western literature. 50 00:01:25,143 --> 00:01:27,662 We will deconstruct a masterpiece whose name most people know, 51 00:01:27,662 --> 00:01:29,773 but few have read in its entirety: 52 00:01:29,783 --> 00:01:31,335 'Faust.' 53 00:01:32,102 --> 00:01:34,141 Goethe began its conception in his twenties 54 00:01:34,143 --> 00:01:37,036 and didn't finish until the year before he died at eighty-two. 55 00:01:37,263 --> 00:01:38,615 Over 12,000 lines of poetry, 56 00:01:38,983 --> 00:01:40,236 spanning sixty years. 57 00:01:40,343 --> 00:01:41,421 It is no exaggeration to say 58 00:01:41,423 --> 00:01:43,822 this is a man using his entire life 59 00:01:43,822 --> 00:01:45,075 to answer a single question: 60 00:01:45,382 --> 00:01:47,436 'What is the purpose of being alive?' 61 00:01:47,623 --> 00:01:51,396 Today, re-examining this story through the lens of Buddhism, 62 00:01:51,462 --> 00:01:54,396 we find three chilling realizations. 63 00:01:54,649 --> 00:01:55,448 First, 64 00:01:55,662 --> 00:01:56,656 Faust's suffering 65 00:01:56,903 --> 00:01:58,156 does not stem from ignorance. 66 00:01:58,263 --> 00:02:00,195 On the contrary, it's because he knows too much. 67 00:02:00,423 --> 00:02:02,236 Look at his opening monologue. 68 00:02:02,543 --> 00:02:05,555 Philosophy, law, medicine, theology— 69 00:02:05,662 --> 00:02:07,555 he has studied all four major disciplines. 70 00:02:08,062 --> 00:02:08,536 Still not enough, 71 00:02:08,862 --> 00:02:10,996 he turned to magic and the occult. 72 00:02:11,302 --> 00:02:11,816 And the result? 73 00:02:12,342 --> 00:02:14,395 He said something startling: 74 00:02:14,502 --> 00:02:16,116 "We can know nothing." 75 00:02:16,382 --> 00:02:17,103 Note, 76 00:02:17,103 --> 00:02:19,955 he isn't saying he failed to learn practical things. 77 00:02:20,462 --> 00:02:21,096 He is saying 78 00:02:21,543 --> 00:02:23,475 that all this knowledge combined 79 00:02:23,622 --> 00:02:26,036 cannot bring him in touch with reality. 80 00:02:26,302 --> 00:02:28,542 In Buddhism, there is a precise name for this. 81 00:02:28,543 --> 00:02:29,675 It is called the "obstruction of the known." 82 00:02:30,103 --> 00:02:30,942 Strictly speaking, 83 00:02:30,943 --> 00:02:34,975 In Yogachara, this refers to the dualistic cognitive structure of subject and object; 84 00:02:35,502 --> 00:02:38,195 I corrected and detailed this in a previous episode. 85 00:02:38,263 --> 00:02:42,355 But it has a more colloquial, everyday meaning, 86 00:02:42,423 --> 00:02:44,316 which is the level I'm focusing on today. 87 00:02:44,543 --> 00:02:46,556 It doesn't mean you don't know anything; 88 00:02:46,782 --> 00:02:47,496 on the contrary, 89 00:02:47,742 --> 00:02:49,716 it means you know too much. 90 00:02:49,742 --> 00:02:52,395 So much that your knowledge becomes a wall, 91 00:02:52,543 --> 00:02:54,395 blocking the truth out. 92 00:02:54,742 --> 00:02:56,135 Have you ever met someone like this? 93 00:02:56,703 --> 00:02:57,795 They seem to know everything; 94 00:02:57,862 --> 00:03:00,156 they can talk about any topic, 95 00:03:00,342 --> 00:03:02,716 and quote theories with ease. 96 00:03:03,022 --> 00:03:04,515 But when you talk to them, 97 00:03:04,703 --> 00:03:06,355 you feel something is missing. 98 00:03:06,782 --> 00:03:07,415 What is it? 99 00:03:08,182 --> 00:03:10,795 The ability to face something directly. 100 00:03:11,143 --> 00:03:13,675 They are always using concepts to explain concepts, 101 00:03:13,742 --> 00:03:15,556 using theories to support theories. 102 00:03:15,703 --> 00:03:17,635 Like someone standing in a house of mirrors, 103 00:03:17,823 --> 00:03:19,316 surrounded by reflections, 104 00:03:19,383 --> 00:03:21,316 but unable to see their true self. 105 00:03:21,943 --> 00:03:22,975 Many fans tell me, 106 00:03:23,302 --> 00:03:24,836 "You share so much every day, 107 00:03:24,862 --> 00:03:26,342 explaining concept after concept; 108 00:03:26,342 --> 00:03:29,102 you might be one of those people—knowing too much 109 00:03:29,103 --> 00:03:30,276 but lacking actual realization." 110 00:03:30,502 --> 00:03:32,596 I think they have a point. 111 00:03:33,062 --> 00:03:33,415 Moreover, 112 00:03:33,703 --> 00:03:34,895 Ananda, the Buddha's attendant, 113 00:03:35,223 --> 00:03:36,276 was foremost in hearing the teachings. 114 00:03:36,302 --> 00:03:38,235 He was by the Buddha's side for twenty-five years, 115 00:03:38,263 --> 00:03:40,436 heard the most sutras, and had the best memory, 116 00:03:40,543 --> 00:03:44,156 yet he only attained Arhatship the night before the First Council. 117 00:03:44,462 --> 00:03:44,855 Of course, 118 00:03:45,103 --> 00:03:47,075 the reasons for Ananda's late enlightenment are complex, 119 00:03:47,223 --> 00:03:50,276 traditionally attributed more to his emotional attachments. 120 00:03:50,383 --> 00:03:52,235 It wasn't just a matter of "knowing too much." 121 00:03:52,703 --> 00:03:56,436 But the fact that the most learned person wasn't the first to awaken 122 00:03:56,462 --> 00:03:58,075 is worth reflecting on. 123 00:03:58,663 --> 00:04:00,235 Faust is that person. 124 00:04:00,423 --> 00:04:01,596 I might be, too. 125 00:04:02,022 --> 00:04:02,735 In Buddhism, 126 00:04:03,223 --> 00:04:04,782 the "obstruction of afflictions" is coarse— 127 00:04:04,782 --> 00:04:05,855 greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt. 128 00:04:06,223 --> 00:04:07,675 You can feel these. 129 00:04:07,943 --> 00:04:09,876 But the "obstruction of the known" is subtle, 130 00:04:09,943 --> 00:04:12,276 so subtle you mistake it for wisdom itself. 131 00:04:12,502 --> 00:04:14,716 You think that wall is a window, 132 00:04:14,742 --> 00:04:16,475 that you're seeing the world through it. 133 00:04:16,543 --> 00:04:17,255 But you don't realize 134 00:04:17,543 --> 00:04:18,781 everything you see 135 00:04:18,783 --> 00:04:20,596 is just a projection on that wall. 136 00:04:20,783 --> 00:04:24,036 Faust's emptiness after mastering four major disciplines 137 00:04:24,142 --> 00:04:25,755 wasn't the emptiness of ignorance; 138 00:04:26,142 --> 00:04:27,995 it was the emptiness of surplus knowledge. 139 00:04:28,302 --> 00:04:30,956 Like someone who has tasted every dish on earth 140 00:04:31,142 --> 00:04:33,716 and suddenly finds they can no longer taste anything. 141 00:04:33,822 --> 00:04:35,196 It's not the food's fault; 142 00:04:35,343 --> 00:04:37,435 it's that their sense of taste is overwhelmed. 143 00:04:37,502 --> 00:04:39,781 As we've mentioned many times on this channel, 144 00:04:39,783 --> 00:04:42,141 the brain is a prediction engine, 145 00:04:42,142 --> 00:04:44,475 a local carbon-based model. 146 00:04:44,543 --> 00:04:46,475 It trains and infers simultaneously. 147 00:04:46,583 --> 00:04:48,661 It doesn't passively receive the world; 148 00:04:48,663 --> 00:04:52,235 it actively uses existing models to predict it. 149 00:04:52,423 --> 00:04:53,175 The more knowledge you have, 150 00:04:53,423 --> 00:04:54,461 the thicker the model becomes. 151 00:04:54,463 --> 00:04:56,101 Predictions may become more precise, 152 00:04:56,103 --> 00:04:58,435 and you feel like you understand everything. 153 00:04:58,742 --> 00:04:59,536 But the problem is, 154 00:04:59,942 --> 00:05:02,182 do you understand the world itself, 155 00:05:02,182 --> 00:05:03,336 or just your own model? 156 00:05:03,862 --> 00:05:07,235 Faust is a man trapped by his own model. 157 00:05:07,543 --> 00:05:10,435 His model is powerful enough to predict everything, 158 00:05:10,622 --> 00:05:12,596 except for one thing: 159 00:05:12,862 --> 00:05:14,076 authentic experience. 160 00:05:14,543 --> 00:05:17,276 Because experience cannot be reached through prediction. 161 00:05:17,663 --> 00:05:19,636 Experience is what remains 162 00:05:19,783 --> 00:05:20,956 after you let go of prediction. 163 00:05:21,463 --> 00:05:22,475 That's the first layer. 164 00:05:22,983 --> 00:05:24,315 The second thing is even more interesting. 165 00:05:24,822 --> 00:05:26,956 Mephistopheles, the devil who makes the deal with Faust, 166 00:05:27,023 --> 00:05:28,036 Mephistopheles, 167 00:05:28,223 --> 00:05:29,795 didn't come from hell. 168 00:05:30,142 --> 00:05:32,235 He was always in Faust's mind. 169 00:05:32,622 --> 00:05:35,196 Goethe wrote an introduction for him 170 00:05:35,622 --> 00:05:37,636 that provides the key to the whole play. 171 00:05:37,903 --> 00:05:38,255 He said, 172 00:05:38,783 --> 00:05:40,555 "I am part of that power 173 00:05:40,702 --> 00:05:41,776 which always wills evil 174 00:05:42,103 --> 00:05:43,795 and always produces good." 175 00:05:44,262 --> 00:05:45,915 Then he said another thing: 176 00:05:46,182 --> 00:05:48,555 "I am the spirit that always denies." 177 00:05:49,142 --> 00:05:50,276 "Always denies." 178 00:05:50,702 --> 00:05:52,896 Did you notice the weight of those two words? 179 00:05:53,502 --> 00:05:54,615 Not occasional denial, 180 00:05:54,942 --> 00:05:56,742 not conditional denial, 181 00:05:56,742 --> 00:05:57,716 but always. 182 00:05:58,062 --> 00:05:58,696 This means, 183 00:05:59,062 --> 00:06:00,701 no matter what you achieve, 184 00:06:00,702 --> 00:06:02,396 he will whisper in your ear, 185 00:06:02,423 --> 00:06:02,815 "Not enough." 186 00:06:03,142 --> 00:06:03,495 "Not enough." 187 00:06:03,903 --> 00:06:04,836 "Still not enough." 188 00:06:05,223 --> 00:06:06,576 You reach an achievement, 189 00:06:06,903 --> 00:06:07,295 and he says, 190 00:06:07,663 --> 00:06:08,755 "So what?" 191 00:06:08,903 --> 00:06:10,935 You experience a wonderful romance, 192 00:06:11,262 --> 00:06:11,915 and he says, 193 00:06:11,983 --> 00:06:13,156 "It will end." 194 00:06:13,463 --> 00:06:16,055 You stand on a peak and see the whole world, 195 00:06:16,382 --> 00:06:17,036 and he says, 196 00:06:17,062 --> 00:06:18,516 "You will die eventually." 197 00:06:18,942 --> 00:06:19,855 In Buddhism, 198 00:06:20,103 --> 00:06:21,475 this is 'Manas consciousness.' 199 00:06:22,023 --> 00:06:23,136 What is Manas consciousness? 200 00:06:23,543 --> 00:06:25,675 We've discussed it many times on this channel. 201 00:06:25,942 --> 00:06:29,836 It's the background program that's always running in your mind. 202 00:06:30,543 --> 00:06:32,475 It has only one core function: 203 00:06:32,502 --> 00:06:34,716 it labels every experience. 204 00:06:34,822 --> 00:06:35,495 "This is mine." 205 00:06:35,822 --> 00:06:37,235 "This relates to me." 206 00:06:37,302 --> 00:06:37,935 "This isn't enough." 207 00:06:38,182 --> 00:06:39,355 "I want more." 208 00:06:39,742 --> 00:06:42,120 Mephistopheles didn't inject Faust 209 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,076 with anything that didn't already exist in him. 210 00:06:44,583 --> 00:06:48,396 He just externalized 211 00:06:48,543 --> 00:06:49,516 that voice of eternal dissatisfaction in Faust's heart, 212 00:06:49,622 --> 00:06:51,755 turning it into a character for dialogue. 213 00:06:52,223 --> 00:06:54,355 This is where Goethe's genius lies. 214 00:06:54,702 --> 00:06:57,795 He didn't write an evil force invading from outside; 215 00:06:58,142 --> 00:06:59,555 he wrote a mirror. 216 00:06:59,942 --> 00:07:00,755 Think about it. 217 00:07:01,223 --> 00:07:03,495 What did Mephistopheles take Faust to experience? 218 00:07:04,182 --> 00:07:08,415 Wine, lust, power, Helen of Troy—the peerless beauty of ancient Greece, 219 00:07:08,983 --> 00:07:11,036 and even the grand project of reclaiming land from the sea. 220 00:07:11,343 --> 00:07:12,156 Every single time, 221 00:07:12,223 --> 00:07:14,795 Faust was left unsatisfied after the experience. 222 00:07:15,302 --> 00:07:15,855 Why? 223 00:07:16,463 --> 00:07:18,435 Not because the experiences weren't good enough, 224 00:07:19,142 --> 00:07:20,475 but because Mephistopheles— 225 00:07:20,583 --> 00:07:23,596 that internal voice of constant denial— 226 00:07:23,622 --> 00:07:25,435 simply would not allow him to be satisfied. 227 00:07:25,862 --> 00:07:28,156 Manas consciousness has a very cunning trait: 228 00:07:28,543 --> 00:07:30,516 it denies bad experiences, and, 229 00:07:30,543 --> 00:07:32,235 it also denies good ones. 230 00:07:32,502 --> 00:07:33,536 You enjoy a wonderful meal, 231 00:07:33,822 --> 00:07:34,175 and it says, 232 00:07:34,622 --> 00:07:35,516 "What about the next one?" 233 00:07:35,903 --> 00:07:36,815 You make a good friend, 234 00:07:37,182 --> 00:07:37,836 and it says, 235 00:07:37,983 --> 00:07:39,276 "What if they leave you?" 236 00:07:39,622 --> 00:07:40,615 You do a good deed, 237 00:07:40,862 --> 00:07:41,516 and it says, 238 00:07:41,622 --> 00:07:42,795 "Did anyone see that?" 239 00:07:43,223 --> 00:07:44,495 It isn't protecting you; 240 00:07:44,862 --> 00:07:46,276 it's draining you dry. 241 00:07:46,463 --> 00:07:48,956 It makes you live forever in the next goal, 242 00:07:49,023 --> 00:07:51,596 never able to settle in the here and now. 243 00:07:52,023 --> 00:07:54,636 And the wager between Faust and Mephisto 244 00:07:54,702 --> 00:07:56,555 targets exactly this vulnerability. 245 00:07:56,942 --> 00:07:58,115 Mephisto says, 246 00:07:58,423 --> 00:08:01,355 'If you ever say to any moment, 247 00:08:01,543 --> 00:08:02,516 "Stay, linger a while, 248 00:08:02,543 --> 00:08:03,096 you are so beautiful," 249 00:08:03,423 --> 00:08:04,995 then your soul shall be mine.' 250 00:08:05,423 --> 00:08:06,516 On the surface, 251 00:08:06,583 --> 00:08:09,596 this is the devil betting Faust will be captured by pleasure. 252 00:08:09,822 --> 00:08:11,076 But if you think about it the other way, 253 00:08:11,142 --> 00:08:13,136 do you see a deeper paradox? 254 00:08:13,822 --> 00:08:16,636 The reason Faust can never say those words 255 00:08:16,783 --> 00:08:19,276 is not because he hasn't met a beautiful moment, 256 00:08:19,583 --> 00:08:22,196 but because the Mephisto in his mind, 257 00:08:22,262 --> 00:08:23,475 that Manas consciousness, 258 00:08:23,502 --> 00:08:26,755 never allows him to stop at any moment. 259 00:08:26,983 --> 00:08:29,295 Have you ever had this experience in your life? 260 00:08:30,023 --> 00:08:32,355 You finally get the thing you dreamed of— 261 00:08:32,942 --> 00:08:35,135 a house, a position, a relationship, 262 00:08:35,462 --> 00:08:36,355 whatever it may be. 263 00:08:36,663 --> 00:08:37,995 The second you have it, 264 00:08:38,102 --> 00:08:40,475 the joy only lasts for a moment, 265 00:08:40,822 --> 00:08:42,875 and then that voice inside immediately says, 266 00:08:43,102 --> 00:08:44,456 'What is the next goal?' 267 00:08:45,222 --> 00:08:45,816 That voice 268 00:08:46,102 --> 00:08:48,316 is the Mephisto within you. 269 00:08:48,623 --> 00:08:49,895 What does Buddhism call this? 270 00:08:50,462 --> 00:08:51,956 The mechanism of 'greed' or 'craving.' 271 00:08:52,263 --> 00:08:54,436 Greed isn't just about wanting something; 272 00:08:54,982 --> 00:08:57,956 it's always wanting the *next* thing. 273 00:08:58,543 --> 00:09:00,176 The essence of greed isn't possession, 274 00:09:00,462 --> 00:09:01,556 it's the inability to settle. 275 00:09:01,783 --> 00:09:03,216 Your hand is always reaching forward, 276 00:09:03,462 --> 00:09:04,676 never quite grasping it. 277 00:09:04,982 --> 00:09:06,635 Not because the goal is too far, 278 00:09:06,822 --> 00:09:09,076 but because the act of reaching itself 279 00:09:09,143 --> 00:09:10,635 has become a habit. 280 00:09:11,102 --> 00:09:12,155 That's the second layer. 281 00:09:12,623 --> 00:09:13,855 Before we discuss the third layer, 282 00:09:14,263 --> 00:09:15,596 I want to talk about someone: 283 00:09:16,062 --> 00:09:16,916 Gretchen. 284 00:09:17,503 --> 00:09:21,275 Gretchen is the first woman Faust meets with Mephisto's help. 285 00:09:21,663 --> 00:09:24,755 A simple, kind, and pious young girl. 286 00:09:25,062 --> 00:09:26,015 Did Faust love her? 287 00:09:26,702 --> 00:09:27,796 I think he did. 288 00:09:28,263 --> 00:09:29,556 But the way he loved her 289 00:09:29,702 --> 00:09:32,596 exposed another mode of how Manas operates. 290 00:09:33,062 --> 00:09:37,475 Faust used jewels and magic from Mephisto to attract Gretchen. 291 00:09:37,702 --> 00:09:39,235 The two fell madly in love. 292 00:09:39,623 --> 00:09:40,995 But in this relationship, 293 00:09:41,023 --> 00:09:43,022 to open the door for Faust, 294 00:09:43,023 --> 00:09:44,916 Gretchen gave her mother a sleeping potion; 295 00:09:45,102 --> 00:09:47,076 the mother never woke up. 296 00:09:47,702 --> 00:09:51,676 Her brother fought Faust to defend the family's honor, 297 00:09:51,822 --> 00:09:53,395 but was ambushed by Mephisto 298 00:09:53,528 --> 00:09:54,328 and died. 299 00:09:54,503 --> 00:09:56,875 Gretchen became pregnant with Faust's child. 300 00:09:57,222 --> 00:09:58,395 Faust ran away. 301 00:09:58,783 --> 00:10:01,861 In despair, Gretchen drowned her own child, 302 00:10:01,863 --> 00:10:03,182 was imprisoned, 303 00:10:03,182 --> 00:10:04,235 and awaited execution. 304 00:10:04,783 --> 00:10:05,855 Faust returned, 305 00:10:06,143 --> 00:10:07,076 wanting to save her, 306 00:10:07,543 --> 00:10:09,035 but Gretchen refused. 307 00:10:09,383 --> 00:10:10,615 She chose to stay in prison 308 00:10:11,023 --> 00:10:12,035 to face judgment. 309 00:10:12,663 --> 00:10:13,375 Do you see it? 310 00:10:13,942 --> 00:10:16,395 In his pursuit of 'experience,' 311 00:10:16,543 --> 00:10:19,596 Faust treated a whole human being as a mere stop along the itinerary. 312 00:10:20,102 --> 00:10:21,875 He didn't hurt her on purpose, 313 00:10:22,102 --> 00:10:26,916 but his Manas made it impossible to truly stay with one person. 314 00:10:27,582 --> 00:10:29,596 What he needed wasn't to love someone, 315 00:10:29,663 --> 00:10:32,275 but to experience the *feeling* of being in love. 316 00:10:32,783 --> 00:10:33,816 Once the feeling was spent, 317 00:10:34,143 --> 00:10:35,196 he left. 318 00:10:35,623 --> 00:10:36,535 The ruins left behind 319 00:10:36,903 --> 00:10:38,275 all belonged to someone else. 320 00:10:38,543 --> 00:10:40,836 This is the cruelest part of attachment. 321 00:10:41,263 --> 00:10:42,796 It doesn't just harm you, 322 00:10:42,942 --> 00:10:46,076 it drags those around you into your chain of karma. 323 00:10:46,423 --> 00:10:49,196 You think you're just pursuing your own life, 324 00:10:49,543 --> 00:10:51,796 but wherever your pursuit leads, 325 00:10:51,903 --> 00:10:54,596 you leave behind people crushed by your obsession. 326 00:10:54,903 --> 00:10:55,895 How would Buddhism view 327 00:10:56,302 --> 00:10:57,255 Gretchen's tragedy? 328 00:10:57,783 --> 00:11:01,035 She is the bearer of collective karma in Faust's chain. 329 00:11:01,543 --> 00:11:04,596 The cause Faust sowed was a greedy attachment to experience; 330 00:11:04,863 --> 00:11:08,076 Gretchen is the bitterest fruit grown from that seed. 331 00:11:08,543 --> 00:11:11,755 Yet her choice to stay in prison and face judgment 332 00:11:12,023 --> 00:11:15,796 is actually the closest moment to awakening in the play. 333 00:11:16,543 --> 00:11:17,741 She stops running, 334 00:11:17,743 --> 00:11:20,062 stops using any means to fight fate. 335 00:11:20,062 --> 00:11:20,975 She halts. 336 00:11:21,182 --> 00:11:22,076 She faces it. 337 00:11:22,182 --> 00:11:22,375 Alright. 338 00:11:22,663 --> 00:11:24,142 Now for the third level, 339 00:11:24,143 --> 00:11:25,556 the deepest level, 340 00:11:25,582 --> 00:11:27,755 and the most controversial part of Faust. 341 00:11:28,023 --> 00:11:29,755 At the end of Part Two, 342 00:11:30,102 --> 00:11:31,716 Faust is very old. 343 00:11:32,023 --> 00:11:33,916 He is reclaiming land from the sea, 344 00:11:34,182 --> 00:11:37,275 hoping to build a free land for a free people. 345 00:11:37,623 --> 00:11:39,556 He imagines this future scene, 346 00:11:39,702 --> 00:11:42,836 free people standing on a free soil. 347 00:11:42,982 --> 00:11:45,755 At this vision, he finally says the words: 348 00:11:46,023 --> 00:11:46,735 "Linger a while, 349 00:11:47,023 --> 00:11:47,916 thou art so fair." 350 00:11:48,423 --> 00:11:50,035 Then he falls dead. 351 00:11:50,222 --> 00:11:50,936 Per their agreement, 352 00:11:51,182 --> 00:11:53,436 his soul should belong to Mephistopheles. 353 00:11:53,822 --> 00:11:56,475 But Goethe wrote an unexpected ending. 354 00:11:57,302 --> 00:11:58,956 Angels descend from heaven, 355 00:11:59,062 --> 00:12:01,035 and while Mephisto is distracted, 356 00:12:01,102 --> 00:12:02,895 they snatch Faust's soul away 357 00:12:03,062 --> 00:12:04,395 and take it to heaven. 358 00:12:04,743 --> 00:12:05,895 What was the angels' justification? 359 00:12:06,383 --> 00:12:08,155 Goethe wrote a line at the very end: 360 00:12:08,543 --> 00:12:09,735 "He who strives on and on, 361 00:12:10,023 --> 00:12:11,635 him we can redeem." 362 00:12:11,942 --> 00:12:16,115 For 200 years, this has been hailed as the anthem of the human spirit. 363 00:12:16,342 --> 00:12:17,495 Ceaseless pursuit, 364 00:12:17,822 --> 00:12:19,355 the will to always move forward; 365 00:12:19,462 --> 00:12:21,556 this is seen as the dignity of being human. 366 00:12:21,903 --> 00:12:24,436 But if you view this line through Buddhist eyes, 367 00:12:24,462 --> 00:12:26,635 you see something very subtle. 368 00:12:27,102 --> 00:12:28,515 Isn't "ceaseless pursuit" 369 00:12:28,543 --> 00:12:31,216 the perfect operating mode of the Manas-vijnana? 370 00:12:31,743 --> 00:12:32,635 Think about it. 371 00:12:33,182 --> 00:12:34,535 Mephisto's wager was: 372 00:12:34,982 --> 00:12:36,381 "If you ever stop, 373 00:12:36,383 --> 00:12:37,515 your soul belongs to me." 374 00:12:37,783 --> 00:12:39,875 Faust did eventually stop; 375 00:12:39,982 --> 00:12:42,755 he spoke those words to that imagined moment. 376 00:12:43,263 --> 00:12:43,936 By the terms of the bet, 377 00:12:44,342 --> 00:12:44,936 he lost. 378 00:12:45,342 --> 00:12:47,035 His soul should belong to the devil. 379 00:12:47,342 --> 00:12:49,196 But Goethe didn't accept this outcome. 380 00:12:49,503 --> 00:12:51,635 He used the angels to force a reversal, 381 00:12:51,942 --> 00:12:54,916 arguing that because Faust strove all his life, 382 00:12:54,942 --> 00:12:56,475 he deserved to be saved. 383 00:12:56,743 --> 00:12:57,456 In other words, 384 00:12:57,783 --> 00:12:59,796 Goethe used a lifetime's balance 385 00:12:59,942 --> 00:13:01,956 to override the wager of a single moment. 386 00:13:02,503 --> 00:13:05,235 This handling is intriguing in itself, 387 00:13:05,582 --> 00:13:08,076 but Buddhism asks an even more uncomfortable question: 388 00:13:08,582 --> 00:13:10,755 Isn't "ceaseless striving" as a reason for salvation 389 00:13:10,783 --> 00:13:13,576 simply the most dignified cloak the Manas-vijnana wears? 390 00:13:14,222 --> 00:13:18,076 Someone driven by "not enough, I want more," 391 00:13:18,143 --> 00:13:19,956 versus someone who "strives ceaselessly"— 392 00:13:19,982 --> 00:13:21,576 from the outside, what's the difference? 393 00:13:22,143 --> 00:13:23,782 If you are always pursuing, 394 00:13:23,783 --> 00:13:25,216 when are you ever living in the present? 395 00:13:25,863 --> 00:13:28,716 If your freedom is defined as never stopping, 396 00:13:28,743 --> 00:13:31,581 then how are you different from a machine 397 00:13:31,582 --> 00:13:32,375 set to never turn off? 398 00:13:33,062 --> 00:13:34,355 Stoic philosophy says 399 00:13:34,383 --> 00:13:37,221 freedom lies in discerning what is within your control 400 00:13:37,222 --> 00:13:38,155 and what is not. 401 00:13:38,462 --> 00:13:41,716 We broke this down in the episode on Meditations. 402 00:13:41,982 --> 00:13:43,635 Buddhism goes even more fundamental. 403 00:13:43,942 --> 00:13:45,755 Freedom isn't about eternal pursuit; 404 00:13:45,903 --> 00:13:48,956 it's the ability to find stillness in any given moment, 405 00:13:49,023 --> 00:13:52,395 and then voluntarily choosing whether to continue. 406 00:13:52,783 --> 00:13:53,495 What is the difference? 407 00:13:54,062 --> 00:13:56,176 It lies in whether that choice is free 408 00:13:56,423 --> 00:13:57,676 or if it was forced. 409 00:13:57,942 --> 00:13:59,635 Goethe's Faust 410 00:13:59,663 --> 00:14:01,836 is pushed forward by a certain force. 411 00:14:02,062 --> 00:14:03,535 That force is called diligence, 412 00:14:03,903 --> 00:14:05,155 unwillingness to settle, 413 00:14:05,263 --> 00:14:07,196 and a thirst for life. 414 00:14:07,543 --> 00:14:09,096 Buddhism does not deny diligence; 415 00:14:09,543 --> 00:14:11,515 it is one of the Eightfold Paths. 416 00:14:11,543 --> 00:14:12,375 But Buddhism says 417 00:14:12,702 --> 00:14:14,221 diligence is a knife; 418 00:14:14,222 --> 00:14:16,395 it depends on what you use it to cut. 419 00:14:16,663 --> 00:14:20,076 If your diligence is an escape from present dissatisfaction, 420 00:14:20,222 --> 00:14:22,716 then you are just running more elegantly. 421 00:14:23,023 --> 00:14:23,696 No matter how far you run, 422 00:14:23,942 --> 00:14:25,822 the Mephistopheles on your shoulder 423 00:14:25,822 --> 00:14:27,716 will be wherever you are. 424 00:14:27,903 --> 00:14:31,716 But if your diligence arises from a place of stillness; 425 00:14:31,743 --> 00:14:33,196 if you can stop first, 426 00:14:33,222 --> 00:14:35,796 and remain undriven in any given moment, 427 00:14:35,822 --> 00:14:37,995 before choosing to move forward, 428 00:14:38,503 --> 00:14:40,235 that is a completely different matter. 429 00:14:40,582 --> 00:14:41,495 That is not an escape; 430 00:14:41,783 --> 00:14:42,796 it is a departure. 431 00:14:43,383 --> 00:14:44,916 Goethe stopped there. 432 00:14:45,263 --> 00:14:47,676 He gave Faust an external salvation; 433 00:14:48,062 --> 00:14:48,816 the angels came 434 00:14:49,023 --> 00:14:50,475 and took his soul away. 435 00:14:50,942 --> 00:14:51,975 But Buddhism would say 436 00:14:52,543 --> 00:14:54,355 no one is coming from the outside to save you. 437 00:14:54,623 --> 00:14:56,115 It's not an angel that saves you, 438 00:14:56,263 --> 00:14:59,596 but your own realization that Mephistopheles is no one else 439 00:14:59,663 --> 00:15:01,836 but the voice of your own Manas-vijnana. 440 00:15:02,342 --> 00:15:04,015 When you stop fighting it, 441 00:15:04,543 --> 00:15:05,556 and simply observe it, 442 00:15:05,582 --> 00:15:06,755 it becomes quiet. 443 00:15:07,143 --> 00:15:08,135 Why shouldn't you fight it? 444 00:15:08,663 --> 00:15:11,196 Because fighting is its favorite game. 445 00:15:11,423 --> 00:15:12,216 The more you struggle against it, 446 00:15:12,423 --> 00:15:13,556 the stronger it becomes. 447 00:15:13,863 --> 00:15:15,115 If you say, "I must not be greedy," 448 00:15:15,263 --> 00:15:17,796 this "must not" is itself a form of greed. 449 00:15:18,222 --> 00:15:19,875 If you say, "I want to overcome desire," 450 00:15:19,942 --> 00:15:23,316 this urge to overcome is itself a desire. 451 00:15:23,623 --> 00:15:26,275 This is Faust's deepest tragedy. 452 00:15:26,582 --> 00:15:28,755 He spent a lifetime struggling with the devil, 453 00:15:28,822 --> 00:15:30,275 never realizing 454 00:15:30,302 --> 00:15:31,176 that the struggle itself 455 00:15:31,543 --> 00:15:33,676 was the devil's greatest victory. 456 00:15:34,023 --> 00:15:34,336 You see, 457 00:15:34,743 --> 00:15:37,475 Goethe and Buddha saw the same thing: 458 00:15:37,982 --> 00:15:40,796 an insatiable voice within the human heart. 459 00:15:41,143 --> 00:15:43,635 But they prescribed completely different remedies. 460 00:15:44,023 --> 00:15:45,056 Goethe's solution was 461 00:15:45,383 --> 00:15:47,196 to let that voice push you to run, 462 00:15:47,222 --> 00:15:48,916 to achieve great deeds, 463 00:15:49,062 --> 00:15:52,556 and to answer restlessness with constant creation and action. 464 00:15:52,702 --> 00:15:54,395 And then you are saved. 465 00:15:54,743 --> 00:15:56,936 In many ways, Western civilization 466 00:15:57,102 --> 00:15:59,235 is built upon this very belief. 467 00:15:59,543 --> 00:16:03,221 Progress, innovation, conquering nature, and expansion 468 00:16:03,222 --> 00:16:05,956 are all driven by this never-ending diligence. 469 00:16:06,383 --> 00:16:07,375 Buddha's solution was 470 00:16:07,743 --> 00:16:08,755 to turn around, 471 00:16:08,982 --> 00:16:09,895 look at that voice, 472 00:16:10,302 --> 00:16:11,956 and see clearly what it is. 473 00:16:12,423 --> 00:16:13,296 Neither fighting it 474 00:16:13,623 --> 00:16:14,836 nor obeying it. 475 00:16:15,263 --> 00:16:16,635 You just watch it, 476 00:16:17,342 --> 00:16:18,176 and then you realize 477 00:16:18,623 --> 00:16:19,836 it is not you; 478 00:16:20,182 --> 00:16:21,755 it is just a program. 479 00:16:22,263 --> 00:16:24,676 Once you see it as just a program, 480 00:16:25,023 --> 00:16:27,395 its control over you vanishes. 481 00:16:27,942 --> 00:16:29,395 You don't need to be saved, 482 00:16:29,582 --> 00:16:32,155 because you were never trapped to begin with. 483 00:16:32,582 --> 00:16:34,515 It's not a cage that's trapping you, 484 00:16:34,743 --> 00:16:37,796 it's the belief that the cage exists. 485 00:16:38,102 --> 00:16:40,995 Goethe points to outward-expanding greatness; 486 00:16:41,342 --> 00:16:44,196 Buddha points to inward-abiding freedom. 487 00:16:44,582 --> 00:16:45,336 Which one is better? 488 00:16:45,543 --> 00:16:46,676 I really don't know. 489 00:16:46,942 --> 00:16:49,436 Perhaps these two paths aren't mutually exclusive. 490 00:16:49,543 --> 00:16:53,062 Maybe you need to run outward like Faust first, 491 00:16:53,062 --> 00:16:54,596 before you are willing to look inward. 492 00:16:54,863 --> 00:16:57,035 Perhaps Faust's sixty-year journey 493 00:16:57,102 --> 00:17:00,275 is a path that must be completed to be let go. 494 00:17:00,623 --> 00:17:03,861 Didn't Buddha himself live as a prince for 29 years, 495 00:17:03,863 --> 00:17:05,355 enjoying all worldly splendors, 496 00:17:05,383 --> 00:17:06,576 before choosing to leave it all behind? 497 00:17:07,063 --> 00:17:09,596 Who's to say getting lost isn't another way of arriving? 498 00:17:09,903 --> 00:17:11,435 But I know one thing: 499 00:17:11,742 --> 00:17:13,855 The next time that voice in your head says, 500 00:17:14,222 --> 00:17:14,836 "Not enough," 501 00:17:15,022 --> 00:17:15,655 "Give me more," 502 00:17:15,982 --> 00:17:17,355 "Try a little harder," 503 00:17:17,502 --> 00:17:19,336 you can at least stop for three seconds 504 00:17:19,663 --> 00:17:20,516 and look at it. 505 00:17:20,942 --> 00:17:21,615 Is that you? 506 00:17:22,182 --> 00:17:24,016 Or is it just a habit you've kept for too long? 507 00:17:24,782 --> 00:17:26,036 The answer to this question 508 00:17:26,103 --> 00:17:28,276 might be more important than reading a hundred books. 509 00:17:28,663 --> 00:17:32,119 Goethe spent sixty years writing about a man 510 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:33,955 making a deal with the voices in his head, 511 00:17:34,262 --> 00:17:37,155 betting on whether he would ever say to a moment, 512 00:17:37,249 --> 00:17:38,048 "Enough." 513 00:17:38,343 --> 00:17:39,195 He said it. 514 00:17:39,542 --> 00:17:40,296 And then Goethe says, 515 00:17:40,702 --> 00:17:41,556 he won. 516 00:17:42,022 --> 00:17:42,816 What do you think? 517 00:17:43,343 --> 00:17:45,895 Did Faust win or lose in the end? 518 00:17:46,663 --> 00:17:48,862 Was his soul truly saved, 519 00:17:48,863 --> 00:17:51,455 or was it just taken over by a higher form of obsession? 520 00:17:52,222 --> 00:17:54,675 Let me know your answer in the comments. 521 00:17:55,143 --> 00:17:55,855 This is Wang Lijie. 522 00:17:56,182 --> 00:17:56,951 See you next time.