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Is your memory real?

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Neuroscience has found that the brain often tampers with history. Every time you recall the past,

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you think you're opening an archive,

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but neuroscience reveals a chilling truth:

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Every time your brain opens this file,

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it quietly rewrites the content

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and saves it back again.

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The more you rewrite it,

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the more convinced you become that it's the truth.

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In other words,

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the events you recall most frequently

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deviate the furthest from what actually happened.

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That memory in your mind right now—the clearest, most certain,

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and most unforgettable one—

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is precisely the one your brain has tampered with the most.

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This isn't science fiction.

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It's one of the most important discoveries in memory neuroscience over the last 20 years:

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Memory Reconsolidation Theory.

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As I analyzed the core mechanism of this theory,

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I discovered something profoundly shocking.

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Its dynamic structure is almost identical to the "Seed Perfuming" mechanism

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described by the Yogacara school of Buddhism 1,500 years ago.

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Hello,

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everyone.

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I am Wang Lijie.

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Let me be clear:

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I’m not here to prove that Buddhism predicted neuroscience,

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nor am I using science to endorse religion.

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What I always do is

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compare the underlying models of different fields

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to see if they are describing the same structure.

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If they are,

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we gain a new dimension for understanding the world.

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If not,

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there’s no harm done.

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Alright.

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Let's start with a phenomenon you've likely experienced.

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On September 11, 2001,

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the United States suffered a terrorist attack.

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Almost everyone who lived through it remembers exactly where they were,

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what they were doing, and how they heard the news.

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Memories formed during major events

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have a specific name in psychology:

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Flashbulb Memories.

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The name is quite vivid,

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as if the brain clicked a shutter at that moment,

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capturing the entire scene intact

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and saving it forever.

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But in 2003,

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Duke University psychologists Talarico and Rubin

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conducted a follow-up study.

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On the day after 9/11, they gathered a group of college students

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and asked them to record exactly how they heard the news.

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Then, after one week, six weeks, and forty-two weeks,

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they asked the students to recall it again.

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The results were startling.

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Over time,

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the details of the students' recollections changed significantly.

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Some changed their location from a cafeteria to a dorm;

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some changed from being with friends to being alone;

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some even changed how they heard the news from TV to a phone call.

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But what was the most critical finding?

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The students' confidence in the accuracy of their memory

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hardly declined at all.

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They were convinced they remembered it perfectly,

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down to every last detail.

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The memory changed,

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but the sense of certainty remained.

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It's as if your phone secretly edited a photo

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but told you it was the original.

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Why does this happen?

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This involves the most important paradigm shift in memory science

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over the past twenty years.

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Before 2000,

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the mainstream view was that memory formation had two stages.

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Stage one is short-term memory,

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unstable

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and easily lost.

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Stage two is long-term memory.

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Once formed, it was thought to be set in stone like concrete.

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Stable storage,

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never to change again.

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This model is called memory consolidation theory.

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Its core assumption is that

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once a long-term memory is solidified,

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it's like words carved in stone;

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unless the stone is destroyed,

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the content remains the same.

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But in 2000,

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Karim Nader, a neuroscientist at NYU,

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conducted an experiment that changed the entire field.

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Nader and his colleagues experimented with rats.

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They first had the rats form a fear memory,

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where they'd get scared upon hearing a specific sound.

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After this memory was fully consolidated,

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he did something else:

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he made the rats recall that fear.

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At the exact moment the rats were remembering,

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he injected a drug called anisomycin into their amygdala.

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This drug blocks protein synthesis.

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As a result, the rats' fear memory vanished.

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What does this mean?

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It means that when the rats recalled the memory,

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the solidified memory actually became unstable again.

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It was reopened.

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Like a saved document being reopened,

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it entered edit mode.

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In this edit mode,

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if you block the protein synthesis needed to save it again,

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it cannot re-solidify,

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and the memory is lost.

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This paper was published in the top journal Nature,

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shocking the entire neuroscience community.

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Its core finding was later named memory reconsolidation theory.

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Every time you retrieve a memory,

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it enters a temporarily unstable state.

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It then requires a new round of protein synthesis to be stored again.

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During this re-storage process,

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current emotions, environmental cues, and new knowledge thereafter

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will all be woven into it.

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In other words,

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memory is not reading;

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it is rewriting.

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Every recall

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is a recompilation.

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Let me give you a very intuitive analogy.

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You think your memory is a read-only file;

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you open it, read it, and close it,

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and the content stays the same.

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But in reality,

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your memory is more like a document that automatically

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enters edit mode every time it's opened.

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Every time you open it,

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your mood, your surroundings, and new information you've learned since

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are all automatically written in.

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Then the document is saved again,

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overwriting the previous version.

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And the worst part is,

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it doesn't tell you what it changed.

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It doesn't even tell you that it *has* changed.

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What you see is always the latest version,

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though you assume it's the original.

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This is why the memories you are most certain of

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are often the ones most tampered with.

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Because the more important a memory, the more often you recall it.

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Each recall means another rewrite.

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The more times it's rewritten,

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the further it deviates from the original,

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even as your sense of certainty grows stronger.

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Nader's finding wasn't an isolated case.

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In 2003,

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Walker and others from Harvard published in Nature

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the first evidence of memory reconsolidation in humans.

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Using motor skill tasks, they proved that

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once consolidated human memories are reactivated,

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they indeed re-enter an unstable state,

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making them prone to interference and modification by new learning.

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This means memory reconsolidation isn't unique to rats;

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it exists in humans as well.

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In 2014,

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Donna Bridge and Joel Voss at Northwestern University

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published a more precise study.

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They had subjects memorize the locations of a series of objects on a screen,

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and then observed how memories drifted

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by repeatedly retrieving them and introducing tiny biases.

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The results showed that

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after each retrieval,

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the subjects' memory would shift

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toward the bias introduced during the last recollection.

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Memory is like a ball being constantly pushed;

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it gets a nudge every time it's recalled,

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and the direction depends on your state of mind at that moment.

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There's another more common phenomenon you must have experienced

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called the Mandela Effect.

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Many people remember South African leader Nelson Mandela

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dying in prison in the 1980s.

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But in fact, Mandela was released in 1990

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and did not pass away until 2013.

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This isn't just one or two people misremembering;

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it's a large-scale collective false memory.

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There are many similar examples.

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For instance, many remember the tip of Pikachu's tail as being black,

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but it has actually been solid yellow since the original design.

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The tips of its ears are black.

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Many also believe they clearly remember a classic movie line,

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only to go back and find the original scene is completely different.

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The causes of the Mandela Effect are multifaceted,

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including distortion in information dissemination and social suggestion,

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as well as the brain's tendency for pattern-filling.

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But memory reconsolidation theory provides an underlying mechanism.

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Every time you discuss these topics in social settings,

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your memory is reopened.

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It's contaminated by the environment and others' narratives, then re-saved.

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You think you are verifying a memory,

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but you are actually modifying it.

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Alright.

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Let's pause the science here for a moment.

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I must emphasize that

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memory reconsolidation theory is one of the most important discoveries

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in neuroscience over the last twenty years.

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However, some of its specific mechanisms,

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such as which types of memories are more susceptible,

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and the exact molecular pathways,

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remain under ongoing research.

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What I'm discussing today is the field's solid core framework.

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Now, I want to do something else:

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place memory reconsolidation within the framework of Yogacara Buddhism.

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If you're a long-time viewer of this channel,

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the next part will seem very familiar.

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But I promise today's angle is brand new.

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Yogacara has a central tenet,

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expressed in eight characters in Chinese:

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"Seeds give rise to manifestations,"

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"Manifestations perfume the seeds."

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I broke down the concept of "seeds" in my previous episode on Yogacara.

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I won't repeat the basic definitions today.

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Let's look at how these relate to memory reconsolidation.

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"Seeds give rise to manifestations."

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What does this mean?

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Seeds stored in the Alaya-vijnana (storehouse consciousness)

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are activated when the right conditions arise,

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producing current mental activities and experiences.

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Translated into the language of memory science:

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Memory traces stored in long-term memory are retrieved

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into working memory,

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creating your current experience of recollection.

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"Manifestations perfume the seeds."

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What does this mean?

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Current mental activities in turn plant new seeds in the Alaya-vijnana,

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or change the nature of existing seeds.

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In the language of memory science:

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When a memory is retrieved and enters an unstable state,

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current emotions, context, and new info are integrated into it,

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forming a modified new version

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which is then re-stored in long-term memory.

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Look at these two concepts side-by-side:

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"Seeds give rise to manifestations"

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is memory retrieval.

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"Manifestations perfume the seeds"

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is memory reconsolidation.

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The entire cycle

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is that retrieval causes instability;

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during instability, it is contaminated by the current state;

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after contamination, it is re-stored stably.

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This cycle, described by Yogacara 1,500 years ago,

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and the cycle discovered by Nader in his lab in 2000,

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are the exact same dynamic process.

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But Yogacara says a few more things than modern memory science,

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and these are precisely the directions modern science is catching up to.

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First,

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Yogacara says this cycle is not neutral.

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In every process of 'manifestation perfuming seeds,' Mana-vijnana

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attaches the label of 'me' to it.

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I analyzed this mechanism in detail in the episode on 'Transfer of Merit.'

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Mana-vijnana is the Default Mode Network.

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Its core job is to recruit all experiences into a self-narrative.

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What does this mean?

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It means every time you recall a memory,

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you aren't just rewriting the content of the memory;

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you are also strengthening the bond between that memory and the self.

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The more important the memory,

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the more frequently you recall it,

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and the firmer the 'me' label from Mana-vijnana becomes.

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This is why traumatic memories are so hard to let go of.

265
00:10:49,466 --> 00:10:51,673
It's not because the event itself was so terrifying,

266
00:10:51,706 --> 00:10:54,384
but because every time you remember it, you reinforce

267
00:10:54,385 --> 00:10:56,993
the narrative framework of 'this is my trauma' and 'this defines who I am.'

268
00:10:58,625 --> 00:11:00,225
You think you are facing the pain,

269
00:11:00,225 --> 00:11:03,513
but you are actually consolidating the bond between pain and identity.

270
00:11:03,745 --> 00:11:07,352
This has been partially validated in modern psychology.

271
00:11:07,745 --> 00:11:09,993
Research on PTSD has found

272
00:11:10,105 --> 00:11:14,513
that the core issue with traumatic memory isn't just the painful content;

273
00:11:14,625 --> 00:11:17,692
more crucially, the memory has been encoded into the patient's

274
00:11:17,706 --> 00:11:19,232
narrative of self-identity.

275
00:11:19,306 --> 00:11:19,852
It becomes,

276
00:11:20,105 --> 00:11:21,793
'I am a person who was harmed,'

277
00:11:21,865 --> 00:11:23,993
and 'the world is unsafe for me.'

278
00:11:24,105 --> 00:11:26,985
The key to therapy is often not to erase the memory content,

279
00:11:26,985 --> 00:11:29,993
but to unbind the memory from the narrative of self-identity.

280
00:11:30,546 --> 00:11:33,592
Yogacara pointed out this mechanism 1,500 years ago.

281
00:11:33,985 --> 00:11:36,472
Mana-vijnana isn't helping you remember facts;

282
00:11:36,586 --> 00:11:39,352
it's helping you weave a story called 'Me.'

283
00:11:40,186 --> 00:11:41,705
And every time you remember,

284
00:11:41,706 --> 00:11:43,712
it's a new edition of that story.

285
00:11:44,105 --> 00:11:44,865
Second,

286
00:11:44,865 --> 00:11:47,793
Yogacara says seeds have the quality of 'momentary cessation.'

287
00:11:48,145 --> 00:11:50,952
A seed isn't a stone sitting still in a warehouse;

288
00:11:50,985 --> 00:11:53,513
it is constantly arising and ceasing every moment.

289
00:11:53,745 --> 00:11:55,092
Even if you don't actively recall it,

290
00:11:55,306 --> 00:11:56,673
the seed is undergoing fine-tuning.

291
00:11:56,946 --> 00:12:00,504
This corresponds to a relatively new discovery in memory science

292
00:12:00,505 --> 00:12:01,993
called 'systems consolidation.'

293
00:12:02,346 --> 00:12:03,312
Research has found

294
00:12:03,385 --> 00:12:06,393
that memory doesn't only change during active retrieval.

295
00:12:06,666 --> 00:12:07,664
During sleep,

296
00:12:07,666 --> 00:12:10,273
the hippocampus repeatedly replays the day's experiences,

297
00:12:10,306 --> 00:12:13,552
integrating them into the long-term storage network of the neocortex.

298
00:12:13,826 --> 00:12:16,932
This replay process is accompanied by special neural oscillations

299
00:12:16,946 --> 00:12:18,552
called 'sharp-wave ripples.'

300
00:12:19,265 --> 00:12:20,753
And every replay

301
00:12:20,785 --> 00:12:23,153
is a potential opportunity for modification.

302
00:12:23,586 --> 00:12:26,692
You think your memories are lying quietly while you sleep.

303
00:12:27,149 --> 00:12:27,948
No.

304
00:12:27,985 --> 00:12:31,513
Your hippocampus is secretly editing them while you're not looking.

305
00:12:31,785 --> 00:12:32,373
Third,

306
00:12:32,946 --> 00:12:34,592
and most profound,

307
00:12:35,105 --> 00:12:38,513
Yogacara seed theory has an ultimate conclusion:

308
00:12:38,666 --> 00:12:42,793
all seeds are ultimately products of 'omnipresent conceptual attachment.'

309
00:12:42,989 --> 00:12:43,452
What does this mean?

310
00:12:44,066 --> 00:12:46,753
Every so-called 'fact' in your memory

311
00:12:46,905 --> 00:12:48,793
was never the fact itself,

312
00:12:48,946 --> 00:12:52,913
but a processed projection of the fact by your consciousness.

313
00:12:53,265 --> 00:12:55,192
You think you remember a flower,

314
00:12:55,346 --> 00:12:58,192
but what you remember was never the flower itself.

315
00:12:58,265 --> 00:13:00,052
Instead, it's an imprint left after layered processing

316
00:13:00,505 --> 00:13:04,033
by your visual consciousness, mental consciousness, and Mana.

317
00:13:04,346 --> 00:13:07,113
From the moment this imprint was created,

318
00:13:07,186 --> 00:13:09,312
it was no longer the original event.

319
00:13:09,505 --> 00:13:13,552
And every subsequent recall processes it again through your current state of consciousness.

320
00:13:14,346 --> 00:13:17,793
Discoveries in memory science align perfectly with this judgment.

321
00:13:18,306 --> 00:13:19,913
Elizabeth Loftus,

322
00:13:19,985 --> 00:13:23,153
perhaps one of the most famous scientists in memory research,

323
00:13:23,346 --> 00:13:26,273
spent decades studying the implantation of false memories.

324
00:13:26,505 --> 00:13:28,352
Her classic experiment went like this:

325
00:13:28,466 --> 00:13:31,873
She presented subjects with descriptions of four childhood experiences.

326
00:13:32,025 --> 00:13:33,452
Three were real,

327
00:13:33,666 --> 00:13:35,105
and one was fabricated,

328
00:13:35,105 --> 00:13:37,153
such as getting lost in a mall as a child.

329
00:13:37,466 --> 00:13:40,080
As it turned out, about a quarter of the subjects believed

330
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,113
the fabricated experience was true.

331
00:13:42,265 --> 00:13:46,913
Moreover, they would sincerely fill in vivid details for this false memory,

332
00:13:47,066 --> 00:13:49,432
describing the scene, the emotions,

333
00:13:49,505 --> 00:13:52,673
and even recalling what the stranger who helped them looked like.

334
00:13:53,145 --> 00:13:55,952
Loftus's work had enormous legal implications.

335
00:13:56,625 --> 00:13:59,052
Eyewitness memory was once considered in court to be

336
00:13:59,105 --> 00:14:00,673
one of the most reliable forms of evidence.

337
00:14:00,706 --> 00:14:02,024
But her research showed that

338
00:14:02,025 --> 00:14:05,393
eyewitness testimony might be the most unreliable form of evidence.

339
00:14:05,546 --> 00:14:08,664
Because every time one is questioned or testifies in court,

340
00:14:08,666 --> 00:14:10,865
it is a process of memory reconsolidation.

341
00:14:10,865 --> 00:14:15,273
It can be contaminated by the way questions are asked, by suggestions, or even by an observer's expression.

342
00:14:15,546 --> 00:14:17,113
Returning to the language of Yogacara,

343
00:14:17,546 --> 00:14:20,072
Parikalpita-svabhāva (imaginary nature) is not a mistake you make;

344
00:14:20,265 --> 00:14:22,393
it is the way memory itself works.

345
00:14:22,865 --> 00:14:26,793
Your conscious system was never designed to store objective facts;

346
00:14:26,985 --> 00:14:29,113
it was designed to serve survival.

347
00:14:29,346 --> 00:14:31,873
And serving survival requires not truth,

348
00:14:31,985 --> 00:14:33,352
but useful stories.

349
00:14:33,586 --> 00:14:36,793
So your memory system is naturally a story generator,

350
00:14:36,826 --> 00:14:38,513
not an archive of truth.

351
00:14:39,066 --> 00:14:41,113
If you are a long-time viewer of this channel,

352
00:14:41,225 --> 00:14:44,133
you'll find this conclusion is completely consistent with

353
00:14:44,186 --> 00:14:47,033
the concept of 'controlled hallucination' I discussed in the meditation episode.

354
00:14:47,145 --> 00:14:51,513
Anil Seth says the reality you perceive is the brain's controlled hallucination.

355
00:14:51,586 --> 00:14:55,513
Meditation is the process of lowering the weight of priors to see through the hallucination.

356
00:14:55,785 --> 00:14:57,533
Today we add a new dimension:

357
00:14:57,826 --> 00:14:58,705
your memory,

358
00:14:58,706 --> 00:15:00,033
which is to say, your past,

359
00:15:00,105 --> 00:15:02,153
is likewise a controlled hallucination.

360
00:15:02,346 --> 00:15:05,105
Your brain isn't just fabricating the present in real-time;

361
00:15:05,105 --> 00:15:07,072
it is also constantly revising the past.

362
00:15:07,426 --> 00:15:10,033
Thinking about this gives me a profound feeling.

363
00:15:10,385 --> 00:15:13,993
We usually build our identity on two things:

364
00:15:14,145 --> 00:15:16,072
the perception of the present,

365
00:15:16,265 --> 00:15:18,192
and the memory of the past.

366
00:15:18,466 --> 00:15:20,184
But predictive coding tells you

367
00:15:20,186 --> 00:15:24,033
your perception of the present is a controlled hallucination fabricated by the brain.

368
00:15:24,466 --> 00:15:26,105
Memory reconsolidation tells you

369
00:15:26,105 --> 00:15:30,153
your memory of the past is a living document rewritten every time you recall it.

370
00:15:30,385 --> 00:15:31,513
So the question arises:

371
00:15:31,586 --> 00:15:33,985
If the present you perceive isn't the present,

372
00:15:33,985 --> 00:15:35,993
and the past you remember isn't the past,

373
00:15:36,066 --> 00:15:37,712
then where exactly is the foundation

374
00:15:37,865 --> 00:15:39,413
for this thing called 'me'?

375
00:15:40,025 --> 00:15:42,192
Yogacara provided the answer long ago.

376
00:15:42,706 --> 00:15:44,832
'I' am not in any memory,

377
00:15:44,905 --> 00:15:46,873
nor in any perception.

378
00:15:47,225 --> 00:15:50,452
'I' am a label consistently applied by the Manas consciousness

379
00:15:50,625 --> 00:15:52,432
to the stream of seeds in the Alaya consciousness.

380
00:15:52,865 --> 00:15:54,332
This label is not an entity;

381
00:15:54,745 --> 00:15:55,993
it is a process;

382
00:15:56,145 --> 00:15:59,113
a never-ending process of self-construction.

383
00:15:59,586 --> 00:16:01,513
You don't possess a self;

384
00:16:01,546 --> 00:16:04,673
you are remaking a self in every moment.

385
00:16:04,946 --> 00:16:08,072
Every time you remember, you aren't finding yourself,

386
00:16:08,225 --> 00:16:10,273
you are re-fabricating yourself.

387
00:16:10,589 --> 00:16:11,265
Now,

388
00:16:11,265 --> 00:16:14,712
I know this channel has some very sharp viewers in the comments.

389
00:16:14,826 --> 00:16:17,345
Whenever I discuss the intersection of science and Buddhism,

390
00:16:17,346 --> 00:16:19,273
someone inevitably asks a key question:

391
00:16:19,586 --> 00:16:21,144
"Are these correspondences you speak of

392
00:16:21,145 --> 00:16:23,024
actual structural isomorphisms,

393
00:16:23,025 --> 00:16:24,332
or are you just drawing far-fetched parallels?"

394
00:16:25,025 --> 00:16:26,592
That is an excellent question.

395
00:16:26,785 --> 00:16:29,513
I ask myself this every time I prepare these topics.

396
00:16:29,946 --> 00:16:31,273
My answer is this:

397
00:16:31,505 --> 00:16:31,852
First of all,

398
00:16:32,186 --> 00:16:34,552
I never say that Buddhism predicted science,

399
00:16:34,586 --> 00:16:36,633
nor that science has validated Buddhism.

400
00:16:36,905 --> 00:16:39,873
Buddhism and science are two different cognitive tools.

401
00:16:39,905 --> 00:16:44,072
They have different methodologies, scopes of application, and validation standards.

402
00:16:44,625 --> 00:16:46,212
What I am doing is structural comparison,

403
00:16:46,546 --> 00:16:47,952
not claiming they are equivalent.

404
00:16:48,208 --> 00:16:49,009
Secondly,

405
00:16:49,066 --> 00:16:51,253
the correspondence between 'seeds manifesting' and memory retrieval,

406
00:16:51,745 --> 00:16:55,432
and between 'manifestations perfuming seeds' and memory reconsolidation,

407
00:16:55,466 --> 00:16:56,873
is not something I forced together.

408
00:16:57,025 --> 00:17:00,793
They share three verifiable common features at the dynamic level.

409
00:17:00,945 --> 00:17:01,666
First:

410
00:17:01,666 --> 00:17:04,913
Stored content becomes unstable when activated.

411
00:17:05,065 --> 00:17:05,746
Second:

412
00:17:05,746 --> 00:17:08,673
In this unstable state, it is modified by the current state.

413
00:17:08,945 --> 00:17:09,292
Third:

414
00:17:09,625 --> 00:17:11,873
After modification, it is restabilized and stored,

415
00:17:11,905 --> 00:17:13,712
and this modification is irreversible.

416
00:17:13,786 --> 00:17:15,833
You cannot revert to the previous version.

417
00:17:16,185 --> 00:17:19,432
These three traits hold true in both systems.

418
00:17:19,586 --> 00:17:20,744
This is not just an analogy;

419
00:17:20,746 --> 00:17:22,633
it is a structural isomorphism.

420
00:17:23,026 --> 00:17:25,512
But I must also clarify where the boundaries lie.

421
00:17:25,826 --> 00:17:29,752
The Yogacara theory of 'seeds' is much broader than memory reconsolidation.

422
00:17:29,986 --> 00:17:31,785
Seeds are not just memories;

423
00:17:31,786 --> 00:17:36,633
they encompass all mental tendencies, habitual patterns, and latent behavioral drivers.

424
00:17:36,905 --> 00:17:40,339
Memory reconsolidation is simply a scientific validation

425
00:17:40,339 --> 00:17:41,992
of the seed theory within a single dimension: memory.

426
00:17:42,066 --> 00:17:46,593
You cannot infer that all claims of the seed theory are scientifically proven.

427
00:17:46,865 --> 00:17:48,704
Science has verified one piece of the puzzle,

428
00:17:48,705 --> 00:17:51,512
but the entire picture is much larger than that single piece.

429
00:17:51,746 --> 00:17:54,673
This is my principle whenever I tackle these topics.

430
00:17:54,905 --> 00:17:56,224
Where things align,

431
00:17:56,226 --> 00:18:00,192
I tell you exactly where they correspond and why I see an isomorphism.

432
00:18:01,066 --> 00:18:02,353
Where they don't align,

433
00:18:02,385 --> 00:18:05,073
or where they exceed the scope of scientific verification,

434
00:18:05,105 --> 00:18:06,432
I honestly draw the line.

435
00:18:06,709 --> 00:18:07,509
Alright.

436
00:18:07,546 --> 00:18:11,032
Finally, I want to share a practical insight from this content.

437
00:18:11,385 --> 00:18:14,353
This is something you might be able to use immediately.

438
00:18:14,586 --> 00:18:18,192
Since memory is a living document rewritten every time it is opened,

439
00:18:18,385 --> 00:18:20,032
your attachment to the past

440
00:18:20,066 --> 00:18:22,032
is not actually respecting facts;

441
00:18:22,066 --> 00:18:23,752
it is reinforcing bias.

442
00:18:23,986 --> 00:18:25,932
That trauma you repeatedly recall—

443
00:18:26,346 --> 00:18:27,633
each time you remember it,

444
00:18:27,705 --> 00:18:30,192
it is colored by your current emotions,

445
00:18:30,266 --> 00:18:33,192
reinforced by the self-narrative of the Manas-vijnana.

446
00:18:33,425 --> 00:18:35,224
You think you are facing the past,

447
00:18:35,226 --> 00:18:38,712
but you are using current biases to constantly rewrite it,

448
00:18:38,786 --> 00:18:43,232
then torturing yourself with the rewritten version as an unshakable fact.

449
00:18:43,746 --> 00:18:46,232
This also has a direct impact on investment decisions.

450
00:18:46,546 --> 00:18:49,673
In behavioral economics, there is a concept called the anchoring effect.

451
00:18:49,905 --> 00:18:51,633
When making an investment judgment,

452
00:18:51,665 --> 00:18:55,073
the first price or piece of information you see becomes an anchor.

453
00:18:55,306 --> 00:18:58,272
Subsequent judgments are skewed by this anchor.

454
00:18:58,665 --> 00:19:00,553
Memory reconsolidation theory tells us

455
00:19:00,586 --> 00:19:02,353
that this anchor is not fixed,

456
00:19:02,385 --> 00:19:04,712
which might be even more dangerous than being fixed.

457
00:19:05,226 --> 00:19:07,633
Because every time you recall that initial judgment,

458
00:19:07,705 --> 00:19:11,153
you are modifying it with current emotions and new information,

459
00:19:11,385 --> 00:19:14,833
while believing what you remember is still the original objective analysis.

460
00:19:15,185 --> 00:19:18,272
Your investment judgment is being unconsciously modified,

461
00:19:18,385 --> 00:19:20,633
yet your sense of certainty increases rather than decreases.

462
00:19:21,705 --> 00:19:25,673
This is exactly like the students in the 9/11 memory study.

463
00:19:25,865 --> 00:19:26,704
The memory changed,

464
00:19:26,705 --> 00:19:28,232
but the certainty did not.

465
00:19:28,786 --> 00:19:30,053
So, what can be done specifically?

466
00:19:30,586 --> 00:19:30,932
One:

467
00:19:31,385 --> 00:19:33,833
Always keep written records of important decisions.

468
00:19:33,865 --> 00:19:35,113
Do not rely on memory.

469
00:19:35,385 --> 00:19:38,853
What was your analytical framework for an investment three months ago?

470
00:19:39,226 --> 00:19:42,305
What were the key assumptions and risk assessments?

471
00:19:42,306 --> 00:19:43,113
Write them down.

472
00:19:43,425 --> 00:19:45,553
Three months later, when you look back,

473
00:19:45,625 --> 00:19:47,353
you might be surprised to find

474
00:19:47,465 --> 00:19:50,599
that the framework in your memory is completely different

475
00:19:50,599 --> 00:19:52,032
from what you actually wrote down.

476
00:19:52,546 --> 00:19:55,232
A written record is your original backup,

477
00:19:55,425 --> 00:19:58,032
preventing it from being overwritten by the brain's automatic edits.

478
00:19:58,506 --> 00:19:58,853
Two:

479
00:19:59,266 --> 00:20:00,373
Regarding attachment to the past—

480
00:20:00,786 --> 00:20:02,073
Try to let go a little.

481
00:20:02,306 --> 00:20:04,144
It's not that you shouldn't reminisce,

482
00:20:04,145 --> 00:20:05,792
but when you do,

483
00:20:05,945 --> 00:20:06,573
remind yourself:

484
00:20:07,026 --> 00:20:08,825
This isn't a playback of facts;

485
00:20:08,826 --> 00:20:12,393
it's a re-creation of the past by your current consciousness.

486
00:20:12,705 --> 00:20:16,393
This reminder is what Yogacara calls 'self-corroboration.'

487
00:20:16,546 --> 00:20:19,833
You begin to observe what your consciousness is doing.

488
00:20:20,266 --> 00:20:21,984
Once you see this process,

489
00:20:21,986 --> 00:20:24,913
you won't be as easily held hostage by memory.

490
00:20:25,226 --> 00:20:25,573
Third,

491
00:20:25,905 --> 00:20:27,593
and most profound:

492
00:20:27,786 --> 00:20:30,424
If you can truly digest today's talk,

493
00:20:30,425 --> 00:20:33,952
you'll find a fact that is both terrifying and liberating.

494
00:20:34,226 --> 00:20:36,113
The thing you call 'the past'

495
00:20:36,385 --> 00:20:37,833
never actually existed.

496
00:20:38,226 --> 00:20:42,792
What exists is only your current reconstruction of it.

497
00:20:43,306 --> 00:20:45,833
You live in an eternal present.

498
00:20:46,066 --> 00:20:48,353
You think you are walking while carrying the past,

499
00:20:48,385 --> 00:20:53,192
but in truth, you are regenerating 'the past' with every step.

500
00:20:53,786 --> 00:20:55,353
So the question becomes:

501
00:20:55,385 --> 00:20:57,992
If the past you create causes you pain,

502
00:20:58,105 --> 00:21:01,212
do you also have the power to create one that is less painful?

503
00:21:02,185 --> 00:21:03,292
The answer is yes.

504
00:21:03,665 --> 00:21:05,712
But the method isn't self-deception;

505
00:21:05,786 --> 00:21:08,472
it's not forcing a bad memory into a good one.

506
00:21:08,625 --> 00:21:11,952
It is the path Yogacara has offered for 1,500 years:

507
00:21:12,026 --> 00:21:14,353
Reduce the weight of the Manas-vijnana's attachment.

508
00:21:14,385 --> 00:21:16,633
Let memory return to its original place—

509
00:21:16,665 --> 00:21:18,512
as useful reference information,

510
00:21:18,546 --> 00:21:21,272
rather than an immovable self-definition.

511
00:21:21,546 --> 00:21:23,353
We've covered a lot today,

512
00:21:23,385 --> 00:21:25,073
so let me summarize.

513
00:21:25,465 --> 00:21:26,653
Memory is not storage;

514
00:21:27,105 --> 00:21:27,992
it is reconstruction.

515
00:21:28,346 --> 00:21:30,992
Every recall is a re-compilation.

516
00:21:31,185 --> 00:21:36,113
Current emotions, new info, and self-narratives are woven in.

517
00:21:36,385 --> 00:21:39,032
The memories you trust most are often the most altered.

518
00:21:39,385 --> 00:21:42,653
Yogacara described this cycle 1,500 years ago:

519
00:21:43,105 --> 00:21:47,073
'Seeds manifest action, action perfumes seeds.'

520
00:21:47,506 --> 00:21:50,865
And the role of the Manas-vijnana in every cycle

521
00:21:50,865 --> 00:21:53,873
is to incorporate all memories into the self-narrative,

522
00:21:53,986 --> 00:21:57,873
making you identify more with that rewritten version.

523
00:21:58,185 --> 00:21:59,424
Understanding this mechanism

524
00:21:59,425 --> 00:22:02,272
isn't about doubting everything or denying the past;

525
00:22:03,026 --> 00:22:05,913
it is about gaining unprecedented freedom.

526
00:22:06,145 --> 00:22:09,992
You can choose to no longer be hostage to a rewritten story.

527
00:22:10,266 --> 00:22:12,353
Your past is not your cage,

528
00:22:12,425 --> 00:22:16,472
because it is a work you are rewriting in every moment.

529
00:22:16,746 --> 00:22:16,932
Alright.

530
00:22:17,226 --> 00:22:19,272
That's all for today.

531
00:22:19,506 --> 00:22:23,752
We've explored the links between memory reconstruction and seed-perfuming.

532
00:22:23,986 --> 00:22:25,732
Which point resonated most with you?

533
00:22:26,145 --> 00:22:29,772
Have you found a memory of yours that was quietly rewritten?

534
00:22:30,226 --> 00:22:34,053
Or do you have thoughts on the mapping of science and Buddhism?

535
00:22:34,586 --> 00:22:36,153
Feel free to leave a comment below.

536
00:22:36,226 --> 00:22:39,073
I’d love to see you share your real experiences.

537
00:22:39,385 --> 00:22:40,093
I'm Wang Lijie.

538
00:22:40,306 --> 00:22:41,053
See you next time.