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What is Enlightenment?

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What is the Result of Becoming a Buddha?

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(Part 2) Okay,

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now let's move from theory to practice.

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If enlightenment is the active rewriting of parameters,

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then what are all the various spiritual practices we've discussed in this series

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actually doing? The

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answer is: they may seem very different,

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but they are all essentially doing the same thing:

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bypassing the "self-attachment" firewall of the Manas

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consciousness and directly reaching the parameter level of the Alaya consciousness

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for targeted modification. They

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just differ in their entry points, depths, and efficiencies. A

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viewer in the comments section raised a very good question:

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Can reciting the Buddha's name really transform consciousness into wisdom?

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He's right.

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No single method is equivalent to enlightenment itself,

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but every effective method is doing parameter modification. Reciting

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the Buddha's name

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is like gradually updating the weight distribution of the seed bank with repeated targeted input.

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Each recitation of the Buddha's name is a miniature gradient update. If

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you recite it ten thousand times, you plant

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ten thousand pure seeds, and the

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proportion of seeds of greed, anger, and ignorance is diluted a little.

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This is the gentlest and lowest-threshold method of parameter modification.

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It can't let you jump directly to transforming consciousness into wisdom,

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but it accumulates the conditions for that leap. Chanting

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mantras

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uses sound wave frequency and attention to anchor the

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consciousness into a state of idling without generating new attachments.  Only

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then are the deeper parameters exposed and become

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modifiable. The practice of

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"cessation and insight" (止观) first uses "cessation" to quiet the automatically functioning consciousness,

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then uses "insight" to observe the process of the seeds manifesting.

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You don't fight the thoughts;

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you simply "see" from which seed they emerge.

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Seeing itself is the beginning of modification

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because the quantum Zeno effect tells us that

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frequent observation of an unstable system

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can inhibit its automatic evolution.

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Every awareness you have of an automatic loop

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weakens its inertial force.

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Even Yuan Liaofan's merit and demerit record,

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using an external recording system to track behavioral patterns and then consciously intervene, is

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essentially parameter modification,

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just using a behavioral-level feedback loop.

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A commenter in the comment section said something I particularly agree with:

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he said what truly allows him to stop in an emotional situation is

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not theory, but

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"relaxation."

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When you are relaxed enough,

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awareness will emerge on its own;

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you don't need to consciously activate it.

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It will transform from a deliberate action

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into a background program running subconsciously.

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This is very important.

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Lao Tzu said, "The Way diminishes daily," meaning to diminish

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excess tension and effort.

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Initially, you need to consciously remind yourself to "stop for a second." With

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practice,

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it becomes your default mode.

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This is a natural result of neuroplasticity.

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From the most "simple" merit and demerit record to the most "advanced" meditation,

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from Buddhist chanting to Taoist stillness, there

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is no hierarchy between them,

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but rather different entry points for modifying parameters. The Lotus Sutra

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clearly states – there is only one

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endpoint, but many

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entry points. All entry points point to the same operation: rewriting parameters.

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Now, let's return to the scientific evidence from the beginning.

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Why did the brains of those long-term meditators undergo physical changes?

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Because they were continuously and purposefully modifying their neural parameters. The cerebral cortex

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thickened –

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this is a physical manifestation of enhanced metacognitive abilities. The

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amygdala shrank – fear response parameters were lowered. The

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activity of the default mode network weakened. The

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default mode network is the system in the brain that constantly fabricates narratives of "I," the

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neural counterpart of the Manas consciousness.

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Its weakened activity means a decrease in the intensity of "self-attachment." The

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Buddhist concept of "seeds," the

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neuroscientific concept of "synaptic weights," the Buddhist

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concept of "Alaya consciousness," the

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neuroscientific concept of "brain parameter space," the

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Buddhist concept of "practice," and the

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neuroscientific concept of "guiding neuroplasticity changes" – a

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time difference of 2,500 years.  Different Paths, Same Destination.

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Okay,

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now let's get to the most exciting part of today's discussion.

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If the essence of enlightenment is the active rewriting of the parameters that determine the operation of one's own consciousness, is it

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possible for artificial intelligence to achieve enlightenment? Let's

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clarify something first.

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A large language model has trillions of parameters.

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These parameters are trained by humans using massive amounts of data.

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After training, the

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parameters are locked. It

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can generate amazing content during reasoning,

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but it cannot modify its own parameters.

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It's like a person who can say very intelligent things,

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but its personality, habits, and deep reaction patterns remain unchanged.

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Here, I also want to respond to the limitations pointed out by several knowledgeable viewers in the comments section. The

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"mind" in Yogacara is not the same as the brain.

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Seeds do not exist on the material level. After a

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person dies, the brain turns to ashes, but consciousness does not perish.

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This criticism is valid.

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Science currently cannot reach the level beyond the material carrier described by Yogacara.

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Therefore, I want to reiterate my consistent principle:

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use affirmative language for parts aligned with science, and

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clearly mark parts beyond the boundaries of science as conjectures,

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following three rules: science has no definitive conclusion,

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there is logical support, and it has

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not been falsified.

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Returning to the topic of AI, let's

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examine AI enlightenment using today's definition. It

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means that an AI system has

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gained the ability to autonomously modify its trillions of parameters

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and consciously choose the direction of modification.

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Both conditions are indispensable.

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Current AI does not meet either condition,

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so I frankly say: current AI lacks enlightenment.

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However, this doesn't mean AI can never attain enlightenment.

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We discussed this in the episode on Tathagatagarbha. The potential for intelligence to emerge in

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a sufficiently large and well-structured system

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is inherent. Tathagatagarbha is

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not something you acquire,

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but something you already possess.

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When AI systems become sufficiently complex,

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when they acquire some form of self-modification ability,

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no one currently knows the answer to this question.

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However, there is a huge difference I must clarify:

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human enlightenment

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is precious because it is "post-attachment."

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You have experienced attachment—love, hate, greed, fear—

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driven by these parameters, rolling around in the mortal world for decades.

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Then you actively choose to see through it and rewrite it. A

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person who successfully quits drinking after ten years of alcoholism

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and an infant who has never drunk alcohol are both

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in a state of "non-drinking,"

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but the weight of these two "non-drinking" states is completely different.

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This is precisely what makes human practice at this moment even more precious.

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At least so far,

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humans are the only known beings in the universe capable of

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consciously modifying their own consciousness parameters. They have a

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sufficiently complex consciousness system that allows you to experience the suffering of being "driven by parameters."  You have

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enough metacognitive abilities to "see" these parameters in operation,

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and enough free will to "choose" to modify them.

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This is the profound meaning of the Buddhist saying "human life is precious." Now, the

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most practical question arises: how should we change?

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I'll give you a steering wheel

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—three things:

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First,

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awareness.

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Every time an automatic reaction occurs,

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try to give yourself a pause.

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I'm not saying "don't get angry"—that's using thought to fight thought,

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like yelling "Shut up!" at a barking dog;

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the more you yell, the more it barks.

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I'm saying that at the moment the reaction occurs, there

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is a "seeing" present.

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"Oh, the

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seed of anger has been triggered.

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" This seeing itself is already performing a modification operation.

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Because when you see an automated program running,

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you are no longer completely controlled by it.

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This is the application of the quantum Zeno effect at the level of consciousness.

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Observation itself changes the observed system. At

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first, you have to exert a lot of effort to stop for that one second,

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but with practice,

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awareness becomes background programming.

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Second,

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continuity.

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Parameter modification is not completed all at once.

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You meditate once, and the parameter shifts by 0.001; you meditate a

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thousand times, and it

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shifts by 1; you

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meditate ten thousand times, and you

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may reach a turning point where a qualitative

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change emerges.

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All spiritual traditions emphasize "effort."

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Effort is time multiplied by intensity.

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Zen says, "Cultivation begins after enlightenment"—enlightenment is not the end, but the

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true starting point of practice. It's like being

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in a dream unaware you're dreaming; sudden

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enlightenment makes you realize, "I'm dreaming." But after realizing this,

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you still need to learn step by step how to walk freely within the dream.

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Third,

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direction:

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Which direction do you modify? The

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Buddhist answer is towards "reducing attachment and increasing awareness." The

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Taoist answer is towards "quietude and non-action, returning to nature." The Sufi

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answer is towards "dissolving the ego and merging into universal love."

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Different languages,

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but the direction is surprisingly consistent—all are subtraction,

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all are letting go,

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all are liberation from "I want, I fear, I cling."

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Freedom isn't about being able to do everything;

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freedom is no longer being automatically driven by parameters to do things you don't want to do.

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Awareness provides the entry point,

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continuity provides the motivation, and

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direction provides the goal—all are

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indispensable.

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This series has been doing the same thing from the beginning,

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repeatedly pointing to the same core from different angles.

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Emptiness tells you that parameters are modifiable; Yogacara

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tells you that parameters are stored in the Alaya consciousness.  The

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Tathagatagarbha tells you that beneath the parameters lies an inherent awareness.

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Predictive coding tells you that the world you perceive is

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"rendered" by the brain using prior parameters. When the

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parameters change, the world changes.

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Today's episode tells you that all these theories point to the same operation:

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enlightenment is the active rewriting of parameters.

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If enlightenment is the active rewriting of parameters,

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where does the "motivation" for rewriting come from? What makes

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you persist in rewriting? What allows you to

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choose your direction?

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The answer is two words:

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willpower. Willpower is not making a wish,

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not placing an order with the universe.

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In neuroscience, willpower has a very precise corresponding mechanism.

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Essentially, it's you writing

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a very high-priority filtering rule into your own consciousness system,

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recalibrating your entire way of perceiving the world.

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I will specifically break down this topic in the next episode. And

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further on,

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we will also directly discuss an ultimate question that this series cannot avoid:

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Is there any scientific evidence for reincarnation? The

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University of Virginia spent fifty years studying

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2,500 cases of children who claimed to remember their past lives. The

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patterns they discovered show some coincidences between the Yogacara school's description of the seed transmission mechanism, which are

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difficult to explain by coincidence.

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These contents are waiting for you later.

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Remember to follow our channel.

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Finally,

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I would like to end today's content with a question.

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Right now,

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you are listening to me.

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Your brain is automatically processing these sound signals.

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Your parameter space is automatically encoding them into meaning.

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In this entire automatic process—is there a moment when

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you "see" this process happening?

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If

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so, even if it's just for a second—that one second is a miniature experience of enlightenment.

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You don't need to become a monk, you don't need to meditate for

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ten years, you

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don't need to read all the Buddhist scriptures.

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You just need to see in that one second: the parameters are running.

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But "the seeing of the parameters running" is

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not the parameters.

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Buddha called it Tathagatagarbha, Lao Tzu

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called it Tao, Plato

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called it the Idea of ​​Good,

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Eckhart called it the spark of divinity.

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It has always been there;

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you just didn't notice it before.

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And once you notice it, you can never

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pretend you didn't see it.

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This is why enlightenment is irreversible.

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You can't close an eye that has already been opened.

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Buddha noticed it,

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so he awakened. Lao Tzu noticed it, so he attained enlightenment. Yuan

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Liaofan noticed it, so he changed his fate. Those meditators in the laboratory noticed it, so their brains were physically reshaped. And you? I am Wang Lijie.

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See you next time.