Philosophy
哲学

The real truths are heresies. They cannot be spoken. Only discovered, whispered, and perhaps read.
真正的真理皆为异端，无法言说，只能自行发现、低声分享，或许还能从书中读到。

The Meanings of Life
生命的意义

A really unbounded, big question: what is the meaning and purpose of life?
一个真正宽泛宏大的问题：人生的意义和目的是什么？

That’s a big question. Because it’s a big question, I’ll give you three answers.
这可是个重要的问题。鉴于其重要性，我会给你三个答案。

Answer 1: It’s personal. You have to find your own meaning. Any piece of wisdom anybody else gives you, whether it’s Buddha or me, is going to sound like nonsense. Fundamentally, you have to find it for yourself, so the important part is not the answer, it’s the question. You just have to sit there and dig with the question. It might take you years or decades. When you find an answer you’re happy with, it will be fundamental to your life.
答案一：这因人而异。你得自己去探寻意义。不管是佛陀还是我，别人给你的任何一条人生智慧，听上去可能都像废话。从根本上讲，你得自己去寻找，所以关键不在于答案，而在于问题本身。你只需静下心来，不断琢磨这个问题。这可能得花你几年甚至几十年。一旦找到让自己满意的答案，它就会成为你人生的根本。

Answer 2: There is no meaning to life. There is no purpose to life. Osho said, “It’s like writing on water or building houses of sand.” The reality is you’ve been dead for the history of the Universe, 10 billion years or more. You will be dead for the next 70 billion years or so, until the heat death of the Universe.
答案二：生命并无意义，也没有目的。奥修曾说：“这就如同在水上写字，或是用沙子筑屋。” 事实上，在宇宙长达 100 亿年甚至更久的历史长河中，你一直处于死亡状态。而在未来约 700 亿年，直至宇宙热寂，你同样会一直处于死亡状态。

Anything you do will fade. It will disappear, just like the human race will disappear and the planet will disappear. Even the group who colonizes Mars will disappear. No one is going to remember you past a certain number of generations, whether you’re an artist, a poet, a conqueror, a pauper, or anyone else. There’s no meaning.
你做的任何事都会渐渐消逝。一切都会消失，就如同人类终将灭绝，地球也会不复存在。哪怕是移民火星的群体，同样会走向消亡。几代人之后，便无人会记得你，无论你是艺术家、诗人、征服者、穷人，还是其他什么人。一切都毫无意义。

You have to create your own meaning, which is what it boils down to. You have to decide:
归根结底，你得创造属于自己的意义。你必须做出抉择：

“Is this a play I’m just watching?”
我这是在看一出戏吗？

“Is there a self-actualization dance I’m doing?”
“我正在进行某种自我实现的活动吗？”

“Is there a specific thing I desire just for the heck of it?”
“有没有什么东西，我就是单纯图个乐子想得到的？”

These are all meanings you make up.
这些含义都是你自己编造出来的。

There is no fundamental, intrinsic purposeful meaning to the Universe. If there was, then you would just ask the next question. You’d say, “Why is that the meaning?” It would be, as physicist Richard Feynman said, it would be “turtles all the way down.” The “why’s” would keep accumulating. There is no answer you could give that wouldn’t have another “why.”
宇宙并没有根本的、内在的、带有目的性的意义。倘若有，那你紧接着就会追问下一个问题：“为什么这就是意义所在呢？” 正如物理学家理查德·费曼所言，这就好比 “乌龟一路排下去”（注：指无穷无尽的追问）。“为什么” 会层层叠叠，无穷无尽。无论给出什么答案，总会衍生出下一个 “为什么”。

I don’t buy the everlasting afterlife answers because it’s insane to me, with absolutely no evidence, to believe because of how you live seventy years here on this planet, you’re going to spend eternity, which is a very long time, in some afterlife. What kind of silly God judges you for eternity based on some small period of time here? I think after this life, it’s very much like before you were born. Remember that? It’s going to be just like that.
我不相信永生来世的说法，因为对我而言，毫无证据就认定，仅仅因为在这世上活了七十年，便要在某个来世度过漫长无尽的时光，这简直荒谬至极。哪有这么荒唐的上帝，仅凭这短短几十年的表现，就对你进行永世审判？我认为，此生过后，就如同出生之前。还记得那种状态吧？就是那样。

Before you were born, you didn’t care about anything or anyone, including your loved ones, including yourself, including humans, including whether we go to Mars or whether we stay on planet Earth, whether there’s an AI or not. After death, you just don’t care either.
在你出生之前，你对任何事、任何人都漠不关心，无论是你所爱的人、你自己，还是全人类，也不在乎我们究竟是要奔赴火星，还是继续留在地球，甚至不在乎人工智能是否存在。死后，你同样不会在意这些。

Answer 3: The last answer I’ll give you is a little more complicated. From what I’ve read in science (friends of mine have written books on this), I’ve stitched together some theories. Maybe there is a meaning to life, but it’s not a very satisfying purpose.
答案三：我要给出的最后一个答案稍微复杂一些。根据我在科学方面的阅读（我的一些朋友写过相关书籍），我整合了一些理论。也许生命存在某种意义，但并非是能让人十分满足的那种。

Basically, in physics, the arrow of time comes from entropy. The second law of thermodynamics states entropy only goes up, which means disorder in the Universe only goes up, which means concentrated free energy only goes down. If you look at living things (humans, plants, civilizations, what have you) these systems are locally reversing entropy. Humans locally reverse entropy because we have action.
基本上，在物理学中，时间箭头源于熵。热力学第二定律指出，熵只会增加，这意味着宇宙中的无序程度只会上升，即集中的自由能只会减少。观察生物（人类、植物、文明等），这些系统在局部正在逆转熵。人类能在局部逆转熵，是因为我们会采取行动。

In the process, we globally accelerate entropy until the heat death of the Universe. You could come up with some fanciful theory, which I like, that we’re headed towards the heat death of the Universe. In that death, there’s no concentrated energy, and everything is at the same energy level. Therefore, we’re all one thing. We’re essentially indistinguishable.
在这个过程中，我们在全球范围内加速熵增，直至宇宙热寂。你可以想出一些有趣的理论，我就挺喜欢这样的想法：我们正迈向宇宙热寂。在热寂状态下，不存在集中的能量，万物能量水平一致。所以，我们本质上是一体的，无法区分。

What we do as living systems accelerates getting to that state. The more complex system you create, whether it’s through computers, civilization, art, mathematics, or creating a family—you actually accelerate the heat death of the Universe. You’re pushing us towards this point where we end up as one thing. [4]
作为生命系统，我们的行为加速了达到那种状态的进程。你构建的系统越复杂，无论是借助计算机、文明、艺术、数学，还是组建家庭，实际上都在加快宇宙热寂的到来。你正促使我们走向一个最终归一的境地。[4]

Live by Your Values
秉持你的价值观生活

What are your core values?
你的核心价值观是什么？

I’ve never fully enumerated them, but a few examples:
我从未将它们完整地罗列出来，不过可以举几个例子：

Honesty is a core, core, core value. By honesty, I mean I want to be able to just be me. I never want to be in an environment or around people where I have to watch what I say. If I disconnect what I’m thinking from what I’m saying, it creates multiple threads in my mind. I’m no longer in the moment—now I have to be future-planning or past-regretting every time I talk to somebody. Anyone around whom I can’t be fully honest, I don’t want to be around.
诚实是一项极其重要的核心价值。我所说的诚实，是指我希望能真实做自己。我绝不想置身于需要谨言慎行的环境，也不想和让我有这种感觉的人在一起。要是言行不一，我脑海里就会思绪纷乱。我会无法专注当下，每次与人交谈，都得瞻前顾后。只要是我无法完全坦诚相待的人，我都不愿与之交往。

Before you can lie to another, you must first lie to yourself.
要骗别人，必先骗自己。

Another example of a foundational value: I don’t believe in any short-term thinking or dealing. If I’m doing business with somebody and they think in a short-term manner with somebody else, then I don’t want to do business with them anymore. All benefits in life come from compound interest, whether in money, relationships, love, health, activities, or habits. I only want to be around people I know I’m going to be around for the rest of my life. I only want to work on things I know have long-term payout.
另一个基本价值观的例子：我不认同任何短期思维或行为。要是我跟某人做生意，发现他们与别人打交道时只顾眼前，那我就不愿再跟他们合作了。生活中所有的收获都源自复利效应，无论是金钱、人际关系、爱情、健康、活动还是习惯，概莫能外。我只愿与那些我认定会相伴一生的人相处，只愿做那些我确信有长期收益的事。

Another one is I only believe in peer relationships. I don’t believe in hierarchical relationships. I don’t want to be above anybody, and I don’t want to be below anybody. If I can’t treat someone like a peer and if they can’t treat me like peer, I just don’t want to interact with them.
另一点是，我只认可对等关系，不认同等级关系。我既不想高人一等，也不想低人一头。要是我无法以平等的态度对待某人，或者对方也不能平等待我，那我就不愿与他们来往。

Another: I don’t believe in anger anymore. Anger was good when I was young and full of testosterone, but now I like the Buddhist saying, “Anger is a hot coal you hold in your hand while waiting to throw it at somebody.” I don’t want to be angry, and I don’t want to be around angry people. I just cut them out of my life. I’m not judging them. I went through a lot of anger too. They have to work through it on their own. Go be angry at someone else, somewhere else.
另一位说：我不再认同愤怒这种情绪了。年轻时，体内满是睾酮，愤怒对我来说还有用武之地。但如今，我欣赏佛教的一句话：“愤怒如同手中紧攥的炽热煤块，你握着它，只为伺机砸向他人。” 我不愿动怒，也不想与易怒之人共处，索性将他们从生活中剔除。我并非要评判他们，毕竟我也曾深陷愤怒的泥沼。他们得靠自己去化解愤怒，去别处向别人发火吧。

I don’t know if these necessarily fall into the classical definition of values, but it’s a set of things I won’t compromise on and I live my entire life by. [4] I think everybody has values. Much of finding great relationships, great coworkers, great lovers, wives, husbands, is finding other people where your values line up. If your values line up, the little things don’t matter. Generally, I find if people are fighting or quarreling about something, it’s because their values don’t line up. If their values lined up, the little things wouldn’t matter. [4]
我不知道这些是否必然符合价值观的经典定义，但这是我绝不妥协的一系列原则，我一生都秉持着它们生活。[4] 我觉得每个人都有自己的价值观。要建立良好的人际关系，找到优秀的同事、理想的爱人、伴侣，很大程度上取决于能否找到价值观契合的人。要是价值观契合，鸡毛蒜皮的小事就无关紧要。通常，我发现人们要是为某事起争执，往往是因为价值观不合。要是价值观一致，小事也就不足为虑了。[4]

Meeting my wife was a great test because I really wanted to be with her, and she wasn’t so sure at the beginning. In the end, we ended up together because she saw my values. I am lucky I had developed them by that point. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten her. I wouldn’t have deserved her. As investor Charlie Munger says, “To find a worthy mate, be worthy of a worthy mate.” [4]
遇到我妻子对我来说是个巨大的考验，因为我一心想和她在一起，可起初她却不太确定。最终我们能走到一起，是因为她认可了我的价值观。很庆幸那时我已具备这些价值观，否则我就得不到她，也确实配不上她。就像投资者查理·芒格说的：“要找到优秀的伴侣，自己得先成为优秀的人。”[4]

My wife is an incredibly lovely, family-oriented person, and so am I. That was one of the foundational values that brought us together.
我妻子非常可爱，很顾家，我也是如此。这是我们走到一起的基础价值观之一。

The moment you have a child, it’s this really weird thing, but it answers the meaning-of-life, purpose-of-life, question. All of a sudden, the most important thing in the Universe moves from being in your body into the child’s body. That changes you. Your values inherently become a lot less selfish. [4]
从你有孩子的那一刻起，就会出现一种很奇妙的感觉，它解答了生命的意义与人生的目标这类问题。刹那间，宇宙中最重要的事物，从你自身转移到了孩子身上。这改变了你，你的价值观自然而然地变得不那么自私了。[4]

Rational Buddhism
理性佛教

The older the question, the older the answers.
问题越古老，答案也越古老。

You’ve called your philosophy Rational Buddhism. How does it differ from traditional Buddhism? What type of exploration did you go through?
你把自己的哲学称作“理性佛教”。它和传统佛教有什么不同？你经历过怎样的探索？

The rational part means I have to reconcile with science and evolution. I have to reject all the pieces I can’t verify for myself. For example, is meditation good for you? Yes. Is clearing your mind a good thing? Yes. Is there a base layer of awareness below your monkey mind? Yes. All these things I’ve verified for myself.
理性层面要求我必须认同科学与进化论，摒弃所有无法亲自验证的内容。比如，冥想有益吗？有益。放空思绪是好事吗？是。在纷繁思绪之下，是否存在一层基础的意识？是。这些我都亲自验证过。

Some beliefs from Buddhism I believe and follow because, again, I’ve verified or reasoned with thought experiments myself. What I will not accept is things like, “There’s a past life you’re paying off the karma for.” I haven’t seen it. I don’t remember any past lives. I don’t have any memory. I just have to not believe that.
我相信并践行一些佛教理念，因为我自己通过思想实验进行了验证或思考。但我不会接受像 “你正在偿还前世的业障” 这种说法。我没见过前世，也毫无相关记忆，所以只能不信。

When people say your third chakra is opening, etc.—I don’t know—that’s just fancy nomenclature. I have not been able to verify or confirm any of that on my own. If I can’t verify it on my own or if I cannot get there through science, then it may be true, it may be false, but it’s not falsifiable, so I cannot view it as a fundamental truth.
当人们说你第三脉轮正在开启之类的话——我不太清楚——那只是些花哨的术语。我自己没办法验证或确认这些说法。要是我自己无法验证，或者无法通过科学途径证实，那它可能是真，也可能是假，但无法证伪，所以我不能把它当作基本真理。

On the other side, I do know evolution is true. I do know we are evolved as survival and replication machines. I do know we have an ego, so we get up off the ground and worms don’t eat us and we actually take action. Rational Buddhism, to me, means understanding the internal work Buddhism espouses to make yourself happier, better off, more present and in control of your emotions—being a better human being.
另一方面，我确信进化论是正确的。我深知我们进化成为了生存与繁衍的机器。我也明白，正是因为有自我意识，我们才得以从困境中振作，免遭虫噬，并切实付诸行动。在我看来，理性佛教意味着领悟佛教所推崇的内在修行，借此让自己更快乐、更富足，更能专注当下、掌控情绪，成为更出色的人。

I don’t subscribe to anything fanciful because it was written down in a book. I don’t think I can levitate. I don’t think meditation will give me superpowers and those kinds of things. Try everything, test it for yourself, be skeptical, keep what’s useful, and discard what’s not.
我不会仅仅因为某事物写在书上，就轻信任何不切实际的说法。我不觉得自己能悬浮空中，也不认为冥想会赋予我超能力之类的东西。凡事都去尝试，亲自检验，保持怀疑，有用的留下，没用的舍弃。

I would say my philosophy falls down to this—on one pole is evolution as a binding principle because it explains so much about humans, on the other is Buddhism, which is the oldest, most time-tested spiritual philosophy regarding the internal state of each of us.
我想说，我的哲学归根结底是这样——一端是作为核心原则的进化论，因为它对人类的诸多方面都能做出解释；另一端则是佛教，这是最古老且久经考验的、关乎我们每个人内心状态的精神哲学。

I think those are absolutely reconcilable. I actually want to write a blog post at some point about how you can map the tenants of Buddhism, especially the non-fanciful ones, directly into a virtual reality simulation. [4]
我觉得这些完全可以相互协调。其实，我打算找个时机写篇博客，谈谈怎样把佛教的理念，特别是那些并非虚幻的理念，直接融入虚拟现实模拟之中。[4]

Everyone starts out innocent. Everyone is corrupted. Wisdom is the discarding of vices and the return to virtue, by way of knowledge.
人之初，皆纯真。而后皆会被世俗沾染。所谓智慧，便是借由知识，摒弃陋习，重拾美德。

How do you define wisdom?
你是如何定义智慧的？

Understanding the long-term consequences of your actions. [11]
理解自身行为所带来的长远影响。[11]

If wisdom could be imparted through words alone, we’d all be done here.
要是光靠言语就能传授智慧，那咱们在这儿就都万事大吉了。

The Present Is All We Have
我们拥有的唯有当下

There is actually nothing but this moment. No one has ever gone back in time, and no one has ever been able to successfully predict the future in any way that matters. Literally, the only thing that exists is this exact point where you are in space at the exact time you happen to be here.
实际上，唯有当下真实存在。无人能回到过去，也无人能以任何切实有效的方式成功预知未来。确切地说，唯一存在的，就是你此时此刻所处的空间位置。

Like all great profound truths, it’s all paradoxes. Any two points are infinitely different. Any moment is perfectly unique. Each moment itself slips by so quickly you can’t grab it. [4]
如同所有伟大而深邃的真理，一切皆为悖论。任意两点都千差万别。每个瞬间都无比独特，且转瞬即逝，让人无从把握。[4]

You’re dying and being reborn at every moment. It’s up to you whether to forget or remember that. [2]
你时时刻刻都在经历生死轮回。记不记得这件事，全由你自己决定。[2]

“Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now, and we will never be here again.”
“因为我们终有一死，一切都显得更加美好。你不会比现在更动人，我们也不会再有此刻。”

—Homer, The Iliad
——荷马，《伊利亚特》

I don’t even remember what I said two minutes ago. At best, the past is some fictional little memory tape in my head. As far as I’m concerned, my past is dead. It’s gone. All death really means is that there are no more future moments. [2]
我连两分钟前说了什么都记不得了。往好了说，过去不过是我脑海里一段虚构的模糊记忆。在我看来，过去已然逝去，不复存在。死亡真正的意义，不过是再也没有未来的时光。[2]

Inspiration is perishable—act on it immediately.
灵感稍纵即逝，务必即刻行动。