How does a finite-energy system allocate its limited resources between maintaining its existing structure and probing for new possibilities? Any persistent existence requires continuous energy investment. A constrained-state configuration does not persist because it was ``formed'' once and forever---it persists because it is actively maintained, every moment, against the spontaneous tendency toward meltdown. Free-state energy is the default; constrained-state energy is the exception. To exist is to resist dissolution, and resistance requires energy that is never unlimited. From this single root condition, two inescapable phases of existence emerge. Ben (1, Development) is the phase in which, having secured its survival, the system invests surplus energy in probing new constraint configurations---searching for more energy-efficient ways to exist. From this asymmetry, we derive four universal laws that govern all finite constraint networks across every scale: Survival Priority, Development Decline, Survival Redundancy, and Ben-Shi Irreversibility. The Ben-Shi dynamics find precise mathematical expression in the Ben-Shi equation, which describes how three simultaneous forces---anomaly pressure, equilibrium restoration, and irreversible aging---jointly determine the system's instantaneous allocation between survival and development. Version 2. 0 establishes the golden ratio's reciprocal as the exact optimal allocation constant: V₎ₓ^ideal = 5-12 0. 618, derived from Barrier Asymmetry via the self-similarity condition on the mutual support between Survival and Development. This is the first derivation of the golden ratio from a physical first principle, giving it a precise meaning: the arithmetic of existence itself. The constraint circle Cₘ² + Cᵣ² = 1 is established as the geometric expression of finite existence---the boundary of all possible allocations, the shape of Barrier Asymmetry, the locus of the golden point, and the permanent condition within which all finite being unfolds. The deep arithmetic of optimal allocation unifies the independent optimality constants across the EET framework, revealing that the recurring value of approximately 0. 6 in multiple theoretical contexts is the macroscopic manifestation of a single, precise mathematical constant. We establish complete interfaces to all companion ontologies, provide systematic cross-domain instantiation from cognition to artificial intelligence, and anchor the framework in falsifiable predictions. Keywords: Ben; Shi; survival; development; constraint network; energy ratio ; response pool; buffer; constraint accumulation; meta-stability; Ben-Shi oscillation; universal laws of finite existence; golden ratio; optimal allocation; constraint circle; Being-as-Resistance; Energy-Efficiency Theory
Hongpu Yang (Sat,) studied this question.