Why Can’t Sentient Beings Eat Pork?

A student asked: "How can one avoid falling into stages?" Zen Master Huangbo replied: "All day eating yet never biting a single grain of rice; all day walking yet never stepping on a single patch of earth. At such a time, there is no perception of self or others. Though constantly engaged in all activities, one is not deluded by any state. Only then can one be called a free person. Furthermore, constantly and thought after thought, do not perceive any appearances. Do not acknowledge past, present, or future boundaries—the past boundary does not depart, the present boundary does not abide, the future boundary does not arrive. Sit serenely upright, acting spontaneously without constraint. Only then can it be called liberation. Strive diligently! Among thousands upon thousands in this school, only three or five attain it. If you do not take this seriously, calamity will surely come one day. Therefore, it is said: exert effort! This lifetime must be resolved—who can endure calamity across eons?"

"Stages" here refer to the sequential steps of practice. "Not falling into stages" means directly reaching the most fundamental, ultimate truth of Dharma. How can one be said to directly realize emptiness? Zen Master Huangbo answered: If one can achieve this—all day eating as if not eating a single grain of rice (mind empty, not attaching to self), all day walking as if not stepping on a single patch of earth (mind empty, not attaching to self)—then one does not fall into the appearances of eating or walking oneself. Upon reaching this state, there is no perception of others or self in the mind. Though constantly engaged in all matters, one is not deluded by any state, not entangled by any appearances. Only then can one be considered a free person. Moreover, constantly and thought after thought, do not perceive any appearances. Do not regard all dharmas as having past, present, or future boundaries, because the past boundary has not departed, the present boundary does not linger thought after thought, and the future boundary has not arrived. In all moments, sit serenely upright, act spontaneously, unbound by dharmas. Only this is called liberation.

This is the state after realizing prajñā (wisdom) in Zen, the state of emptiness of the five aggregates. Why is it empty? Because it arises from Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature), thus it is said to be empty. This state advances beyond the emptiness of the Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) and is immeasurably higher than the state of existence held by ordinary people, yet it still falls short of the ultimate emptiness of the Vijñaptimātra (Consciousness-Only) school. At the Hinayana and Prajñā levels, there is emptiness of self (pudgala-śūnyatā), while at the Vijñaptimātra level, there is emptiness of dharmas (dharma-śūnyatā). Emptiness of dharmas is more subtle, extensive, and profound than emptiness of self.

Take eating, for example. At the Prajñā level, it is understood that there is no "I" eating, no eating "I"—one does not attach to the appearance of an "I" eating. But in Vijñaptimātra, even the appearance of the food is absent. Consider the commonly discussed act of eating pork: the five aggregates fundamentally cannot contact the substantive external aspect (bāhya-pratyaya) of pork; they can only contact the internal aspect (adhyātma-pratyaya) of pork within the back of the mind. Yet after eating the pork, not only does the internal aspect of pork vanish, but the external aspect of pork also disappears. Why is this?

If one cannot contact the substantive pork, it is equivalent to not eating pork. Then what is it that enters the mouth and is swallowed into the stomach? The mouth eats the rice, but the rice is within the back of the mind; the mouth, teeth, and tongue are also within the back of the mind. And the "you" who eats is also empty. Do you say you have eaten the rice? Substitute rice with pork: do you say you have eaten pork? What you ate was the internal aspect of pork, yet the external aspect of pork is gone. How did it disappear? A secret—a great secret—worth contemplating for a lifetime, worth contemplating for great eons.

This Dharma is profound. Even with the foundation of Hinayana's severance of self-view and Mahayana's realization of the mind, it is not easy to penetrate. The arising and ceasing of both internal and external aspects are functions of Tathāgatagarbha. The functions of the six consciousnesses are also results of Tathāgatagarbha's functioning. All dharmas are Tathāgatagarbha. Without awakening, it is fundamentally impossible to penetrate this.

Since beginningless time, sentient beings have never contacted a single one of the six sense objects (rūpa, sound, smell, taste, touch, dharmas), yet every moment they claim these six sense objects as their own, constantly murmuring with mind and mouth: "This is mine, that is mine—my body, my family, my words, the sounds I hear, the meat I eat, the water I drink, the bed I sleep on, my power, status, fame," etc. This fragrance, that taste—you cannot contact any of them. Which one is yours? Lifetimes upon lifetimes of pursuit and chasing—it turns out to be struggling against emptiness, contending with emptiness, playing games with emptiness. Moreover, oneself is also empty. Emptiness contends with emptiness; the protagonist of the game doesn't even exist—the so-called contention is also empty. Rather than wasting time on worldly games, everyone should explore these truths, lest they play games in vain for lifetimes. Is truth not attractive?

Someone bangs a stick against a table—bang! bang!—then firmly believes: "See, I hit the table, I showed my might, I vented my anger." But in reality, the stick is within the back of the mind, the hand is within the back of the mind, the table is within the back of the mind, the action is an action within the back of the mind, seeing this action is seeing within the back of the mind, hearing the sound is hearing within the back of the mind, feeling that anger is vented is feeling within the back of the mind—all activities of the five aggregates are fabricated within the back of the mind.

How big is the "back of the mind" to contain so many dharmas? Far more than these—billions upon billions of dharmas, immeasurable dharmas, all occur within the back of the mind. Only empty dharmas, dharmas without substantive nature, can reside in the back of the mind. Substantive, phenomenal dharmas cannot enter the back of the mind. All dharmas in the world lack substance; all are empty, all are reflections, all are shadows. Pork is likewise, eating pork is likewise, "I eat pork" is likewise—there is no such person or event. What is there to grasp? What is there to pursue? Fools!

To realize this principle, one must first sever the view of self, then realize the mind. Severing the view of self and realizing the emptiness of the five aggregates is crucial. The issue of internal and external aspects should be contemplated after awakening, when both samādhi (concentration) and prajñā (wisdom) are deep enough to find some entry point. Only by contemplating from the perspective of Tathāgatagarbha can one gain clarity, because the substance of all dharmas is the functional activity of Tathāgatagarbha.

Tathāgatagarbha and the five aggregates—I have never contacted or possessed any worldly dharma. Yet the external and internal aspects of all worldly dharmas continuously arise and cease, being constantly fabricated. This phenomenon is indeed hard for people to accept. Ordinary people find it difficult to believe in empty dharmas, being accustomed to clinging to existence. Yet all Buddhism, whether Mahayana or Hinayana, points entirely to emptiness. Emptied to the end, utterly naked, when emptiness is completely thorough, one becomes a Buddha.