Investigating the Huatou: How Exactly Did the Pig Die?

Since everything the six consciousnesses take as object is an illusory realm of inner representation, when someone slaughters a pig, does he also never actually come into contact with the external pig? Then how did the pig die? This is a secret—indeed a great secret—and it must be worked out through one's own investigation. Once you work it out, your wisdom will be extraordinary. What the six consciousnesses come into contact with is the pig of the inner representation, yet the pig of the outer representation died—how did it die? If you can investigate this out, you attain enlightenment; without meditative concentration, such investigation is impossible. Without genuine enlightenment, this question cannot be answered either. For judging true enlightenment from false enlightenment, there are many koans and huatous that can be used to test you. If you cannot answer, you must weigh for yourself just how your "enlightenment" came about and what exactly you awakened to.

When the eyes see one's own hand, there is no actual contact with the real hand. When the hand touches one's own head, there is no actual contact with one's real head; when one hears oneself speak, there is no actual contact with one's real voice; when one smells one's own body odor, there is no actual contact with one's real body odor—let alone coming into contact with those of other sentient beings, let alone coming into contact with other forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tangibles; none of these can ever be truly contacted. When eating an apple, what is eaten is in fact one's own inner representation, yet the apple of the outer representation is gone—and if others did not get to eat it, they become unhappy.

The Image-Only Object mentally conceived is entirely an inner representation manifested by one's own tathāgatagarbha, having nothing to do with others. For example, if one mentally wishes for someone's good health, and then the person of the outer representation really does become healthy—how does this happen? Mentally intending to kill a pig, someone with good meditative concentration can actually kill the pig. How does this happen?

Some say that a single kick is all it takes to become enlightened on the spot. But in that one kick, at least four consciousnesses are operating in harmonious conjunction—how would you distinguish the respective functions of the four consciousnesses? To become enlightened this way is no different from a parrot mimicking speech—awakening to the mind consciousness. There are koans like this too; what is so remarkable about them?

Back in the day, Chan Master Xuefeng visited many enlightened good teachers and studied under Chan Master Deshan for decades before finally attaining enlightenment. Chan Master Xiangyan served under his master for eighteen years without attaining enlightenment; in the end he lived in seclusion practicing Chan alone in a dilapidated temple, and only when a pebble struck a bamboo stalk did he finally awaken. The monk Heze Shenhui, throughout his entire life, achieved only intellectual understanding. People of ancient times had deep roots of goodness and solid meditative skill, yet practicing Chan was still such an arduous task for them—their belts loosened as they grew haggard, and they wore out dozens of meditation cushions. People today have roots of goodness far inferior to the ancients, and their meditative concentration is even weaker—not to mention their character—so why expect to attain enlightenment easily and effortlessly? If enlightenment is that easy, what could possibly be awakened to? If one speculates about the Buddha-dharma—speculation being permitted—then yes, one can arrive at an answer by guessing. But after all it is called guessing, not realization through awakening.