''Mahābhūta'' is
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
Pāli
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
for "great element". However, very few scholars define the four mahābhūtas in a broader sense as the four fundamental aspects of physical reality.
Hinduism
In Hinduism's sacred literature, the "great" or "gross" elements (''mahābhūta'') are fivefold: space (or "ether"), air, fire, water and earth. See also the Samkhya Karika of Ishvara Krishna, verse 22.
For instance, the
describes the five "sheaths" of a person (Sanskrit: ''
purua''), starting with the grossest level of the five evolving great elements:
:From this very self (''
tman'') did space come into being; from space, air; from air, fire; from fire, the waters, from the waters, the earth; from the earth, plants; from plants, food; and from food, man.... Different from and lying within this man formed from the essence of food is the self (''tman'') consisting of lifebreath.... Different from and lying within this self consisting of breath is the self (''tman'') consisting of mind.... Different from and lying within this self consisting of mind is the self (''tman'') consisting of perception.... Different from and lying within this self consisting of perception is the self (''tman'') consisting of bliss....
In the
, God is identified as the source of the great elements:
:Some wise men say it is inherent nature, while others say it is time – all totally deluded. It is rather the greatness of God present in the world by means of which this wheel of ''
brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
'' goes around. Who always encompasses this whole world – the knower, the architect of time, the one without qualities, and the all-knowing one – it is at his command that the work of creation, to be conceived of as earth, water, fire, air, and space, unfolds itself.
The same Upanishad also mentions, "When earth, water fire, air and akasa arise, when the five attributes of the elements, mentioned in the books on yoga, become manifest then the yogi's body becomes purified by the fire of yoga and he is free from illness, old age and death." (Verse 2.12).
Buddhism
In Buddhism, the four Great Elements (Pali: ''cattāro mahābhūtāni'') are earth, water, fire and air. Mahābhūta is generally synonymous with catudhātu, which is Pāli for the "Four Elements." In early
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, the Four Elements are a basis for understanding that leads one through unbinding of 'Rupa' or materiality to the supreme state of pure 'Emptiness' or Nirvana.
Definitions
In the
Pali canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
, the most basic elements are usually identified as four in number but, on occasion, a fifth and, to an even lesser extent, a sixth element may also be identified.
Four primary elements
In canonical texts, the four Great Elements refer to elements that are both "external" (that is, outside the body, such as a river) and "internal" (that is, of the body, such as blood). These elements are described as follows:
*Earth element (''pruhavī-dhātu'')
Earth element represents the quality of solidity or attractive forces. Any matter where attractive forces are in prominence (solid bodies) are called earth elements. Internal earth elements include head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bone, organs, intestinal material, etc.
*Water element (''āpa-dhātu'')
Water element represents the quality of liquidity or relative motion. Any matter where relative motion of particles is in prominence are called water elements. Internal water elements include bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, nasal mucus, urine, semen, etc.
*Fire element (''teja-dhātu'')
Fire element represents the quality of heat or energy. Any matter where energy is in prominence are called fire elements. Internal fire elements include those bodily mechanisms that produce physical warmth, ageing, digestion, etc.
*Air (or wind) element (''vāyu-dhātu'')
Air element represents the quality of expansion or repulsive forces. Any matter where repulsive forces are in prominence are called air elements. Internal air elements includes air associated with the pulmonary system (for example, for breathing), the intestinal system ("winds in the belly and bowels"), etc.
Any entity that carry one or more of these qualities (attractive forces, repulsive forces, energy and relative motion) are called matter (''rupa''). The material world is considered to be nothing but a combination of these qualities arranged in space (''akasa''). The result of these qualities are the inputs to our five senses, color (''varna'') to the eyes, smell (''gandha'') to the nose, taste (''rasa'') to the tongue, sound ('shabda') to the ears, and touch, to the body. The matter that we perceive in our mind are just a mental interpretation of these qualities.
Fifth and sixth elements
In addition to the above four elements of underived matter, two other elements are occasionally found in the Pali Canon:
*Space element (''ākāsa-dhātu'')
Internal space elements includes bodily orifices such as the ears, nostrils, mouth, anus, etc.
*Consciousness element (''
viññāa-dhātu'')
Described as "pure and bright" (''parisuddha pariyodāta''), used to cognise the three feelings (''
vedana'') of pleasure, pain and neither-pleasure-nor-pain, and the arising and passing of the sense contact (''
phassa'') upon which these feelings are dependent.
According to the
Abhidhamma Pitaka, the "space element" is identified as "secondary" or "derived" (''upādā'').
Sensory qualities, not substances
While in the Theravada tradition, as well as in the earliest texts, like the Pali Canon,
rūpa
Rūpa () means "form". As it relates to any kind of basic Object (philosophy), object, it has more specific meanings in the context of Indic religions.
Definition
According to the Monier-Williams Dictionary (2006), rūpa is defined as:
:* ... an ...
(matter or form) is delineated as something external, that actually exists, in some of the later schools, like the
Yogacara
Yogachara ( sa, योगाचार, IAST: '; literally "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through t ...
, or "Mind Only" school, and schools heavily influenced by this school, rupa means both materiality and sensibility—it signifies, for example, a tactile object both insofar as that object is tactile and that it can be sensed. In some of these schools, rūpa is not a materiality which can be separated or isolated from cognizance; such a non-empirical category is incongruous in the context of some schools of
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
and
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
Buddhism. In the Yogacara view, rūpa is not a substratum or substance which has sensibility as a property. For this school, it functions as perceivable physicality and matter, or rūpa, is defined in its function; what it does, not what it is. As such, the four great elements are conceptual abstractions drawn from the sensorium. They are sensorial typologies, and are not metaphysically materialistic. From this perspective, they are not meant to give an account of matter as constitutive of external, mind-independent reality. This interpretation was hotly contested by some Madhyamaka thinkers like
Chandrakirti
Chandrakirti (; ; , meaning "glory of the moon" in Sanskrit) or "Chandra" was a Buddhist scholar of the madhyamaka school and a noted commentator on the works of Nagarjuna () and those of his main disciple, Aryadeva. He wrote two influential w ...
.
As Four Fundamental Aspects, Not Rigidly Four Elements
Very few scholars of (virtual)
meta-analysis
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...
(of
Theravada Buddhism
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
and
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
) adopt a broader view of the rest of Buddha's concepts about the four mahābhūtas, which leads to an idea that they should not be rigidly translated to earth or solid, water or liquid, air or gas, and fire or
plasma
Plasma or plasm may refer to:
Science
* Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter
* Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral
* Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics
Biology
* Blood pla ...
. Such speculation considers them as fundamental ''aspects'' of any physical object, definitely not very ''parts'' of a touchable object.
* ''
Pathavī-dhātu'' should be density of any fundamental piece of mass; as soon as a mass exists in reality, it does take up a volume in space, and this is one of the four fundamental aspects. Although earth could have been mentioned by Buddha as the best example of this nature, any solid or liquid or gas would possess its own extent of this nature.
* ''
Apo-dhātu'' or ''āpa-dhātu'' should be the combined nature of
fluidity or viscosity,
solubility
In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution.
The extent of the solubil ...
and perhaps a few other similar features of any fundamental piece of mass. Although water could have been mentioned by Buddha as the best example of this nature, any solid or liquid or gas would possess its own extent of this nature.
* ''
Vāyo-dhātu'' or ''vāyu-dhātu'' should be the nature of reactant force or
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...
of any fundamental piece of object. This manifests itself in
Newton's third law of motion
Newton's laws of motion are three basic Scientific law, laws of classical mechanics that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. These laws can be paraphrased as follows:
# A body remains at re ...
and
Pascal's law
Pascal's law (also Pascal's principle or the principle of transmission of fluid-pressure) is a principle in fluid mechanics given by Blaise Pascal that states that a pressure change at any point in a confined incompressible fluid is transmitted ...
. Although air could have been mentioned by Buddha as the best example of this nature, any solid or liquid or gas would possess its own extent of this nature.
* ''
Tejo-dhātu'' or ''teja-dhātu'' should simply be heat energy. Although some Buddhist texts contain two types of ''tejo'': fire of heat and fire of (sheer) coldness, we nowadays understand that coldness is mere our interpretation of feeling something with less heat energy than the subject, any particle being scientifically not possible to have
absolute zero
Absolute zero is the lowest limit of the thermodynamic temperature scale, a state at which the enthalpy and entropy of a cooled ideal gas reach their minimum value, taken as zero kelvin. The fundamental particles of nature have minimum vibration ...
of heat.
Soteriological uses
The Four Elements are used in
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
texts to both elucidate the concept of suffering (''
dukkha'') and as an object of meditation. The earliest Buddhist texts explain that the four primary material elements are the sensory qualities solidity, fluidity, temperature, and mobility; their characterisation as earth, water, fire, and air, respectively, is declared an abstraction – instead of concentrating on the fact of material existence, one observes how a physical thing is sensed, felt, perceived.
Understanding suffering
The Four Elements pertinence to the Buddhist notion of suffering comes about due to:
:* The Four Elements are the primary component of "form" (''
rūpa
Rūpa () means "form". As it relates to any kind of basic Object (philosophy), object, it has more specific meanings in the context of Indic religions.
Definition
According to the Monier-Williams Dictionary (2006), rūpa is defined as:
:* ... an ...
'').
:* "Form" is first category of the "Five Aggregates" (''
khandhas'').
:* The Five Aggregates are the ultimate basis for suffering (''dukkha'') in the "
Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones".[aFour Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...
."
Schematically, this can be represented in reverse order as:
:Four Noble Truths → Suffering → Aggregates → Form → Four Elements
Thus, to deeply understand the Buddha's Four Noble Truths, it is beneficial to have an understanding of the Great Elements.
Meditation object
In the
Mahasatipatthana Sutta ("The Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness,"
DN 22), in listing various bodily meditation techniques, the Gautama Buddha, Buddha instructs:
:"...Just as if a skilled butcher or his assistant, having slaughtered a cow, were to sit at a crossroads with the carcass divided into portions, so a monk reviews this very body ... in terms of the elements: 'There are in this body the earth-element, the water-element, the fire-element, the air-element.' So he abides contemplating body in body internally...."
In the Visuddhimagga's well-known list of forty meditation objects (''
kammahāna''), the great elements are listed as the first four objects.
B. Alan Wallace
Bruce Alan Wallace (born 1950) is an American author and expert on Tibetan Buddhism. His books discuss Eastern and Western scientific, philosophical, and contemplative modes of inquiry, often focusing on the relationships between science and Buddh ...
compares the Theravada meditative practice of "attending to the emblem of consciousness" to the practice in
Mahamudra
Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmudr ...
and
Dzogchen
Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...
of "maintaining the mind upon non-conceptuality", which is also aimed at focusing on the nature of consciousness.
Buddhist sources
In the
Pali canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
, the Four Elements are described in detail in the following discourses (''
sutta''):
* Mahahatthipadompama Sutta ("The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint,"
MN 28)
* Maharahulovada Sutta ("The Greater Discourse of Advice to Rahula," MN 62)
* Dhatuvibhanga Sutta ("The Exposition of the Elements," MN 140)
The Four Elements are also referenced in:
* Kevaddha Sutta (
DN 11)
*
Mahasatipatthana Sutta (DN 22)
*
Satipatthana Sutta
The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 10: ''The Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), and the subsequently created Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 22: ''The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), are ...
(
MN 10)
* Chabbisodhana Sutta (MN 112)
* Bahudhatuka Sutta (MN 115)
*
Kayagatasati Sutta (MN 119)
* Anathapindikovada Sutta (MN 143)
* Catudhatu-vaggo (
SN ch. 14, subch. IV), several discourses
* Saddhammapatirupaka Sutta (SN 16.13)
* Bija Sutta (SN 22.54)
* Asivisa Sutta (SN 35.197 or 35.238)
* Kimsuka Sutta (SN 35.204 or 35.245)
* Dutiya-mittamacca Sutta (SN 55.17)
* various brief
Samyutta Nikaya discourses entitled, "Dhatu Sutta" (SN 18.9, SN 25.9, SN 26.9, SN 27.9)
* Tittha Sutta (
AN 3.61)
* Nivesaka Sutta (AN 3.75)
* Rahula Sutta (AN 4.177)
In addition, the Visuddhimagga XI.27''ff'' has an extensive discussion of the Four Elements.
[Buddhaghosa (1999), pp. 343''ff''.]
See also
*
Classical element
Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simil ...
*
Dukkha
*
Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones".
*Khandhas">Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...
*Khandhas
*Panchatattva (Tantra)
*Prakrti, Prakriti (Mulaprakriti) (Vedic conceptions of the basic elements of the universe)
*Rupa (Buddhism), Rupa
*Samkhya (school of classical Indian philosophy, which including ether, defines Mahabhuta as 5 subtle elements)
*
(trans.) (2000). ''The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. .
*
, Bhadantācariya (trans. from Pāli by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli) (1999). ''The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga''. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. .
* Hamilton, Sue (2001). ''Identity and Experience: The Constitution of the Human Being according to Early Buddhism''. Oxford: Luzac Oriental. .
*
(1899, 1964). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' (London: Oxford University Press).
* , Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2001). ''The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. .
*
(trans.) (1981). ''The Greater Discourse on the Elephant-Footprint Simile''. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society.
* Olivelle, Patrick (1996). ''Upaniads''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
*
, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921–5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''
. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available from the University of Chicago's "Digital Dictionaries of South Asia" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/ (retrieved 2007-06-14).
*
(trans.) (1994). "SN 27.9: Dhatu Sutta – Properties" in ''Upakkilesa Samyutta: Defilements'' (
27.1–10). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn27/sn27.001-010.than.html#sn27.009.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). ''Kayagata-sati Sutta: Mindfulness Immersed in the Body'' (
119). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.119.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). ''Kevatta (Kevaddha) Sutta: To Kevatta'' (
11). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997c). ''Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta: An Analysis of the Properties'' (
140). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.140.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998). ''Kimsuka Sutta: The Riddle Tree'' (
35.204). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.204.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2001). ''Bija Sutta: Means of Propagation'' (
22.54). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.054.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2003a). ''Anathapindikovada Sutta: Instructions to Anathapindika'' (
143). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.143.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2003b). ''Maha-hatthipadopama Sutta: The Great Elephant Footprint Simile'' (
28). Retrieved 2008-01-30 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.028.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2004a). ''Asivisa Sutta: Vipers'' (
35.197). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.197.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2004b). ''Dhatu Sutta: Properties'' (
25.9). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn25/sn25.009.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2005). ''Saddhammapatirupaka Sutta: A Counterfeit of the True Dhamma'' (
16.13). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn16/sn16.013.than.html.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2006). ''Maha-Rahulovada Sutta: The Greater Exhortation to Rahula'' (
62). Retrieved 2008-03-17 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.062.than.html.
* Walshe, Maurice O'C. (trans.) (1995). ''The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. .
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