Whether it is from real life or from film and television culture, I believe we all know that the four major elements of Buddhism are empty. So, do you know which four emptinesses are the four elements that are all empty? What does it mean when all four elements are empty? Next, come with me to the introduction to Buddhism to understand the true meaning of learning that the four elements are empty.
The four major elements in Buddhism refer to the four major material factors of "earth, water, fire and wind".
The Four Elements are empty also refers to the four ways of destroying the world: earth, fire, feng shui. Earthquakes, (earth and sky) fires (fire and sky), strong winds (wind and sky), floods (water and sky).
The meaning of the four elements are empty:
Buddhism talks about "the four elements are empty". It follows the inherent Indian thought and then deepens it and makes it Buddhist. Because the four elements of earth, water, fire and wind are The major elements belong to cosmic physics. For example, mountains and land belong to the earth element, oceans and rivers belong to the water element, the heat of the sun belongs to the fire element, and space airflow belongs to the wind element.
If they are transformed into human body physiology, for example, hair, bones and flesh belong to the earth element, blood secretion belongs to the water element, body temperature belongs to the fire element, and breathing belongs to the wind element; if we talk about the physical properties of the four elements, hardness belongs to the water element. Earth is the element, moisture belongs to the water element, warmth belongs to the fire element, and flow belongs to the wind element. But no matter how you analyze the four elements, they ultimately belong to the material world and cannot summarize the spiritual world. Therefore, materialists regard the four elements as the origin of the universe, but Buddhism never agrees with this statement.
Because Theravada Buddhism is only empty of self and not empty of Dharma, so although it regards physical phenomena as empty, it still believes that the extremely small substance of the four elements - "Dharma" - is real. However, Hinayana Buddhism is not materialism but pluralism, because the emptiness of Buddhism not only empties away the four elements, but also empties away the five aggregates, and the four elements are just one of the five aggregates.
What are the five aggregates called? That is form, feeling, thought, action, and consciousness. The first one belongs to the material world, and the last four belong to the spiritual world. The four elements are form aggregates. The five aggregates are the law of life and death within the three realms. Only by eradicating the five aggregates can one transcend the life and death of the three realms. At the same time, the introduction of the five aggregates proves that Buddhism does not only teach that the four elements are empty, but also goes a step further to teach that the five aggregates are empty.
What is particularly important is that the focus of Buddhism is not on the four major aggregates, but on the consciousness aggregate. As for the three aggregates of feeling, thinking, and action, they are also the foil of the consciousness aggregate and are used to express The functions of the spiritual world are vast and great. Therefore, Buddhism is not only not a materialist, but a consciousness-only one.