Elements - Mindfulness of the body I

Sometimes the Buddha spoke about six elements ; or he classified realities as two elements. There are many different ways of classifying realities, but no matter in which way realities are classified, as khandha, by way of ārammana (objects), or in any other way, we should remember the purpose of classifying realities : realizing that what we take for self are only nāma- elements and rūpa-elements.

 

In the 'Sātipatthana-sutta' (Discourse on the Applications of Mindfulness,

Middle Length Sayings I, No.10) we read in the section about mindfulness of

the body, that the Buddha spoke about the body in terms of elements. The

text states:

 

And again, monks, a monk reflects on this body 

according to how it is placed or disposed in respect of the elements,

thinking: 'In this body there is the element of extension,

the element of cohesion,

the element of heat,

the element of motion.'

Monks, even as a skilled cattle-butcher, or his apprentice,

having slaughtered a cow, might sit displaying its carcass at across-roads,

even so, monks, does a monk reflect on this body itself

according to how it is placed or disposed in respect of the elements,

thinking: 'In this body there is the element of extension,

the element of cohesion,

the  element of heat,

the element of motion'.

Thus he fares along contemplating the body in the body  internally...

and he fares along independently of and not grasping anything in the world.

It is thus too, monks,

that a monk fares along contemplating the body in the body...

 

The 'Visuddhimagga' (XI, 30) states:

 

What is meant? Just as a butcher,

while feeding the cow, bringing it to the shambles,

keeping it tied up after bringing it there, slaughtering it,

and seeing it slaughtered and dead,

does not lose the perception 'cow'

so long as he has not carved it up and divided it into parts ;

but when he has divided it up and is sitting  there,

he loses the perception 'cow' and the perception 'meat' occurs ;

he does not think 'I am selling cow' or 'They are carrying cow away',

but rather he thinks  'I am selling meat' or 'They are carrying meat away';

so too this bhikkhu, while still a foolish ordinary person--

both formerly as a layman and as one gone forth into homelessness--,

does not lose the perception 'living being'

or 'man' or 'person' so long as he does  not,

by resolution of the compact into elements, review  this body,

however placed, however disposed, as  consisting of elements.

But when he does review it as consisting of elements,

he loses the perception 'living being'

and his mind establishes itself upon elements....

  It may not be appealing to see the body as elements. We think of people as 'this man' or 'that woman'. We are not used to analysing what we take for a 'person' in the way we analyse matter, as we do, for example in physics. One might find it crude to think of a body carved up as a cow is carved up by a butcher. However, if we consider the body as it is, there are only elements. Isn't it true that there are solidity, cohesion, temperature and motion? Are these realities 'self', or are they elements devoid of 'self'?

 

Do the four elements of solidity, cohesion, temperature and motion have

anything to do with our daily life? These elements arise all the time.

Temperature can appear either as heat or cold; do we not feel heat or cold

very often? When we are stung by an insect we can experience the

characteristic of heat. We can feel impact of hardness or softness on our body

when we are lying down, sitting, walking or standing. Is that not daily life? If

we are mindful of the characteristics of the elements more often, we will see

things as they are.