The five elements in Tibetan Buddhism: Cosmology, meditation, and enlightenment.

摘要

This study explores Tibetan notions of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space) and the extent to which these elements are utilized in describing cosmology, meditative praxis, and soteriology. Using textual sources largely drawn from Jamgon Kongtrul's ( kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas) work The Encyclopedia of Knowledge (shes bya kun khyab) and the autocommentary Infinite Ocean of Knowledge (shes bya mtha' yas pa'i rgya mtsho), this study details the modern Tibetan conceptualization of the relationship between the elements themselves and their effects on major aspects of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.