As a practitioner, thoroughly clarifying the traditional Chinese Five Elements theory and the Four/Five Great Elements system originating from the Buddha is the foundation for building a correct worldview. Many people confuse them, but they are actually two completely different models of cosmic cognition.
In my previous writing, I have already distinguished the Four Elements from the Chinese Taoist Five Elements. Today, I wish to combine the profound wisdom of Vajrayana, Tibetan medicine, and Ayurveda to reveal a very important advanced common sense — above the Four Elements, there is a fifth element: Space. It is precisely this “Space” that forms the crucial bridge from “worldly dharma” to “transcendental dharma.”
I. Chinese Taoist Five Elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth): The “Skillful Means” of Symbolism and Feng Shui
First, let us properly understand the Five Elements.
In traditional Chinese culture, the Five Elements are essentially a symbolic system describing change. They are widely used in ancient statistical methods and human affairs such as feng shui, fate calculation, and traditional Chinese medicine.
• Talisman application: Very small usage, mostly as metaphorical references for direction or color when drawing talismans.
• Correspondence to the human body: Wood – Liver, Fire – Heart, Earth – Spleen, Metal – Lungs, Water – Kidneys.
• Function: Through the mutual generation and restriction of the Five Elements (e.g., Wood generates Fire, Metal restricts Wood), one can adjust personal fortune or the energy field of a home.
The Five Elements are wisdom for “external application,” a knowledge system for dealing with “relationships” in the phenomenal world.
II. The Four Elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind): The Physical Reality and the “Foundation” of Southeast Asian Esoteric Power
According to the Buddha’s teachings, the Four Elements directly describe the truth of the material world and the composition of the human being. After the Buddha attained enlightenment in 566 BCE, he clearly taught: the world consists of the Four Elements, and a human being is precisely the “aggregate” of these Four Elements.
• Earth: All muscles, bones, and hair of the body.
• Fire: All bodily heat, body temperature, metabolic energy.
• Water: Blood, lymph, and bodily fluids.
• Wind: Breath, and the flow of air and energy currents throughout the body.
Experiential verification through practice: In the methods of Vipassanā or Shamatha-Vipashyana, when your meditative concentration reaches a certain level, the Four Elements within your body become distinctly perceptible. This is no longer theory but a reality seen with your own eyes.
Application of esoteric power: Hinduism and Southeast Asian esoteric traditions use the Four Elements to mobilize power. Although different systems have different mantra sounds, in Southeast Asia the basic pronunciation of the Four Elements mantras is generally “Na, Ma, Pa, Tha.” Historically, there was a Thai monk who specialized in practicing these four sounds. With inconceivable meditative concentration and elemental power, he unlocked a door secured by an iron lock in full view of everyone — proof that when mind and elements become one, the power is astonishing.
III. Advanced: The Fifth Element — “Space” (Akasha/Nam Khams): The Container of All Existence and the Crystallization of Wisdom
If you only stop at the Four Elements, you only see the combination of the “body” and the “material world.” But true Vajrayana, Tibetan medicine, and Tibetan Buddhism all mention the fifth element — Space.
This “Space” (Tibetan: Nam Khams, Sanskrit: Akasha) is not emptiness or nothingness. It is the background, the space, and the infinite possibility of all existence. It is the “stage” on which the Four Elements operate.
1. Ayurvedic Perspective (Moksha System): The Connection Between Elements and Chakras
In Ayurveda or modern spiritual practice, the Five Great Elements directly relate to the seven chakras of the human body — an excellent tool for regulating body and mind:
• Space: Relates to the Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) and Crown Chakra (Sahasrara), representing cosmic consciousness. Imbalance manifests as headaches, dizziness, and confusion.
• Wind: Relates to the Heart Chakra (Anahata) and Throat Chakra (Vishuddha), representing breath and movement. Imbalance manifests as anxiety and respiratory issues.
• Fire: Relates to the Solar Plexus (Manipura), representing transformation and energy. Imbalance manifests as digestive problems and irritability.
• Water: Relates to the Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana), representing emotions and flow. Imbalance manifests as edema and moodiness.
• Earth: Relates to the Root Chakra (Muladhara), representing stability and grounding. Imbalance manifests as weight abnormalities and insecurity.
2. Tibetan Buddhist Perspective (Eya & Co. system): The Five Aggregates, Medicine, and Life & Death
In Tibetan Buddhism, the Five Great Elements carry even more subtle and profound meaning for practice.
A. Correspondence Between the Five Elements and the Five Aggregates (the core of breaking attachment)
The Five Great Elements are not only external matter but also manifestations of internal mental-physical phenomena:
• Earth → Form Aggregate (materiality and the body)
• Water → Feeling Aggregate (emotions and sensations)
• Fire → Perception Aggregate (cognition and understanding)
• Wind → Formation Aggregate (volition and mental flow)
• Space → Consciousness Aggregate (awareness and the ground of knowing)
B. Tibetan Medicine’s View of Disease and Regimen
Tibetan medicine holds that imbalance among the Five Great Elements directly causes disease. Understanding this can guide our diet and lifestyle:
• Earth element imbalance: Osteoporosis, joint problems. Regimen: Eat mineral-rich foods like dairy products.
• Water element imbalance: Edema, indigestion. Regimen: Drink plenty of warm water, use nourishing foods.
• Fire element imbalance: Fever, inflammation, irritability. Regimen: Avoid spicy and stimulating foods; eat cooling foods.
• Wind element imbalance: Anxiety, insomnia, nervous disorders. Regimen: Practice breath control (pranayama), keep warm.
• Space element imbalance: Spiritual emptiness, loneliness. Regimen: Only through meditation and visualization can one restore inner stability and awareness.
C. The Highest Wisdom: The Five Elements and the Death Process (Bardo Teachings)
This is the most secret and most precious wisdom in Vajrayana. In Tibetan Buddhism, the death of a human being is understood as the gradual dissolution of the Five Great Elements:
• Earth dissolves into Water: The body loses support, feels heavy.
• Water dissolves into Fire: Bodily fluids become uncontrolled, mouth feels dry.
• Fire dissolves into Wind: Body temperature dissipates, feels cold.
• Wind dissolves into Space: Breathing stops, consciousness dissolves into emptiness.
• Space dissolves into the Dharmadhatu: This is the optimal moment to realize the luminous nature of one’s own mind and attain liberation.
IV. Core Differences and Practice Suggestions
System
Five Elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth)
Four Elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind)
Five Elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Space)
Essence
Symbolic system, analogical principles
Basic material constituents, physical reality of the body
Complete cosmology including matter + spirit/emptiness
Origin
Ancient Chinese philosophy (I Ching)
Ancient Greece & the Buddha’s original teachings
Vajrayana / Tantra / Ayurveda
Main function
Fate calculation, feng shui harmonization
Inner observation practice, mobilizing energy, foundation of esoteric arts
Meditative breaking of attachments, medical treatment, liberation in life and death
Corresponding level
External relationships (environment, direction)
Internal physics (body, energy)
Internal physics and mental level (five aggregates, consciousness)
How should a practitioner integrate them?
Please do not see the Five Elements, Four Elements, and Five Great Elements as opposed to each other. They are tools pointing to different dimensions.
• At the beginner level, use the “Five Elements”: Improve your living environment, settle body and mind, reduce unnecessary disturbances.
• At the intermediate level, cultivate the “Four Elements”: Through calm-abiding and insight meditation, observe the true composition of the body, break attachment to the “solid body,” and gain meditative concentration and the foundation of basic spiritual power.
• At the advanced level, realize the “Five Great Elements”: Accept “Space” as the background of all existence, see “emptiness” (impermanence, lack of inherent nature, dependent origination and emptiness) through phenomena, and thereby, at the moment of death or in everyday afflictions, completely transcend the bondage of self and matter, moving toward true wisdom and freedom.
Final Words: Returning to Our Life and Our Brand
At Vajra Realm (Eya & Co.), we regard jewelry and ritual implements as a vehicle for wisdom, not merely decoration. This is not just craftsmanship; it is the energetic crystallization of the Five Great Elements:
• Earth element: The solid, pure nature of jade.
• Water element: The nurturing, flowing quality of agate and pearl.
• Fire element: The radiance and warmth of amber.
• Wind element: The lightness of silver and the flow of thought-energy.
• Space element: The infinite space and emptiness-wisdom contained within and around the ritual implement.
As a practitioner, I use my own assets to help people in need and homeless animals — this itself is a practice of the stability of the “Earth element” and the compassion of the “Water element.” We accept the favorable and adverse, gain and loss, light and dark of life — this is the interplay and testing of the Five Great Elements in the human realm. Ultimately, by balancing these Five Great Elements, we can, like the mind of that Thai monk who unlocked the iron lock, be as indestructible as a vajra and as transparent as emptiness, awakening the pure spiritual power that benefits both self and others.
At Vajra Realm, we will incorporate the recitation of traditional Four Element mantras into every product, empowering it.
May every being who meets me find peace, clarity, and freedom through this pure power.