Selected Lectures on the Sutra of the Meeting of Father and Son

Chapter Three   Elaboration on the Internal and External Six Elements

Original Text: Great King, what is the internal earth element? It refers to the hardness and roughness born within the internal body, such as hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, and bones. If the internal earth element does not arise, there is also no cessation; then there is no accumulation and manifestation.

Explanation: Great King, what is the internal earth element? The internal earth element is the earth element component within the sentient being's material body, the parts possessing hardness in the material body, such as the hard, earthy tissue parts like hair, nails, teeth, skin, muscles, sinews, bones, etc. If the internal earth element does not arise, there is also no cessation; then phenomena have no accumulation and manifestation.

The earth element is the earth element seed within the ālaya-vijñāna (storehouse consciousness). When the ālaya-vijñāna possesses earth element seeds, it can produce the hardness of material dharmas, manifesting the living environment of the vessel world and the body faculty of sentient beings. The internal earth element begins to gradually arise when entering and residing in the mother's womb. When the manas (mind faculty) enters the fertilized egg, the ālaya-vijñāna outputs earth element seeds to transform and produce the fetus's material body. Otherwise, without the earth element component, the body would be limp like water, unable to walk, stand, sit, or lie down. Since the earth element has birth, it necessarily has cessation. Only with birth and cessation can the five aggregates body accumulate and manifest bodily activities. If the earth element seeds do not arise, there can be no cessation, nor can the five aggregates body accumulate. Dharmas that have birth and cessation are provisional dharmas, not true dharmas; they are illusory dharmas, empty dharmas. Therefore, we should not greedily grasp or cling to them; otherwise, there will be suffering of birth and death.

Original Text: Great King, if at that time a woman, within her mind, thinks as follows: 'That puruṣa (man), that puruṣa,' and that puruṣa also feels affection and delight, then through the union of the two, a kalala (fertilized ovum) is born. Moreover, if one thinks that birth can occur through imagined union, there is no such possibility. If it is two women, there is no such possibility. Two puruṣas, there is also no such possibility. If birth could occur through such-and-such thinking, there is also no such possibility, for the self-nature is unreal and not corresponding.

Explanation: Great King, if a woman thinks of another person (a man) in her mind, and that other man also feels affection and delight for this woman, then these two people uniting together will produce a kalala (fertilized ovum) within seven days. If two people are not together, in separate places, and merely imagine in their minds that they can unite together without physical contact, and a fertilized ovum could be born, this is impossible. Without actual physical contact, the ālaya-vijñāna cannot output earth element and five element seeds out of nothing to sustain a non-existent fertilized ovum; therefore, there is no birth of a living being.

If two women uniting together could produce a kalala, this is also impossible. If two men uniting together could produce a kalala, this is equally impossible. If any two people mutually think of each other but cannot actually unite, and yet a kalala could be born, this is even more impossible. Because without an actual material body, without the four great elements, the kalala cannot be born, as the conditions are incomplete.

Original Text: Why is this said to be hardness? Great King, this hardness is provisionally established as similar, yet ultimately this body will fester, disperse, and perish. Only the burial mound is its destined destination. Where does that hardness come from? It does not come from the four directions. Nor does it go above or below. Great King, this internal earth element should be known as such.

Explanation: Why is it said that the earth element possesses hardness? Great King, this hardness is also a similar, provisionally established nominal designation; it is not truly hard and eternally indestructible, because this material body will ultimately fester, disperse, and perish. Finally, it will be discarded to the wilderness and burial grounds, where the four great elements disperse and vanish without a trace. Where does the hardness within the material body come from? There is no source. Nor is there a destination; it does not come from the east, west, south, north, the four intermediate directions, above, or below the body, nor does it go to the four intermediate directions, above, or below. The earth element within this material body is like this: it has no source and no destination. (This is the Śrāvaka explanation; the Buddha did not explicitly state that the ālaya-vijñāna outputs the four great element seeds to form the material body, and finally the four great element seeds within the material body return to the ālaya-vijñāna.)

Where does the earth nature in this kalala (fertilized ovum) come from? It comes from nowhere. After it ceases, there is no destination. When the material body dies, the earth nature ceases. Where does the earth nature go? There is no destination. Therefore, it is said that the earth nature is empty, illusory, and unreal. Thus, the body's hardness is not real. Hardness exists from the moment the kalala first appears, then transforms into the hair, teeth, skin, muscles, sinews, and bones on the body. After death, the earth nature disperses; the hair, teeth, skin, muscles, sinews, and bones all perish. The hardness has nowhere to go, nor does it go into empty space. When it came, it had no source; it just came.

But in reality, it all comes from the ālaya-vijñāna's output. The Buddha has not yet explained this point here. The internal earth element arises like this: because of the union of male and female, the manas enters the fertilized egg, and upon the birth of the kalala, the earth element is produced. The earth element is so subject to birth, cessation, and illusion; therefore, one should not cling to the earth element, nor regard the hair, teeth, skin, muscles, sinews, bones, or the material body as the self, as a real, indestructible self.

Original Text: Great King, what is the external earth element's hardness? For example, when the world was first established, the palace where Brahmā resides, formed from great treasures; also the palaces where the Parinirmita-vaśavartin gods reside are all formed from the seven treasures. Great King, if there were no earth element, from where would that hardness arise?

Explanation: Great King, what is called the hardness of the external earth element? For example, when the threefold world's vessel world was first formed, Brahmā, the lord of the first dhyāna heaven, his palace was built from various treasures. Including the heavenly palaces of Śakra Devānām Indra, they are all composed of the seven treasures. Also, the palaces where the lord of the sixth heaven of the desire realm, the Parinirmita-vaśavartin gods, reside, are all built from the seven treasures. Great King, if there were no earth element, from where would the hardness of those palaces arise?

After explaining the internal earth element, the Buddha proceeds to explain the external earth element. Wherever there is the earth element, there is hardness. Outside the material body, there are also hard substances. The external six elements do not refer to the six internal sense objects within the eighteen elements, but to the six external sense objects, especially referring to external form objects, which are the objective realms jointly transformed by the ālaya-vijñāna of beings with shared karma, and can only be contacted by the ālaya-vijñāna of beings with shared karma.

The hardness on all material dharmas is formed by earth element seeds; it is the nature of the great earth element. The palaces of the Brahmā king of the first dhyāna heaven are also composed of the seven treasures. The palaces of the lords of the second dhyāna heaven are also composed of the seven treasures. Mount Sumeru is also composed of the seven treasures. All seven treasures, hundred treasures, have their hardness, primarily formed by the earth element. The earth is composed of soil, sand, and various minerals, which also contain various treasures, all possessing hardness, formed by the earth element. When the world first formed, the palaces also gradually formed. The ālaya-vijñāna of all beings with shared karma jointly outputs the four great element seeds and five great element seeds, forming the great elements that jointly manifest the universe and vessel world, manifesting the palaces of the various heavenly realms, manifesting the four continents, the four great oceans, and the seven golden mountains. These materials all contain the earth element; all have hardness.

If the ālaya-vijñāna does not contain the seed of the earth element's hardness, then from where does the hardness of the external vessel world arise? This sentence illustrates that all the external universe and vessel world are manifested from the seeds contained within the ālaya-vijñāna; it is the ālaya-vijñāna of all karmically connected beings jointly outputting identical karma seeds and five great element seeds that manifest it. This sentence tells us where the universe and vessel world come from—from the ālaya-vijñāna. Thus, it is still the mind that creates all dharmas; all dharmas are transformed by the mind, all dharmas arise from the mind. This earth element is manifested by a seed, a function within the ālaya-vijñāna. At this point, one should begin to understand a little of the principle that all dharmas are mind-only.

Original Text: Further, the great earth is formed, eighty-four thousand yojanas thick, sixty thousand yojanas long and wide. Further, the encircling mountains arise, the great Cakravāḍa mountains, firmly abiding, like vajra. Further, Sumeru mountain arises, Yugandhara mountain, Īṣādhara mountain, Nemindhara mountain, and even Black Mountain. Thus, after the three-thousandfold great thousand world system is sequentially formed, it firmly abides. If there were no earth element, from where would that hardness come?

Explanation: After transforming the heavenly palaces, the earth is transformed. The earth's thickness is eighty-four thousand yojanas. Yojana is an Indian term representing a very large number. When a number is too large to count, Indian language uses eighty-four thousand to represent it, indicating the entire earth's thickness is that immense. The earth's length and width are sixty thousand yojanas each. The thickness is greater than the breadth, indicating the earth is not perfectly round but elliptical. After the earth is formed, the iron-encircling mountains beneath the earth are then transformed. Sumeru mountain, Yugandhara mountain, Nemindhara mountain, Īṣādhara mountain, and even Black Mountain are all transformed.

Mount Sumeru is half submerged in the great ocean and half extends above the great ocean. The midpoint of Mount Sumeru above the great ocean is the realm of the Cāturmahārājika gods (Four Heavenly Kings). The four great guardian kings reside and preside over the midpoint of Mount Sumeru. Mount Sumeru is primarily formed by the earth element. The seven golden mountains beneath the four great oceans are also formed, primarily by the earth element. Thus, the three-thousandfold great thousand world system gradually forms sequentially, extremely firm, like vajra, all possessing hardness, all formed by the earth element. If there were no earth element seeds, no earth element, from where would the hardness of those materials come?

The Buddha's passage here describes the formation of the world, centered on hardness, which comes from the earth element. The earth element is the function of the seeds stored within the ālaya-vijñāna. This sentence illustrates that the three-thousandfold great thousand world system is transformed from the seeds contained within the ālaya-vijñāna; that is, it is manifested by the ālaya-vijñāna. One person's ālaya-vijñāna cannot manifest it alone; only the ālaya-vijñāna of all karmically connected beings combined can manifest it. The world arises like this, bit by bit formed by the ālaya-vijñāna.

The above explains how the internal earth element of sentient beings' material bodies is formed and how the external earth element of the universe and empty space is formed, illustrating that all dharmas are created solely by the ālaya-vijñāna; without the ālaya-vijñāna, there are no dharmas whatsoever. To truly understand how profound this principle is, you comprehend the true reality of the world, cut off ignorance and delusion, and no longer cling to the self or to external gold, silver, jewels, mountains, rivers, and the great earth.

All things are not possessed by oneself; they can only be used by oneself, and only for a period of time. Yet they cannot be grasped. Therefore, fundamentally, there is no need to grasp any dharma. All external dharmas will perish; the self's five aggregates body will also perish. Who can grasp anything? The five aggregates body will die; the world will also vanish. Nothing is reliable. Even if sentient beings were immortal, the world would still perish. When the earth perishes, the universe and empty space perish, and the material body has no space to reside in. Therefore, all dharmas, including one's own five aggregates body, cannot be clung to; nothing can be grasped.

Gold, silver, and jewels are also composed of earth, water, fire, and wind; they are also manifested by the ālaya-vijñāna. When conditions cease, they vanish. Even the three-thousandfold great thousand world system will perish. Without the ālaya-vijñāna, there would be no earth element; without the earth element, there would be no three-thousandfold great thousand world system, nor the five aggregates body of sentient beings. Therefore, all dharmas are manifested by the ālaya-vijñāna; the root source of all dharmas is the ālaya-vijñāna tathāgatagarbha. From this, it is known that all dharmas are illusory. This is called "all dharmas are consciousness-only."

Original Text: Great King, when this earth element is about to be destroyed, it is either burned by fire, swept away by water, or blown apart by wind. For example, when ghee burns, its flames blaze fiercely until only ashes remain, no longer visible. If swept away by water, it is like throwing salt into water; it instantly dissolves. If blown apart by the fierce Vairambha wind, at that time the three-thousandfold great thousand world system is completely scattered and destroyed, utterly annihilated without remainder.

Explanation: Great King, when the earth element is about to be destroyed, how is it destroyed? First, it is burned by great fire. When a fire disaster arrives, it burns up to the first dhyāna heaven of the form realm; below the first dhyāna heaven, nothing remains. The six heavens of the desire realm and their palaces are gone; Mount Sumeru is gone; the four continents are gone; the entire earth is gone. When the world is about to perish, once the great fire ignites, the earth is burned away. Then the fire burns up Mount Sumeru and the various heavens of the desire realm; Mount Sumeru and the heavenly palaces are reduced to ashes, even the first dhyāna heaven of the form realm is burned to ashes.

How is the earth burned away? First, two suns appear, then three, four, five, six suns, and finally seven suns appear. Everything below the first dhyāna heaven is destroyed. When two suns appear, life on earth vanishes without a trace, let alone with seven suns. With one sun, beings cannot endure the summer heat; with two suns, can life still exist? With seven suns, the waters of the four great oceans dry up; the earth directly catches fire and is burned away. The fire reaches the heavens; Mount Sumeru is also burned away; the entire six heavens of the desire realm are burned away; the first dhyāna heaven is also gone. All gold, silver, and jewels are long burned away; the seven treasures are harder than gold and silver, but they are also completely burned away.

The second disaster is the water disaster. After everything below the first dhyāna heaven is burned away, great rain begins to fall from the sky. Each raindrop is like the size of an elephant, falling continuously for seven days and seven nights. The water rises up to the second dhyāna heaven of the form realm. The six heavens of the desire realm are submerged; the first dhyāna heaven is also submerged. The water rises further to the second dhyāna heaven; the entire second dhyāna heaven is submerged. Such is the severity of the water disaster; heavenly beings below the second dhyāna cannot escape it.

The third disaster is the wind disaster. When the great wind blows, it blows up to the third dhyāna heaven of the form realm, blowing away even the third dhyāna heaven. Even if the earth were not burned by fire, it could instantly be scattered by the great wind. The six heavens of the desire realm would also be scattered, leaving no trace. Anything composed of seven treasures or hundred treasures can all be scattered; nothing, no matter how hard, can endure or last long. How immense must this wind force be? Only one thing cannot be burned by fire, submerged by water, or blown away by wind: the ālaya-vijñāna tathāgatagarbha.

After the three disasters pass, only the heavenly realms above the fourth dhyāna heaven remain. The fourth dhyāna heaven has four levels, plus the four formless heavens. Disasters cannot reach these heavenly realms because beings above the fourth dhyāna have equanimity and pure perception, no thoughts, a pure mind, and thus do not attract disasters. The meditative state of the third dhyāna still has breath; breath is wind, so it can attract the wind disaster. The wind disaster can rise to the third dhyāna heaven and destroy it. After the entire three-thousandfold great thousand world system is finally completely scattered and destroyed, it becomes utterly silent, destroyed to the point where not even dust can be found, nothing remains. Therefore, it is said that the world is indeed illusory.

Original Text: The Buddha said: Great King, this external earth element, when born, is empty from the beginning; when destroyed, it is also empty. It has no male characteristic, nor female characteristic. It is merely displayed through verbal expression. Thus, the earth element and the nature of the earth element are both unobtainable. Only the Buddha's correct wisdom can fully comprehend this.

Explanation: The Buddha said to King Śuddhodana: Great King, moreover, the earth element, when born, is empty from the beginning; when destroyed, it is also empty. Within this earth element, there is no male characteristic nor female characteristic; it is merely through language that the earth element and the nature of the earth element are displayed. Thus, the earth element and the nature of the earth element are both unobtainable; only the Buddha's great wisdom can fully comprehend this without remainder.

The earth nature is one of the four great element natures: earth, water, fire, and wind. These four great element seeds all exist within the ālaya-vijñāna. When the seeds are output, they can manifest the five aggregates body and manifest the mountains, rivers, great earth, and universe vessel world. The four great element seeds can manifest all material dharmas. When the external earth element gradually forms, it takes twenty small kalpas (336 million years), built up from empty space with nothing at all. The three-thousandfold great thousand world system, the universe vessel world, begins to form bit by bit. After the three-thousandfold great thousand world system is destroyed, it returns to nothingness; all that is subject to birth and cessation is empty; not a single dharma remains. The earth element seeds exist within the ālaya-vijñāna, also formless, markless, and empty. The manifested external mountains, rivers, and great earth cannot determine their own existence; they have no self-nature; their intrinsic nature is also empty because they are all transformed by the ālaya-vijñāna. The hardness of objects is also empty, formless, markless, arising and ceasing with the object.

The earth element can form the material bodies of sentient beings. Among desire realm beings, the material body is divided into male and female characteristics, but the earth element itself has no male or female characteristic; it has no characteristics at all. The ālaya-vijñāna, based on karma seeds, outputs the earth element seeds and then creates either a male or female characteristic. The formless earth element can form objects and living beings with form. On the material bodies of sentient beings, bones, muscles, skin, hair, and nails are primarily characterized by hardness, called earth nature. The earth nature itself has no male or female characteristics; when forming the material body, it becomes divided into male and female characteristics. Male and female characteristics are actually both illusory.

The earth element originally has no characteristics, no distinctions, yet the characteristics it manifests have distinctions. Why is this? Because characteristics are determined by the karma seeds of the actions performed. If one performed actions leading to a male existence, the ālaya-vijñāna manifests a male form. If one performed actions leading to a female existence, the karma seeds stored in the ālaya-vijñāna cause it to output the earth element, creating a female form. From formless to having form, all forms are illusory. If the karma seeds are eliminated, the form transforms. When meditative concentration is cultivated to the first, second, third, or fourth dhyāna, and one is born in the form realm heavens at death, the material body is neither male nor female but neutral. Male and female characteristics can continuously transform according to karma. Therefore, male and female characteristics are unreal, illusory, and false. What can change is false.

What thing never changes? It is the ālaya-vijñāna. The three disasters can destroy the great thousand world system, but what thing cannot be destroyed? It is the ālaya-vijñāna. Why can it not be destroyed? Because its intrinsic nature is empty, and its characteristics are also empty; therefore, there is nothing to destroy. The five aggregates world has characteristics; what has characteristics can be destroyed. Moreover, the five aggregates world has birth, so it must have death. The ālaya-vijñāna neither arises nor ceases. If a house is empty, if someone comes to steal, rob, or destroy things, they cannot succeed. Empty, there is nothing to destroy. Who can destroy empty space? The intrinsic nature of the ālaya-vijñāna is empty; therefore, it cannot be destroyed. All dharmas manifested by the ālaya-vijñāna have characteristics; things with characteristics can be destroyed. When the pocket has no money, who can steal the money? As long as something exists, it can be destroyed; as long as there is birth, there can be cessation.

The earth element and the nature of the earth element are both illusory, empty, and unobtainable. Only the Buddha's wisdom can fully comprehend and realize this true reality. Sentient beings can only partially understand or realize a portion, even a small portion. Even a tenth-ground bodhisattva cannot fully comprehend these principles. Only the Buddha's wisdom can fully realize all these seed issues without remainder; all functional seeds within the tathāgatagarbha are realized without the slightest omission. Therefore, the Buddha possesses all-wisdom (sarvajñā). Bodhisattvas above the first ground possess the wisdom of the path (mārga-jñāna); they can only comprehend a portion of the functional seeds within the tathāgatagarbha. Those who do not comprehend it at all are bodhisattvas below the first ground or unenlightened ordinary beings. The more one comprehends, the higher the wisdom, and the higher the bodhisattva stage.

Original Text: Great King, what is the internal water element? It refers to all the grasped and held moistening and lubricating natures within this body, such as saliva, phlegm, fat, marrow, pus, blood, urine, and feces, which constitute the internal water element.

Explanation: Great King, what is the internal water element? The internal water element is the moistening, lubricating, and soft natures grasped and held within the material body, such as saliva, tears, sweat, nasal mucus, fat, pus, blood, urine, feces, etc., all belong to the internal water element.

The earth element is divided into external and internal earth elements; the internal earth element is the hardness within the material body. The water element is also divided into external and internal water elements. The moistening nature within the body is the internal water element. The characteristic of water is moistening. For example, when people are emotional, the tears held in their eyes, even if they don't flow down, contain moistness; that is the water nature. When the body is hot and sweats, sometimes there are no sweat beads, but there is still dampness; that is the water nature. Sweating is even more the water nature. There is also water within the skin; without water, the skin would become dry and wrinkled, not moist.

Actually, there is also the water element within the hair, nails, bones, and flesh; all internal organs have the water nature. Inside and outside the entire body, there is the water element. Without the water element, life cannot be sustained. Every organ has the four great element natures: earth, water, fire, and wind; they combine to form various different organs, but the proportions of the four elements differ in different organs. If the earth nature proportion is larger, the substance exhibits hardness; if the water nature proportion is larger, the substance manifests moistness and softness. The different proportions of the four great element natures form different substances.

Original Text: Great King, if at that time one suddenly sees a beloved person, tears flow from the eyes; or tears flow when oppressed by distress; or tears flow upon hearing profound Dharma due to faith and reverence; or tears flow when blown by cold wind. From where do such water elements come? When the water dries up, where does it go?

Explanation: Great King, if someone suddenly encounters a beloved person, tears will flow from the eyes. Or tears flow when oppressed by distress. Or tears flow upon hearing profound Dharma, due to faith leaping with joy. Or tears flow when blown by cold wind. Where do these water elements come from? After the water dries, where does the water element go?

Why does one shed tears upon seeing a beloved or liked person? Tears belong to the water element, sinking downward, related to the mind consciousness's emotional attachment. Affection is heavy and sinks, so tears sink downward. When distressed, one sheds tears of pain; when joyful, one sheds tears of excitement; both are due to emotion. Tears shed upon hearing profound Dharma are tears unconsciously shed because the mind is moved and receives an impression. Some people, due to very deep good roots, upon learning the Buddha Dharma in this life, when seeing the Buddha and prostrating, have many, many feelings in their hearts, and tears unconsciously flow. Or upon reading Buddhist sutras, deeply moved, tears also flow. When the wind blows outside and hits the eyes, tears flow out. These tears all belong to the internal water element. Where does the internal water element come from? Originally, there were no tears in the eyes; when external conditions stimulate, tears appear. Where do the tears come from? When the water dries, where do the tears go?

Original Text: Moreover, when this world is destroyed, great black clouds arise, thirty-two layers thick, covering the entire three-thousandfold great thousand world system, pouring down torrential rain with drops as large as elephants, day and night continuously pouring without cease. Such a period lasts for fifty kalpas. The water accumulates and fills up to the Brahmā world. Great King, from where does this external water element come?

Explanation: Moreover, when the three-thousandfold great thousand world system is destroyed, thirty-two layers of black clouds descend from the sky, covering the three-thousandfold great thousand world system. Then raindrops as large as elephants fall, day and night pouring down without stopping, lasting a full fifty kalpas. The water fills up the desire realm heavens, rising up to the form realm heavens. Great King, where does this external water element come from?

The external water element is the water element outside the body, such as the moisture and moistening nature contained within the universe, empty space, mountains, rivers, and the great earth. For example, when the three-thousandfold great thousand world system is about to be destroyed, the water disaster appears. Great black clouds arise in the sky, thirty-two layers thick, very dense and heavy, layers wrapped together, about to pour down heavy rain. Thirty-two layers of black clouds cover the entire three-thousandfold great thousand world system. The three-thousandfold great thousand world system contains one billion earths, one billion Mount Sumerus, the six desire heavens, and the first dhyāna heaven—all one billion—countless celestial bodies, all covered by the black clouds. Then raindrops as large as elephants fall, spreading throughout the entire three-thousandfold great thousand world system in empty space, submerging the heavenly realms.

By then, humans on earth have long been extinct; the earth has already been destroyed. The fire disaster has destroyed Jambudvīpa and the desire realm heavens. Within the desire realm, there are no humans, heavenly beings, or living beings existing. From the earth to the six desire heavens, it is all empty space, yet rain falls in empty space, raining for fifty kalpas. One kalpa, calculated as a small kalpa, is 16.8 million years; fifty kalpas are 840 million years. The rainwater submerges even empty space, rising up to the first and second dhyāna heavens. This is how the world is destroyed. Such vast amounts of water all belong to the external water element. When the water comes, it has no source. When the water recedes, where does it go? Where such vast amounts of water recede to becomes problematic; wherever it goes, it submerges that place.

When sentient beings first enter the womb, the fertilized ovum has no water. As the ālaya-vijñāna gradually enlarges the fertilized ovum, water is contained within it. Where does that water come from? When sentient beings die, the water element within the body vanishes; where does the water go? The water element comes from nowhere and goes nowhere—this is the Śrāvaka explanation. From the Mahāyāna perspective, where does the water element come from? Actually, it comes from the ālaya-vijñāna. Mahāyāna teaches that all dharmas come from the ālaya-vijñāna. Śrāvakas teach that all dharmas are empty, coming from nowhere and going nowhere. These are explanations from two different levels of the teachings.

All dharmas are formed from nothingness and return to nothingness after destruction, not even dust remains, not even the smallest quark particle. The world is this illusory. Since such a vast world can be destroyed, sentient beings cannot cling to it, let alone their tiny bodies, which are even easier to destroy. Therefore, all dharmas are extremely illusory and unreal. The entire process of sentient beings' life formation, from nothingness to a fertilized ovum, to birth, growing from a child to an adult, to the dispersal of the material body shell at life's end—what remains? Nothing remains, only a little ash. Over time, even the ash vanishes. Who can find the ashes of a past life? They cannot be found. Therefore, the entire five aggregates life body, the entire universe and empty space, are all empty; they cannot be clung to.

Original Text: Moreover, when this world is about to be destroyed, two suns appear. After two suns appear, small rivers and springs all dry up. When three suns appear, the four rivers flowing from Lake Anavatapta also dry up. When four suns appear, the waters of the great ocean decrease by one yojana, or two, or three, gradually decreasing to ten yojanas, or twenty yojanas, successively drying up to eighty yojanas, with some water remaining, perhaps as deep as a tāla tree, or as deep as the chest, or as deep as a cow's hoof print, or even water as shallow as the surface of a finger. At that time, the waters of the great ocean are completely dry, utterly exhausted without remainder.

Explanation: When the Sahā world is about to be destroyed, two suns appear. In summer, beings cannot endure one sun, let alone two suns. When two suns appear, small rivers and small spring ponds dry up. When three suns appear, the four great rivers flowing from Lake Anavatapta also dry up. When four suns appear, the waters of the four great oceans decrease by one yojana (a unit of measurement in India, representing a league; one yojana is approximately forty miles). The four great oceans refer to the four great oceans beneath our earth, not on earth. Lake Anavatapta is also not on earth; both are immeasurably larger than earth.

The seawater on earth has long vanished. The waters of the four great oceans continuously decrease, decreasing by two yojanas, three yojanas, ten yojanas, twenty yojanas, up to eighty yojanas. Finally, only a little water remains, as deep as the height of a tree. It decreases further to water only reaching the chest of a human body, then decreases to water like that in a cow's hoof print, and finally only enough to cover the flat surface of a finger. The four great oceans, immeasurably larger than our earth, are dried by the sun to only the water in a cow's hoof print, and then to water barely covering the surface of a finger, until completely dry. The great earth becomes parched, without a trace of moisture.

When the four great oceans first formed, where did the water come from? There was no source. Finally, most of the four great oceans evaporate; where does the evaporated water go? Does it go into empty space? If empty space contained that much water, it couldn't hold it; if empty space had water, it wouldn't be called empty space; it would be called a great ocean. Therefore, the great ocean water vanishes without any place to go. The water element is this illusory, coming from nowhere and going nowhere, from emptiness to emptiness. The entire three-thousandfold great thousand world system is this illusory; the buddha-lands of the ten directions are also this illusory, arising and ceasing, ceasing and arising; all cannot be clung to. The nature of the water element, when born, is empty from the beginning; when destroyed, it is also empty; from emptiness to emptiness, nothing remains.

Original Text: Great King, this characteristic of the water element arises from nowhere and ceases to nowhere. When born, it is empty from the beginning; when destroyed, it is also empty. Because its intrinsic nature is empty, it has no male characteristic, nor female characteristic. It is merely displayed through verbal expression. Thus, the water element and the nature of the water element are both unobtainable. Only the Buddha's correct wisdom can fully comprehend this.

Explanation: Great King, this characteristic of the water element is itself empty; its intrinsic nature is also empty. If the intrinsic nature were not empty, then when water arises, it would have a source, and when it dries up, it would certainly have a destination. However, when the water element arises, it has no source; when it ceases, it has no destination. When the water element arises, it is empty; when it ceases, it is empty. Because the intrinsic nature of the water element is empty, the water element nature itself has no male characteristic nor female characteristic. However, when the water element forms the material body, male and female characteristics appear. Thus, male and female characteristics are also illusory and empty. Humans merely use language to express and display male and female characteristics; there is no actual male or female characteristic. Therefore, it is said that the water element and the nature of the water element are both unobtainable. Only the Buddha's profound great wisdom can fully comprehend these principles.

The water element originally has no male or female characteristics; it has no characteristics at all, yet it manifests a characteristic from nothingness. This proves that all characteristics are illusory. Why can these characteristics appear? Because there are karma seeds, seeds of characteristics. The ālaya-vijñāna, based on karma seeds, manifests male and female characteristics and all worldly characteristics. If it is a male karma seed, the ālaya-vijñāna outputs earth, water, fire, and wind seeds to form a male characteristic. If it is a female karma seed, the ālaya-vijñāna outputs the four great element natures—earth, water, fire, and wind—to create a female material form. Originally, earth, water, fire, and wind have no characteristics; the ālaya-vijñāna also has no characteristics. Yet the manifested material body has different appearances; these appearances are illusory and unreal. Because characteristics are conjured; originally non-existent, they later vanish, transforming from nothingness into a characteristic and back to nothingness. Therefore, characteristics are illusory.

The ālaya-vijñāna has no characteristics; the four great element natures—earth, water, fire, and wind—also have no characteristics. There is neither human characteristic, nor heavenly being's material form characteristic, nor male nor female characteristic, nor animal characteristic, nor hungry ghost characteristic, nor hell being's material form characteristic, nor asura's material form characteristic. However, when the four great element seeds form the material body, they gradually create a characteristic. Human characteristics, animal characteristics, male and female characteristics, the characteristics of beings in the six destinies are manifested. The ālaya-vijñāna does not randomly and chaotically manifest characteristics without pattern; it manifests based on the karma seeds contained within the mind essence.

Therefore, we should not complain about how imperfect or unsatisfactory our own material body is. Instead, we should ask ourselves why we have a female body, a sickly body, why our appearance is not dignified. If we want to complain, complain about the actions we performed in past lives. What kind of appearance we have in this life is determined by the karma we created in the past. Therefore, if we want to have a good appearance, we must create good karma. Which appearance is the best? It is the Buddha's thirty-two major marks and eighty minor marks of excellence; this is the best, purest, and most majestic appearance. But truly attaining an excellent appearance is not easy. One must continuously create good karma, continuously eliminate evil karma and defiled karma, and finally create vast amounts of pure karma that is neither good nor evil. Only then can one become a Buddha and possess the Buddha's perfect marks of excellence. Merely creating good karma to be born in heaven is insufficient; finally, one must create pure karma that is neither good nor evil; the mind must attain pure non-action to become a Buddha. At that time, one will possess the most perfect appearance.

The nature of the water element is unobtainable. If one wishes to retain the water element within the material body, can it be retained? It cannot be retained. All dharmas within the material body are unobtainable; all are empty. Sentient beings cannot grasp or cling to them. Therefore, when life ends and the four great elements decompose, the water element also decomposes. Sentient beings wish to cling to it and keep it within the material body, but it cannot be retained. This water element and the nature of the water element are both unobtainable. Only the Buddha's wisdom can fully comprehend this. The wisdom of sentient beings is insufficient; they can only understand a small part and then expound this small part to sentient beings. Sentient beings cannot fully understand the three baskets and twelve divisions of the Buddha's teachings, let alone realize them all, not to mention the dharmas the Buddha has not yet expounded. Therefore, the wisdom of sentient beings is still very far from the Buddha's wisdom.