Saṃyuktāgama (289), Part 1

(1) Original text: Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the Bamboo Grove of Kalandaka near Rajagriha. At that time, the Blessed One addressed the monks: "The foolish, unlearned ordinary person becomes weary of, dispassionate towards, and seeks release from the body composed of the four great elements. But not so with consciousness. Why is that? Because they see that the body composed of the four great elements has increase and decrease, attachment and relinquishment. But towards the mind, mental consciousness, and mental faculty, the foolish, unlearned ordinary person cannot generate weariness, dispassion, or liberation. Why is that? For a long time, they have cherished this, bound themselves to it as 'I', grasped and clung to it, thinking 'This is mine, this is my self, this is what I am'. Therefore, the foolish, unlearned ordinary person cannot become weary of it, cannot develop dispassion or seek release from it."

Explanation: The Buddha told the monks: Ordinary people who are foolish regarding the Dharma of liberation and have heard little about it can develop a mind of weariness towards their physical body composed of the four great elements, can relinquish the various desires for the body, can abandon the body, and cease to cling to it. But towards the conscious mind, it is not like this; they cannot relinquish desire or abandon it. Why is this? Because ordinary people can see that the body composed of the four great elements undergoes increase and decrease, is subject to change, is impermanent, and is not fixed. Therefore, they can become attached to the body or relinquish it.

However, towards their own mind, mental consciousness, and mental faculty, foolish, unlearned ordinary people cannot generate a mind of weariness, cannot relinquish desire or attain liberation. Why is this? Because throughout the long night of birth and death, they have cherished their own consciousness particularly dearly, binding themselves to the conscious mind as 'I', grasping and clinging, saying this is 'me', this is 'mine', 'I am in the consciousness', 'the consciousness is in me', 'I and consciousness mutually exist'. Therefore, it is said that foolish, unlearned ordinary people are unable to develop weariness and dispassion towards the conscious mind, and cannot abandon the conscious mind.

The Buddha used terms like "foolish, unlearned ordinary person". Although some people may dislike hearing this, the Buddha was not insulting; he was stating a fact. Ordinary people are foolish and lacking in understanding. Not having heard the true Dharma, being deeply enveloped in ignorance, is what makes them foolish and unlearned. If they had heard and understood, their foolishness would be dispelled, and they would become wise.

The physical body is relatively easy for sentient beings to see through, because its arising, cessation, and changes are quite obvious. The physical body arises from the combination of the four great elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. The earth element has the nature of solidity, like muscles, bones, tendons, hair, nails, teeth, skin, etc. – all these substances possess solidity and thus contain the earth element seed. Without solidity, actions like walking, standing, sitting, and lying down would be impossible. The water element has the nature of moisture; the surface of the skin, internal organs, blood, sweat, urine, etc., all possess moisture and thus contain the water element seed. The fire element has the nature of warmth; both inside and outside the body there is temperature – this is the nature of fire, containing the fire element seed. After a person dies, the fire element is gone, and the corpse becomes cold. The wind element has the nature of mobility; breathing, the flow of blood, the movement of energy channels – these are all functions of the wind nature, containing the wind element seed. Without the wind nature, blood could not flow, and food could not be digested, absorbed, and excreted.

All material forms (rūpa) are composed of earth, water, fire, and wind combined in certain proportions. Whichever element predominates determines the primary nature of the substance. Different combinations of proportions result in different substances, hence the different organs and parts of the body. Not only our physical body, but all matter in the universe is composed of the four great elements. Different combinations of the four great elements form different substances. The objects of the six senses – forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and mental objects – are all composed of the four great elements and belong to material forms (rūpa), merely manifesting differently. The conscious mind that perceives these material forms is different. The seeds of the four great elements reside in the Tathagatagarbha. The Tathagatagarbha projects the seeds of the four great elements to form the physical body. Therefore, the physical body is born from the Tathagatagarbha.

The increase and decrease of the body, such as gaining or losing weight, the implantation or removal of body organs – these changes demonstrate that this body is false and insubstantial. Seeing through the arising, cessation, and changing nature of the physical body allows one to generate a mind of weariness, to relinquish desire and abandon it, no longer wishing to follow its lead, no longer seeking to cherish and protect it, realizing the body is insignificant – merely a false bag of skin, not the true self.