What Are the Symptoms of an Imbalance of the Four Great Elements?

When the four great elements are out of balance, a hundred illnesses arise; all illnesses of the material body are caused by the imbalance of the four great elements. The causes of this imbalance are twofold: one is karmic obstructions, and the other is the environment one encounters later in life. When the four great elements are disharmonious, it means the composition of the seeds of the four great elements has changed, and the body will undergo corresponding changes, manifesting various illnesses. An imbalance in a single element alone can give rise to illnesses corresponding to it. For example, an imbalance of the water element means that the water in the body is either too much or too little, and whether the water's composition is excessive or deficient, it will cause illnesses such as edema, dry skin, kidney disease, eczema, dermatitis, thick blood, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and other water-related illnesses. An imbalance of the wind element can cause wind-related illnesses, such as diseases of the respiratory system, urticaria, rheumatism, and so on. An imbalance of the fire element can cause fire-related illnesses, such as disorders of bodily heat and cold, chills, high fever, low fever, and the like. An imbalance of the earth element can cause illnesses related to the hardness and supportive quality of earth, such as calcium deficiency, weakness of the limbs, physical frailty, hunched back, aching all over the body, and so forth. When one element is out of balance, a hundred illnesses spring up—how much more so when all four great elements are out of balance, resulting in layers upon layers of illness and obstruction. In sum, these are all karmic retributions brought about by the karma that sentient beings have created over beginningless kalpas; only in rare cases are they caused by occasional changes in the external environment to which the body temporarily fails to adapt; most are illnesses of karmic obstruction. Whether it is an illness of karmic obstruction or one triggered by occasional environmental discomfort, the change is brought about by the tathāgatagarbha: the seeds of the four great elements are transmitted from the tathāgatagarbha, and when their proportions and composition change, the material body undergoes corresponding changes. The change in the composition of the seeds of the four great elements is decided by the tathāgatagarbha as the master. Upon what does the tathāgatagarbha base its decision to alter the output of the seeds of the four great elements? One is the karmic seeds: the tathāgatagarbha can discern karmic seeds, and its functioning must proceed in accordance with karmic seeds. The other is the environment contacted by the material body, because the tathāgatagarbha can discern the faculties of the body and the environment of the material world; relying on these, the tathāgatagarbha continually alters the structure of the seeds of the four great elements in accordance with the environment and the bodily faculties. In this way, the body is constantly undergoing all kinds of changes. The material body of every sentient being changes moment by moment in just this way—none does not change—and all of it is brought about by one's own tathāgatagarbha.