Elements Meditation

The world is made up of four physical elements—earth, water, fire, and air—plus one or two intangible ones, depending on perspective: ether, or emptiness and consciousness. This meditation practice focuses on these elements, both inside and outside the body.

What is the human body? From our view of existence, it is “me.” But in reality, the body is only skin and bones, blood and breath. It is made from the very same elements as the rocks and rivers that surround us. As the Bible says, “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” Elements meditation brings that idea into focus. It helps us understand our own impermanence, and in the process, let go of the ego that tells us we are separate from the outside world. It corrects imbalances in the mind and body and reconnects us with the universal flow of nature. “When we relate to the elements—the natural world and our bodies and minds—as sacred, they become sacred,” Tibetan Buddhist teacher Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche writes. “This is not just a psychological trick. It’s a recognition of our real situation.”

Earth, water, fire, and air coexist harmoniously in both our internal and external environments, and they occur in different ratios in each person. The earth element can be experienced by touch—it’s the sensation of hardness or softness. Fire element is identified by temperature, and it can be either hot or cold. Movement is the expression of the air element, while water is more ambiguous; its property is cohesion, the glue that holds the other elements together. The fifth element, ether, is the material of space, the essence of emptiness.

The ancient cultures of Greece, India, Tibet, Japan, Egypt, and Babylonia all included the elements in their beliefs about the physical world. So did China, through five elements that are more energetic than material in nature. While Aristotle’s viewpoint shaped the West, Eastern systems defined the region’s medical and spiritual practices. The Chândogya Upanishad, a Hindu text written sometime between the sixth and eighth century BCE, established the first Indian concept of elements. In Hinduism, elemental meditation techniques such as Laya Yoga attribute each realm to certain deities, and there’s a slightly different interpretation of the fifth element, akasa—ether, also known as sky or clear space—from its Buddhist counterpart, which is better understood as emptiness or void. Meditation techniques from both traditions share the goal of shedding the body of its individuality and uniting it with the Earth’s greater consciousness.

There’s a primordial universality behind elements meditation, since all cultures, particularly Indigenous ones, can trace their roots to a reverent relationship with nature. The internal-external movement of energy feels harmonizing and grounding. Even though there is a spiritual aspect to the practice, it’s also an exercise in becoming more attuned to earthly life.

“When the elements are out of balance, it’s difficult to do meditative practice and we are more likely to experience illness, agitation, dullness, or distraction,” Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche explains. “When the elements are balanced, it’s easier to abide in the nature of mind, in the buddha-nature, which is the final method and goal of the spiritual journey.” Elements meditation is an excellent antidote to the stress and disconnection we often feel in modern-day life. Aligning our minds with the cosmos can also be a catalyst for creativity.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health identifies four shared components of successful meditation techniques: a quiet location with few distractions; a specific, comfortable posture; a focus of attention; and an open attitude to whatever arises. Elements meditation embodies these components, resulting in scientifically proven benefits including lower blood pressure, improved pain reactions, and relief from anxiety and other psychological issues.

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Elements meditation can be learned independently, preferably in a natural setting. Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s organization, the Ligmincha Institute, periodically teaches online courses on the five elements practices of Bon Buddhism, Tibet’s oldest spiritual discipline.

The Ligmincha Institute course costs $265.

From a positive state of mind, we systematically direct our attention to each of the five elements, spending about five minutes apiece noticing first how they manifest and function in our body, and then how they exist in the outside world. During this reflection, deeper understanding arises—the connection between our environment and ourselves, and the impermanence of our physical existence. Our step-by-step guided meditation is available on this page.

Anyone can practice this meditation, and it provides good foundation for other techniques.

The best-known teachers and authors in this field include:

Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
(www.ligmincha.org/tenzin-wangyal-rinpoche)
Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw
(www.paaukforestmonastery.org/abbot)
Bhikkhu Sopako Boddhi
(www.vipassanadhura.com)

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