解脫道論 觀四大總說與略廣取界

The cultivation of contemplation of the four elements is that “the mind remains without distraction”; its characteristic is continual contemplation of the four elements; its flavor is penetrating emptiness; and its arising is removing the perception of a being. At the beginning of the brief grasping, the text expressly says that the meditator enters a secluded place, sits, gathers the whole mind, and keeps it undistracted. The shared conclusion occurs three times: there are only elements, no being and no life.

The great elements are grasped in two ways, briefly and in detail. In the first account of brief grasping, moisture is paired with water, heat with fire, sustaining with earth, and motion with wind. “Another account” discerns through four modes relying on the membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones, then knows the four natures of hardness, moisture, heat, and motion. Detailed grasping lists the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. The earth list is headed as twenty but actually contains twenty-one items; water has twelve, fire four, and wind six. Thus the treatise’s total heading is forty-two, while adding the actually listed items gives forty-three. Both numbers remain present.

The merits are headed as eight, but the base punctuation divides the list into only seven discernible items; whether 能堪恐怖樂不樂 should be divided into two remains unresolved. The end cites the elder masters: “the four elements should be contemplated through ten modes,” but then actually lists nine—verbal meaning, matter, aggregation, dispersal, nonattachment, condition, characteristic, same kind and different kind, and one meaning and various meanings. This account records the source order and the mismatched counts without repair.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Contemplating the Four Elements: Overview and Brief and Detailed Grasping of the Elements · Doorway · Summer 2026

The Questions and Definition

Question: What is contemplation of the four elements? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its flavor? What is its arising? What merits does it have? How is it cultivated in practice?

Answer: The treatise defines contemplation of the four elements through 擇智自相內四大. The division of this phrase is unsettled; the relations among “discerning knowledge,” “own-characteristic,” and “the four internal elements” cannot be determined. The original terms are therefore preserved without imposing a sentence division. For the mind of this contemplation to remain without distraction is called cultivation. Continually contemplating the four elements is its characteristic, penetrating emptiness is its flavor, and removing the perception of a being is its arising.

Eight Merits

The treatise says that successful cultivation of contemplation of the four elements brings eight merits. The base text next has 能堪恐怖樂不樂. Its punctuation does not determine whether “being able to endure fear” and “happiness and unhappiness” form one item or two. The other items expressly listed are: accomplishing a mind of equality toward what is lovely and unlovely; removing thoughts of male and female; accomplishing great wisdom; tending toward a good destination; tending toward the cream of the teaching; and bringing to fulfillment in cultivation every 明分法, “quality belonging to clear discernment.” 明分法 is the treatise’s own expression and receives no further explanation here.

Two Ways of Grasping the Elements

As for the concrete cultivation, the beginning meditator grasps the great elements in two ways: briefly and in detail.

Grasping the Great Elements Briefly

Question: How are the great elements grasped briefly?

Answer: The meditator enters a secluded place, sits, gathers the whole mind, and keeps it undistracted. This body may be designated through the four great elements. The treatise next reads 於此身一切見界, followed by moisture as the water element, heat as the fire element, sustaining as the earth element, and motion as the wind element. Thus, in this body there are only elements, no being and no life. In this way the elements are grasped briefly.

Another Account

Another account says that, when the meditator grasps the elements briefly, the body is first discerned by relying on the membrane—through color, shape, location, or discernment.

After grasping the elements briefly, the meditator again discerns the nature of the whole body by relying on the membrane, through color, shape, location, or discernment. The flesh is then used to discern the body, likewise through those four aspects.

After discerning the whole body by relying on the flesh, the meditator may again view it through color, shape, location, or discernment. Next, the whole body is discerned by relying on the vessels, still through those four aspects; after the whole body has been discerned by relying on the vessels, the original repeats all four aspects.

From there the meditator discerns the whole body by relying on the bones, again through color, shape, location, or discernment.

The original then speaks twice of subduing the mind, making it gentle, and causing sustaining through these four modes. The first statement is 以此四行伏心，令伏作軟心，令心受持; the second is 以四行伏心已、作軟已，令受持. How 令伏作軟心 is divided, and who sustains what in the two occurrences of 令受持, are not explained. This rendering therefore preserves the sequence of the two sets of actions without deciding their syntax or distribution.

Within these four modes, when a hard nature is encountered it is known as the earth element; a moist nature is known as the water element; a hot nature as the fire element; and a moving nature as the wind element. Through these four modes, the meditator sees only elements, no being and no life. The original then has 以比餘行成住. Neither the meaning of 比 nor the attachment of “other modes” and “accomplishes abiding” is settled. This is the brief grasping of the elements.

Grasping the Elements in Detail

How are the elements grasped in detail?

The earth element is grasped in detail through twenty modes. In this body are hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, vessels, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, 胇, spleen, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, 胞, feces, and brain.

The treatise labels the list “twenty modes,” but from hair of the head through brain it actually contains twenty-one items. The stated count and the full list are both retained; no item is removed.

The water element is grasped in detail through twelve modes. In this body are gall, saliva, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, water, saliva and nasal mucus, phlegm, and urine.

The fire element is grasped in detail through four modes: heat, warmth, mild warmth, and 平等消飲食噉甞. This is called the fire element.

The wind element is grasped in detail through six modes: upward wind, downward wind, wind depending on the abdomen, wind depending on the back, wind depending on the parts of the body, and the wind of in-breath and out-breath.

The treatise concludes, “through forty-two modes one sees this body.” If the earth-element list is counted according to its heading as twenty, the four elements total forty-two. If its actually listed twenty-one items are counted, they total forty-three. Both numbers are preserved without changing the source. Thus one sees that in this body there are only elements, no being and no life. In this way the elements have been grasped in detail.

The Elder Masters’ Heading of Ten Modes

Again, the elder masters say that the four elements should be contemplated through ten modes, but the text actually lists nine: verbal meaning, matter, aggregation, dispersal, nonattachment, condition, characteristic, same kind and different kind, and one meaning and various meanings. The heading says ten while the list has nine; no additional item is supplied. The final sentence is 以界釋第一，以言語義章. Its syntax and the meaning of 章 here remain unresolved, so the source expression is preserved.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Contemplating the Four Elements: Overview and Brief and Detailed Grasping of the Elements · Vernacular · Summer 2026

At this point the “Chapter on Ways of Practice” turns to contemplation of the four elements. First set out the structure. The first paragraph uses seven questions to give a general account of the definition, cultivation, characteristic, flavor, arising, and merits of contemplating the four elements, and says that the beginning meditator grasps the great elements in two ways, briefly and in detail. The second paragraph first answers brief grasping, then introduces “another account” with four modes relying on membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones, next answers detailed grasping, and finally cites the elder masters’ heading of ten modes for contemplating the four elements. The first account of brief grasping, the account of the four modes, and detailed grasping all close with “there are only elements, no being and no life.” This eight-character statement is the shared conclusion that can be established. The passage does not say that adjacent doorways form a system of cooling and warming one another, so inference imported from another unit does not replace this passage’s self-contained order.

The three occurrences of the conclusion stand in different positions. The first follows the four pairings of moisture with water, heat with fire, sustaining with earth, and motion with wind, and closes with “in this way the elements are grasped briefly.” The second follows subduing the mind, making it gentle, sustaining, and knowing the elements through the four modes relying on membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones; after it come 以比餘行成住 and again “in this way the elements are grasped briefly.” The third follows the four lists for earth, water, fire, and wind and is followed by “in this way the elements have been grasped in detail.” The same sentence thus seals the first account of brief grasping, the “another account” of brief grasping, and detailed grasping respectively. This threefold correspondence is the passage’s clearest structure.

Overview: Seven Questions and the Heading of Eight Merits

“Question: What is contemplation of the four elements? How is it cultivated? What is its characteristic? What is its flavor? What is its arising? What merits does it have? How is it cultivated in practice?”〔T32 438b25–26〕. The seven questions concern, in sequence, contemplation, cultivation, characteristic, flavor, arising, merits, and practical cultivation. The answer first says 擇智自相內四大，此謂觀四大〔T32 438b26〕. The syntax of 擇智自相內四大 remains unresolved, so only the three source expressions “discerning knowledge,” “own-characteristic,” and “the four internal elements” can be preserved; ordinary terminological expectations cannot turn it into another meditation practice. The next sentence, “For that mind to remain without distraction is called cultivation,” directly gives the definition of cultivation. The following three answer item by item: “Continually contemplating the four elements is its characteristic, penetrating emptiness is its flavor, and removing the perception of a being is its arising”〔T32 438b27–28〕. The beginning of brief grasping separately says that the meditator “enters a secluded place, sits, gathers the whole mind, and keeps it undistracted”〔T32 428c04／429a16–17／429b09／432c22–23／437b26–27／438c05〕. Both the general account and the sitting formula in brief grasping must be retained.

Of the seven questions, “How is it cultivated?” asks for the definition of cultivation, while the final “How is it cultivated in practice?” asks for the actual method. The former is answered by the mind’s remaining without distraction; the latter by grasping the great elements in the two ways of brief and detailed treatment. Each use of “cultivation” thus receives its own answer.

The sequence of the following questions and answers can likewise be checked sentence by sentence. The general account ends with “The beginning meditator grasps the great elements in two ways: briefly and in detail.” The next question asks specifically how they are grasped briefly. After the two presentations of brief grasping have been answered, the text asks how they are grasped in detail. Only after detailed grasping has concluded does “Again, the elder masters say” introduce the list of nine expressions.

The merits first have the heading “eight merits.” The text then says: 能堪恐怖樂不樂，於可愛非可愛成平等心，除男女意思，成大智慧，向善趣、向醍醐，其所有明分法，彼一切成滿修行〔T32 438b29–438c03〕. Under the present base punctuation, this can be divided into seven items. Only by dividing “being able to endure fear” from “happiness and unhappiness” would the count become eight. The base places no separator there, so both ways of counting remain and no unique punctuation is imposed. Each phrase can only be listed as it stands: 能堪恐怖樂不樂; accomplishing a mind of equality toward what is lovely and unlovely; removing thoughts of male and female; accomplishing great wisdom; tending toward a good destination; tending toward the cream of the teaching; and bringing all 明分法 to fulfillment in cultivation. The attachment of “happiness and unhappiness” and the specific referent of 明分法 are not explained here. They therefore cannot support an invented causal mechanism involving fear, desire, or daily application. The answer to the final question, “How is it cultivated in practice?”, is that the beginning meditator grasps the great elements in two ways, one brief and one detailed〔T32 438c03–04〕. This is the express heading for the two methods in the next paragraph.

Brief Grasping: The First Account and “Another Account”

The first account of brief grasping begins with the sitting formula: “The meditator enters a secluded place, sits, gathers the whole mind, and keeps it undistracted”〔T32 438c04–05〕. Entering the secluded place and sitting, gathering the whole mind, and keeping it undistracted are the complete wording that opens this account. The next statement, “This body may be designated through the four great elements,” does not mean weighing the body on a scale. The base next has “all sees element” in this body and lists moisture as the water element, heat as the fire element, sustaining as the earth element, and motion as the wind element〔T32 438c05–07〕. The four natures and four elements are paired explicitly. The conclusion is: “Thus, in this body there are only elements, no being and no life. In this way the elements are grasped briefly”〔T32 438c07–08〕. The four other witnesses differ greatly at two connected points, but the main text still follows the Taishō base; the variants remain only in the critical notes.

The answer proceeds through four layers: the sitting formula, designation of the body, pairing four natures with four elements, and the conclusion that there are only elements. All belong to the first account under the question “How are the great elements grasped briefly?”

“Another account” discerns the body through four modes relying on membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones. For membrane, it first says “discern by relying on the body’s membrane,” then “discern the nature of the whole body by relying on the membrane”; each sentence is followed by “through color, shape, location, or discernment.” For flesh, it likewise has “discern this body by relying on flesh” and “having discerned the whole body by relying on flesh.” For vessels, it has “discern the whole body by relying on the vessels” and “having discerned the whole body by relying on the vessels.” Bones receive only one sentence: “From here, again discern the whole body by relying on the bones”〔T32 438c08–19〕. The repeated four-part formula therefore occurs seven times: twice each with membrane, flesh, and vessels, and once with bones. The forms are not uniform. The text marks only “another account.” It places the two presentations of brief grasping side by side, but makes no classification by practitioner type and gives no rule for moving upward or downward between them.

The seven instances of the repeated formula attach as follows. The first belongs to “discern by relying on the body’s membrane”; the second to “discern the nature of the whole body by relying on the membrane”; the third to “discern this body by relying on flesh”; the fourth to “having discerned the whole body by relying on flesh”; the fifth to “discern the whole body by relying on the vessels”; the sixth to “having discerned the whole body by relying on the vessels”; and the seventh to “from here, again discern the whole body by relying on the bones.” Every occurrence contains all four aspects—color, shape, location, and discernment—for twenty-eight introductions by “through.” The membrane, flesh, and vessel sections each have both an unfinished and an “having discerned” form, while the bone section has only the form of discerning. This irregularity belongs to the source’s own structure.

After the four-mode discernment, the treatise twice writes of subduing the mind, making it gentle, and causing sustaining. It first says, “Within these four modes, through these four modes subdue the mind; cause subduing, make the mind gentle, cause the mind to sustain.” It then says, “Having subdued the mind through the four modes and having made it gentle, cause sustaining”〔T32 438c21–22〕. This is the sequence expressly stated within this account; it cannot be generalized into a universal preliminary for every doorway of practice. The four elements are then known through the four modes: when there is hardness, know it as the earth element; when there is moisture, know it as the water element; when there is heat, know it as the fire element; when there is motion, know it as the wind element〔T32 438c22–24〕. The conclusion remains “there are only elements, no being and no life,” followed by 以比餘行成住 and “in this way the elements are grasped briefly”〔T32 438c24–26〕. The two presentations may neutrally be described as direct pairing of four natures with the elements and four-mode discernment through membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones. No classification of practitioners or necessary sequence is added beyond that.

Detailed Grasping: The Four Element Lists and Two Mismatched Counts

Detailed grasping first asks “How are the elements grasped in detail?” and then lists modes under earth, water, fire, and wind. The earth element has the heading “grasped in detail through twenty modes,” but the exact list is hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, vessels, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, 胇, spleen, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, 胞, feces, and brain—twenty-one items〔T32 438c26–28〕. The stated count and actual list therefore differ by one. All four other witnesses read 肺 for 胇; the main text retains the base 胇. Only the mismatch of twenty and twenty-one can be disclosed. No item may be removed to repair the count, nor may one be silently merged with another.

The water element is headed as twelve modes, and its list—gall, saliva, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, water, saliva and nasal mucus, phlegm, and urine—contains exactly twelve〔T32 438c28–439a01〕. 唾 and 唾涕 occur separately and remain two items. The fire element is headed as four modes: heat, warmth, mild warmth, and 平等消飲食噉甞, followed by “this is called the fire element”〔T32 439a02／445c19–20〕. The list agrees with its count, but the old phrase 平等消飲食噉甞 is retained rather than transformed into a modern physiological explanation. The wind element is headed as six modes: upward wind, downward wind, wind depending on the abdomen, wind depending on the back, wind depending on the parts of the body, and the wind of in-breath and out-breath; it likewise has six items〔T32 439a02–04〕. All four lists are read under their original names and counts. Their items are not converted into everyday prescriptions, and another unit is not borrowed to explain their functions.

After the four lists, the passage says: “Thus, through forty-two modes one sees that in this body there are only elements, no being and no life. In this way the elements have been grasped in detail”〔T32 439a04–05〕. If the earth element is counted according to its stated twenty, then twenty plus water’s twelve, fire’s four, and wind’s six equals forty-two. If its actually listed twenty-one is counted, the total is forty-three. The stated forty-two and listed forty-three therefore coexist. Forty-two follows from adding the headings; forty-three follows from counting each actual item. The passage does not decide which should be taken. Neither calculation changes the third occurrence of “there are only elements, no being and no life.” In the original, brief and detailed grasping are the two ways by which the beginning meditator grasps the great elements. The former has two presentations, while the latter has four element lists. The text stops with the sitting formula, modes of discernment, lists of four elements, and shared conclusion.

Checking each of the four lists item by item, the earth element’s twenty-one may be divided into the first ten, from hair of the head through marrow, and the next eleven, from kidneys through brain. The water element’s twelve run from gall to urine, with 唾 and 唾涕 listed separately. The four fire items are each introduced by the same source formula: heat, warmth, mild warmth, and 平等消飲食噉甞. Among the six winds, the first two are upward and downward, the next three depend respectively on the abdomen, back, and body parts, and the final one is the wind of in-breath and out-breath. The earth-element heading differs by one, while the headings of water, fire, and wind agree with their actual lists. Adding the stated counts gives twenty plus twelve plus four plus six; adding the actual items gives twenty-one plus twelve plus four plus six. The former is forty-two and the latter forty-three, and each result has a textual basis.

The Elder Masters’ Heading: Nine Items Listed Under a Name of Ten Modes

After “Again, the elder masters say that the four elements should be contemplated through ten modes,” the text actually lists nine: verbal meaning, matter, aggregation, dispersal, nonattachment, condition, characteristic, same kind and different kind, and one meaning and various meanings〔T32 439a06–08〕. The heading says ten modes, but the body has only nine, one fewer. No new name may be supplied, nor may a compound item be split merely to reach ten. The final sentence 以界釋第一，以言語義章〔T32 439a08–09〕has unresolved syntax, and the meaning of 章 is unresolved; only the original sentence is retained. The following text does open, in sequence, doorways on verbal meaning, matter, aggregation, dispersal, inseparability, condition, characteristic, same kind and different kind, and one nature and various natures. Yet the fifth item in the elder masters’ heading here is “nonattachment,” while the fifth doorway actually explained below is “inseparability.” The two names do not agree, and each is retained in its own location.

The word “mode” attaches to several different things in this passage. In one place, the beginning meditator “grasps the great elements in two modes,” brief and detailed. “Another account” takes membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones as four modes. Detailed grasping then divides the earth element into twenty modes, water into twelve, fire into four, and wind into six. The elder masters, in turn, say that the four elements should be contemplated through ten modes. These counts belong to distinct lists and cannot be exchanged. The text’s organizational order is first brief grasping, then detailed grasping, then the elder masters’ account. It can be read as a written sequence with the names of its items; it cannot be turned into a compulsory practice prohibition absent from the text.

Take away three points. First, the overview opens with seven questions: its answer on contemplating the four elements preserves the unresolved syntax of 擇智自相內四大; cultivation is the mind’s remaining without distraction, the characteristic is continual contemplation of the four elements, the flavor is penetrating emptiness, and the arising is removing the perception of a being. The heading of eight merits does not agree with the seven items distinguishable under the base punctuation. Second, brief grasping has a first account pairing four natures with four elements and “another account” using the four modes of membrane, flesh, vessels, and bones. Both close with “there are only elements, no being and no life,” and the text does not classify the practitioners for whom each applies. Third, detailed grasping heads the earth element as twenty while listing twenty-one; thus, if the stated total of forty-two is recalculated from the actual items, it becomes forty-three. The elder masters likewise head their account as ten modes while listing nine. These mismatches are disclosed exactly, without deletion, addition, or reordering. This passage supports the definitions, lists, conclusions, and unresolved points stated above—and no more.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Contemplating the Four Elements: Overview and Brief and Detailed Grasping of the Elements · Exposition · Summer 2026