Mother Nature is made of five elements. Everything we see and touch is made out of these five elements. Even city streets and buses are made of elements.
space, or awareness
air: light
fire: light, speedy
water: heavy, responsive
earth: heavy, slow
That includes everything that goes through our heart and emotions, and mind and thoughts. Those are all part of nature, made of elemental forces.
Space, awareness,
Air, thoughts,
Fire, creativity and active, action and creativity,
Water, emotions,
Earth, what we see and touch
when we’re among the 10,000 things, we can become confused, and we can start believing we are separate from nature and my ego is more important than your ego.
When we see everything in terms of those elements, that lie within the 10,000 things, we know where and what we are. Life becomes simple. the solutions become simple.
We also know what we can do. Value all the elements equally, and balance them so they function well.
Elements are often represented in Tibetan Buddhism as dancing dakinis. Elements always move and dance together; you don’t find them separately. That’s their nature, to move and change.
The recipe expresses the fundamental principles that are easy to learn from the elements.
Not all of us feel these days that we’re part of nature. When we realise we’re made of elements, like everything else, it’s all much easier to see.
I use the Buddhist system of elements I was trained in. They are found, with variations, all across the world.