Samyukta Āgama (289), Part One

(1) Original text: 如是我闻。一时。佛住王舍城迦兰陀竹园。尔时。世尊告诸比丘。愚痴无闻凡夫于四大身厌患。离欲背舍。而非识。所以者何。见四大身。有增有减。有取有舍。而于心意识。愚痴无闻凡夫不能生厌。离欲解脱。所以者何。彼长夜于此保惜系我。若得若取。言是我我所相在。是故愚痴无闻凡夫。不能于彼生厌。离欲背舍。

Explanation: The Buddha told the bhikṣus: Worldly fools with no learning of the Dharma of liberation—ordinary beings who are foolish and without hearing—can give rise to revulsion toward the physical body composed of the four great elements, can leave behind desires for the body, and can turn away from and relinquish it, without concern for the body. But with regard to the conscious mind, they are not like this; they cannot leave behind desires and turn away from it. Why is this so? Because ordinary beings can see that the body composed of the four great elements undergoes increase and decrease, is impermanent, and is not fixed and unchanging; therefore they can grasp it or let it go.

But toward their own mind consciousness and manas, foolish ordinary beings without hearing cannot give rise to revulsion, cannot leave desires behind and attain liberation. Why is this so? Because throughout the long night of birth and death, they especially cherish their own consciousness, taking the conscious mind as the self and thereby generating bondage; they have attainments and graspings, saying "this is me, this is mine, I exist within consciousness, consciousness exists within me, and the self and consciousness mutually exist." Therefore foolish ordinary beings without hearing are unable to feel revulsion toward the conscious mind and leave desires behind, and cannot turn away from and relinquish the conscious mind.

The Buddha used words such as "foolish ordinary beings without hearing." Although some people do not like to hear them, the Buddha was not insulting anyone; the Buddha was stating a fact—ordinary beings are indeed foolish and without much hearing or learning. Those who have not heard the true Dharma and have deep ignorance are foolish and without hearing; if they had hearing and learning, their foolishness would be broken through and they would become wise.

The physical body is relatively easy for sentient beings to see through, because its arising, ceasing, and changes are rather obvious. The physical body arises from the combination of the four great seeds of earth, water, fire, and wind. The earth element has the property of hardness—materials such as muscles, bones, sinews, hair, nails, teeth, and skin all have hardness, and thus contain the earth element seed; without hardness, one could not walk, stand, sit, or lie down. The water element has the property of moisture—the skin on the body's surface, the internal organs, blood, sweat, urine, and so on all have wetness, and all contain the water element seed. The fire element has the property of warmth—there is temperature both inside and outside the body; this is the fire nature, containing the fire element seed. After a person dies, the fire element is gone, and the corpse is ice-cold. The wind element has the property of movement—breathing, the flow of blood, and the circulation of the qi meridians are all functions of the wind nature, containing the wind element seed; without the wind nature, blood could not flow, and food and drink could not flow, be digested, absorbed, or excreted.

All material form is composed of earth, water, fire, and wind combined in certain proportions. Whichever component is most abundant, the material is dominated by that property. With different proportions of combination, the resulting materials differ, and thus the organs of various parts of the body differ. Not only our physical bodies—all matter in the universe and the world is composed of the four great elements. With different proportions of the four elements combined, the resulting materials differ. The six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas are all composed of the four great elements and all belong to material form; it is only that their forms of manifestation differ, and the consciousnesses that discern material form differ accordingly. The four great seeds exist within the tathāgatagarbha, and the tathāgatagarbha delivers the four great seeds to form the physical body; therefore the physical body is brought forth by the tathāgatagarbha.

The body's changes of increase and decrease, such as becoming fat or thin, and the implantation and removal of bodily organs—these changes of increase and decrease show that this body is a false and unreal thing. Seeing through the arising, ceasing, and mutability of the physical body, one can give rise to revulsion, can also leave desires behind and turn away from and relinquish it, no longer wishing to comply with it, no longer wishing to cherish and protect it, feeling that the body does not matter—it is just a false bag of skin, not the real self.