Dear Friends,
Another way to contemplate body, as specified in the Satipatthana Sutta, is in terms of the elements:
And further, monks, a monk reflects on this very body, however it be placed or disposed, by way of the material elements: “There are in this body the element of earth, the element of water, the element of fire, the element of wind.”
Why would we contemplate the body in this way? I like this description from Ajaan Lee of :
Think of this analysis, not as an attempt at biology or chemistry — the sciences we use to analyze the body from the outside — but as a way of analyzing how the body feels from the inside.
In Awake in the Wild, Mark Coleman offers this explanation:
We can come to better know our connection with all life forms by considering the universal elements of life: earth, fire, water, and air. These elements infuse every one of our cells.
There’s also a dharma talk by Andrea Fella on Mindfulness of the Body and the Four Elements (~38 minutes) that covers similar ideas:
https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/1946.html
When doing a contemplation of the elements, Mark Coleman recommends, “The ideal setting would be a location where you can sit on the ground near a source of water (ocean, creek, lake, snow, etc.) on a sunny day, so that you can have access to all four elements at once.”
The first time I was guided through a body scan in terms of the elements was in a grassy field, a few hundred meters from the ocean, with a weak May sun peering through some mist, as a light breeze provided lift for the hummingbirds and flies. Mark is right: that is an ideal setting!
On this January day, when Saskatoon is under an extreme cold warning, it’s probably not very reasonable to practice outside. Maybe you could spend some time in the Civic Conservatory instead. Or if you’d rather stay snugly at home, you could try to have some representations of the elements nearby for this meditation – a plant, a glass of water, a candle, etc.
Here’s my improvisation:
Water, rock (earth), candle (fire), … and bubble wrap (air!)
If you’d like to follow along with a guided exploration. here are few you could try:
Anne Cushman (~44 minutes): https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/224/talk/23194/ – talk and exploration
Bob Stahl (~37 minutes): https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/268/talk/29304/ – uses “motion” rather than “air”
Mark Nunberg (~24 minutes): https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/543/talk/29771/
With best wishes,
Andrea G