Four primary elements
The four primary elements (Tib. འབྱུང་བ་ཆེན་པོ་བཞི་, jungwa chenpo shyi, Wyl. byung ba chen po bzhi) are
- earth,
- water,
- fire and
- air.
- Earth is what provides support and stability;
- water is the principle of cohesion;
- fire matures; and
- wind prevents decay.
In addition, space is all-pervasive openness in which phenomena can take place—if it were not for space, a plant could not grow.