Brief six : Major Project

Each of the four earthly elements has its natural place; the earth at the centre of the universe, then water, then air, then fire. When they are out of their natural place they have natural motion, requiring no external cause, which is towards that place; so bodies sink in water, air bubbles up, rain falls, flame rises in air. The heavenly element has perpetual circular motion.

Alchemy:
Alchemy is a major branch of Western occult science, but for many it is a most misunderstood and ridiculed subject. It is misunderstood by many because when hearing the purpose for transmutation of metals, transforming base metals such as copper and iron into gold, they are inclined to think alchemists were men trying to get rich quick. However, on the whole, this was not true; many alchemists were serious minded men practicing their art, or science.

The Aristotelian theory of the four elements of matter was based on a creation theory or myth. All matter was assumed to have come from prima materia, or prime matter, chaotic matter, which might only come into actual existence if impressed by "form." The "form" rose out of the chaos of prime matter forming the four elements: fire, air, eater, and earth. Creation by the god was the result of blending these "simple bodies" together in the correct proportions to produce the infinite varieties of life.

According to Aristotle, the four elements are distinguishable from one another by their "qualities." The four primary qualities are fluid or moist, dry, hot, and cold. Each element possesses two of the primary qualities while the other two are contraries and cannot be combined. Therefore, the four possible of paired qualities are: hot and dry = fire; hot and fluid (or moist) = air; cold and fluid = water; cold and dry = earth. In each element one quality predominates over the other: in earth it is dryness; in water it is cold; in air, fluidity; in fire, heat.
Transmutation supposedly was the obvious consequence of this theory: any element may be transformed into another through the quality which they have in common. Thus, fire can become air through the medium of heat just as air can become water through the medium of fluidity, and so on. Also two elements can become a third by deleting one quality from each: by deleting the dry and cold qualities, fire and water become air, and, by parting with the hot and fluid qualities, the same elements become earth.
Thus, material transmutation is processed through quality changes in matter. These changes were purposely made so to purify matter, and were achieved through burning, calcination, solution, evaporation, sublimation, and crystallization. It was reasoned that if copper and gold were metals consisting of fire, air, water, and earth in differing proportions, then why not change the elemental proportions of copper so to adjust them to the elemental proportions of goal. This was the crux of the alchemical theory; the changing of the elemental proportions in base metals to make rarer ones such as silver and gold.
(http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/a/alchemy.htm)

Buddhism: Mahābhūta is Pāli for the "Great Elements." The four Great Elements (Pali: cattāro mahābhūtāni) are earth, water, fire and air. Mahābhūta is generally synonymous with catudhātu, which is Pāli for the "Four Elements." In early Buddhism, the Four Elements are a basis for understanding and for liberating oneself from suffering.
Four primary elements
In canonical texts, the four Great Elements refer to elements that are both "external" (that is, outside the body, such as a river) and "internal" (that is, of the body, such as blood). These elements are described as follows:
Earth element (paṭhavī-dhātu)
Internal earth elements include head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bone, organs, intestinal material, etc.[4]
Water (or liquid) element (āpo-dhātu)
Internal water elements include bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, nasal mucus, urine, etc.[5]
Fire element (tejo-dhātu)
Internal fire elements include those bodily mechanisms that produce physical warmth, aging, digestion, etc.
Air (or wind) element (vāyo-dhātu)
Internal air elements includes air associated with the pulmonary system (for example, for breathing), the intestinal system ("winds in the belly and ... bowels"), etc.

Buddhism / Buddhism in Korea:

Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in nature. The Hindu and Japanese also had essentially the same five elements: the four states-of-matter, plus a fifth element to describe that which was beyond the material world (non-matter). The concept is similarly found in India and China, where it forms the basis of both Hinduism and Buddhism , particularly in an esoteric context.
- Esotericism or, Esoterism, the holding of esoteric opinions, derives from the Greek ἐσωτερικός (esôterikos), a compound of "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward", mystic. Esoteric knowledge is that which is available only to a narrow circle of "enlightened", "initiated", or specially educated people.

Buddhism in the Three Kingdoms

When Buddhism was introduced to Korea in the 4th century CE, the Korean peninsula was politically subdivided into three kingdoms: Goguryeo in the north, Baekje in the southwest, and Silla in the southeast (some say there were four as Gaya emerged for a short time in the south)
Goguryeo
In 372 the Chinese monk Sundo (順道, or Shundao in Chinese) was sent by the Former Qin ruler Fujian (福建) to the court of the King Sosurim of Goguryeo. He brought Chinese texts and statues with him and the Goguryeo royalty and their subjects quickly accepted his teachings. The Buddhism in China was in a rudimentary form, consisting of the law of cause and effect and the search for happiness. This had much in common with the predominant Shamanism, which likely led to the quick assimilation of Buddhism by the people of Goguryeo.
Baekje
In 384, the Serindian monk Marananta arrived in Baekje and the royal family received the similar strain of Buddhism he brought. King Asin proclaimed, "people should believe in Buddhism and seek happiness."
Gaya
A small, separate federation called Gaya emerged for a short time on the southern coast between Baekje and the fast growing Silla. It fell to an invasion in the mid sixth century before reaching maturity, however, and was annexed by the Silla.
Silla
Buddhism did not enter the kingdom of Silla until the 5th century. The common people were first attracted to Buddhism here, but there was resistance among the aristocrats. In 527, however, a prominent court official named Ichadon presented himself to King Pophung and announced he had become Buddhist. The king had him beheaded, but when the executioner cut off his head, it is said that milk poured out instead of blood. Paintings of this are in the temple at Haein-sa and a stone monument honoring his martyrdom is in the National Museum of Kyongju.

The quest for enlightenment

Nirvana:
In sramanic philosophy, Nirvana is the state of being free from both suffering and the cycle of rebirth. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism.
The Buddha described nirvana as the perfect peace of the mind that is free from craving, anger and other afflictive states (kilesa).
- Relevant to our concept of being in your element
"The notion of Nirvana is a transcendental postulate, which can only be proven psychologically/subjectively, not scientifically. Yet all highest and final goals lead towards it; indeed, it appears even to constitute the very commencement of the entire spiritual life ...With the reaching of Nirvana the Path has come to its end and reached its goal. The Self-realisation which was striven after and which here becomes Reality, signifies the ideal personality, the true human being." (Guenther, The Problem of the Soul in Early Buddhism, Curt Weller Verlag, Constanz, 1949, pp. 156-157).

Avatar or Avatara in Hindu philosophy is the 'descent' or incarnation of a divine being (deva) or the supreme being (god) onto planet Earth.

Gautama Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama) was a spiritual teacher from ancient India and the founder of Buddhism. 'The Great Enlightenment'

A quest is a journey towards a goal used in mythology and literature as a plot. Quests can be found in the folklore of every nation.[1] In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and the overcoming of many obstacles, typically including much travel.
- Homer's Odyssey, tells of Odysseus, who is cursed to wander and suffer for many years before Athena persuades the Olympians to allow him to return home. Recovering the Golden Fleece is the object of the travels of Jason and the Argonauts in the Argonautica.
- The most famous -- perhaps the most famous quest in western literature -- centers on the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend.
- Quests often appear in fantasy literature, such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy is on a quest to the Emerald city to find the Wizard of OZ. Along the way she meets a Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin man who wants a heart, and a Cowardly Lion, who wants courage. All are convinced by Dorothy that the Wizard can help them too. Together, they overcome obstacles on the way to the Emerald city.

The Four Great Classical Novels
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms (translated as, simply "Three Kingdoms" (14th century)
- Water Margin (also known as Outlaws of the Marsh) (14th century),
- Journey to the West (西遊記) (16th century),
- Dream of the Red Chamber(also known as The Story of the Stone) (first block print 1791)

Journey to the west: Part of the novel's enduring popularity comes from the fact that it works on multiple levels: it is a first-rate adventure story, a dispenser of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeying toward India stands for the individual journeying toward enlightenment.