[Buddha-l] five elements

[Mike Austin]

In message <1130162398.4518.8.camel at localhost.localdomain>, Richard P. 
Hayes <rhayes at unm.edu> writes
>On Mon, 2005-10-24 at 15:24 +1000, Kate wrote:
>
>> Why do I get the impression I just asked one of my "insultingly basic"
>> questions........
>
>No, it's not a basic question at all. I have no idea what the answer to
>your question is. I was taken by surprise by it, because it had never
>occurred to me that Buddhist scholastics had busied themselves with
>associating the five basic elements with colours.

There is an association of colours with elements in various texts such 
as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. During the process of death, elements 
dissolve into each other (thus I have heard). The process is described 
in colours. What colours mean when the eye ceases to function, I don't 
know. Moreover, the colours are described differently according to the 
different traditions.

-- 
Metta
Mike Austin