Godai (Japanese philosophy)

Godai (五大, lit. "five – great, large, physical, form") are the five elements in Japanese Buddhist thought of earth (chi), water (sui), fire (ka), wind (fu), and void (ku). Its origins are from the Indian Buddhist concept of Mahābhūta, disseminated and influenced by Chinese traditions[1] before being absorbed, influenced, and refined into and by Japanese tradition, culture, and indigenous folk religions.[2][3]

The Japanese Buddhist concept of gogyo, which stems from Chinese wuxing, is distinguishable from godai by the fact that the functional phases of wood and metal within gogyo are replaced by the formative elements of void and the wind (air) in godai.[2] similar to the classical Greek philosophical elements. Godai attributed to esoteric Japanese Buddhism during the eleventh century CE in relation to the idea of gorin (the "five wheels" or the "five rings").[4] Godai and gorin are also seen within the practice of ninjutsu, where these principles became an essential aspect of the esoteric ninja teachings (the ninpo-mikkyo);[5][6] whereas the theory of gogyo moved into the functional theory of traditional Japanese medicine and exoteric Buddhism.

  1. ^ Ferguson, Andrew (2011). Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-0-86171-617-3.
  2. ^ a b Sairam, T. V. (2008-01-16). The Penguin Dictionary of Alternative Medicine. Penguin UK. p. 273. ISBN 978-93-5118-127-9.
  3. ^ Barton, David Watts (2021-04-27). Japan from Anime to Zen: Quick Takes on Culture, Art, History, Food . . . and More. Stone Bridge Press, Inc. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-61172-945-0.
  4. ^ Veere, Henny van der (2021-07-26). A Study into the Thought of Kōgyō Daishi Kakuban: With a translation of his 'Gorin kuji myo himitsushaku'. BRILL. pp. 133–134. ISBN 978-90-04-48759-8.
  5. ^ Hayes, Stephen K. (1981). Warrior Ways of Enlightenment. Black Belt Communications. pp. 26–37. ISBN 978-0-89750-077-7.
  6. ^ Masazumi, Master Natori (2010-08-13). Shoninki: The Secret Teachings of the Ninja: The 17th-Century Manual on the Art of Concealment. Simon and Schuster. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-59477-667-0.

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