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.