GODAI
Godai (五大; lit. "five – great, large, physical, form") are the five elements in Japanese Buddhist thought: 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 before being absorbed, influenced, and refined into and by Japanese tradition, culture, and indigenous folk religions.
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 wind (air) in godai, 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"). 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), whereas the theory of gogyo moved into the functional theory of traditional Japanese medicine and exoteric Buddhism.
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