The Five Elements of Japanese Buddhism

The godai are the five elements of Japanese esoteric Buddhist cosmology: chi (earth), sui (water), ka (fire), fu (wind) and ku (void, aether or space). The scheme descends from the Indian mahabhuta, the great elements, by way of Shingon and other esoteric schools, and it orders both the material world and the levels of a contemplative ascent from the solid to the empty.

The five are expressed visually in the gorinto, the five-ringed stone stupa (a cube, sphere, pyramid, crescent and jewel stacked from earth at the base to void at the top), a form seen throughout Japanese temples and graveyards.