Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

c. The Vajrayana philosophy of six element causation,
however, is neither monism nor dualism. Here we are
not only concerned with consciousness or suchness, but
with the whole of the six elements, of which, we should
note, all the first five are material, and only the last one
is mental. This is the anuttarayoga of Vajrayana: energy
(materiality) and mind are identified and no difference
can be seen between them. In the lower Tantra in the
yoga of the six elements, they are not regarded
separately but as six-in-one and one-in-six. In the
yogatantra practice there are the dual pagodas of the
person and of the reflection (surroundings), and these
symbols of the Dharmakaya utilize directly the five
material elements and have many correspondences with
the sixth one—consciousness (see Ch. XII, E).
Neither mind nor matter is stressed as more important
than the other. Both the universe and persons have been
gathered from these six elements, and because of this,
they are equal to causation and also to sunyata. Neither
the first five are the main cause, nor the last one—this is
a system of interrelated causation.
As regards practice with the first five material elements,
in Vajrayana these have correspondence with the five
wisdoms and one never finds the one without the other.
Because the five elements have been sublimated in
Mahayana sunyata meditations, so one may come to the
Vajrayana and there meet some methods in the position
of consequence allowing one to take advantage of them.
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