“Mendicants, there are ascetics and brahmins who don’t understand the earth element, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. They don’t understand the water element … fire element … air element … Those venerables don’t realize the goal of life as an ascetic or brahmin, and don’t live having realized it with their own insight in this very life.
2 There are ascetics and brahmins who do understand the earth element, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. They do understand the water element … the fire element … the air element … Those venerables realize the goal of life as an ascetic or brahmin, and live having realized it with their own insight.”
3 The Linked Discourses on the elements are complete.