1At Sāvatthī.

“Mendicants, if there were no gratification in the earth element, sentient beings wouldn’t love it. But because there is gratification in the earth element, sentient beings do love it. If the earth element had no drawback, sentient beings wouldn’t grow disillusioned with it. But because the earth element has a drawback, sentient beings do grow disillusioned with it. If there were no escape from the earth element, sentient beings wouldn’t escape from it. But because there is an escape from the earth element, sentient beings do escape from it.

2If there were no gratification in the water element … If there were no gratification in the fire element … If there were no gratification in the air element …

3As long as sentient beings don’t truly understand these four elements’ gratification, drawback, and escape for what they are, they haven’t escaped from this world—with its gods, Māras, and Brahmās, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans—and they don’t live detached, liberated, with a mind free of limits.

4But when sentient beings truly understand these four elements’ gratification, drawback, and escape for what they are, they’ve escaped from this world—with its gods, Māras, and Brahmās, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans—and they live detached, liberated, with a mind free of limits.”

1Sāvatthiyaṁ vihārati.

"No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, pathavīdhātuyā assādo abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā pathavīdhātuyā sārajjeyyuṁ. Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi pathavīdhātuyā assādo, tasmā sattā pathavīdhātuyā sārajjanti. No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, pathavīdhātuyā ādīnavo abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā pathavīdhātuyā nibbindeyyuṁ. Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi pathavīdhātuyā ādīnavo, tasmā sattā pathavīdhātuyā nibbindanti. No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, pathavīdhātuyā nissaraṇaṁ abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā pathavīdhātuyā nissareyyuṁ. Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi pathavīdhātuyā nissaraṇaṁ, tasmā sattā pathavīdhātuyā nissaranti.

2No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, āpodhātuyā assādo abhavissa … pe … no cedaṁ, bhikkhave, tejodhātuyā … pe … no cedaṁ, bhikkhave, vāyodhātuyā assādo abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā vāyodhātuyā sārajjeyyuṁ. Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi vāyodhātuyā assādo, tasmā sattā vāyodhātuyā sārajjanti. No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, vāyodhātuyā ādīnavo abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā vāyodhātuyā nibbindeyyuṁ. Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi vāyodhātuyā ādīnavo, tasmā sattā vāyodhātuyā nibbindanti. No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, vāyodhātuyā nissaraṇaṁ abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā vāyodhātuyā nissareyyuṁ. Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi vāyodhātuyā nissaraṇaṁ, tasmā sattā vāyodhātuyā nissaranti.

3Yāvakīvañcime, bhikkhave, sattā imāsaṁ catunnaṁ dhātūnaṁ assādañca assādato ādīnavañca ādīnavato nissaraṇañca nissaraṇato yathābhūtaṁ na abbhaññaṁsu, neva tāvime, bhikkhave, sattā sadevakā lokā samārakā sabrahmakā sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya nissaṭā visaṁyuttā vippamuttā vimariyādikatena cetasā vihariṁsu.

4Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, sattā imāsaṁ catunnaṁ dhātūnaṁ assādañca assādato ādīnavañca ādīnavato nissaraṇañca nissaraṇato yathābhūtaṁ abbhaññaṁsu, atha, bhikkhave, sattā sadevakā lokā samārakā sabrahmakā sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya nissaṭā visaṁyuttā vippamuttā vimariyādikatena cetasā vihārantī"ti.

Catutthaṁ.