Visuddhimagga XI-98

Mahābhūtasāmaññatoti etāni hi yathā māyākāro amaṇiṃyeva udakaṃ maṇiṃ katvā dasseti,

「如大幻者之故」──因此等（大种），譬如幻师，能把本非宝珠的水而示作宝珠，

Ñ(XI,98): (b) Likeness to great creatures: just as a magician turns water that is not crystal into crystal,

asuvaṇṇaṃyeva leḍḍuṃ suvaṇṇaṃ katvā dasseti.

本非黄金的石块而示作黄金；

Ñ: and turns a clod that is not gold into gold,

Yathā ca sayaṃ neva yakkho na yakkhī samāno yakkhabhāvampi yakkhibhāvampi dasseti,

又如他自己本非夜叉亦非夜叉女，能现为夜叉及夜叉女的姿态。

Ñ: and shows them, and being himself neither a spirit nor a bird, shows himself as a spirit or a bird,

evameva sayaṃ anīlāneva hutvā nīlaṃ upādārūpaṃ dassenti,

如是（大种）自己非青，能现青的所造色，

Ñ: so too, being themselves not blue-black, they turn themselves into blue-black derived materiality,

apītāni alohitāni anodātāneva hutvā odātaṃ upādārūpaṃ dassentīti māyākāramahābhūtasāmaññato mahābhūtāni.

非黄、非赤、[PTS 367] 非白而能现（黄赤）白的所造色。所以说如幻师的大幻者之故为大种。

Ñ: being themselves not yellow … not red … not white, [367] they turn themselves into white derived materiality and show that. In this way they are 'great primaries' (māhābhūta) in being like the great creatures (mahābhūta) of a magician.