四依

The four necessaries, or things on which the religious rely.

(1) 行四依 The four of ascetic practitioners-- rag clothing; begging for food; sitting under trees; purgatives and diuretics as moral and spiritual means; these are also termed 四聖種.

(2) 法四依 The four of the dharma: i. e. the truth, which is eternal, rather than man, even its propagator; the sutras of perfect meaning i. e. of the 道實相 the truth of the 'middle' way; the meaning, or spirit, not the letter; wisdom 智, i.e. Buddha-wisdom rather than mere knowledge 識. There are other groups. Cf. 四事.