四德

The four nirvana virtues, or values, according to the Mahāyāna <Nirvana Sutra>:

(1) 常德 permanence or eternity;

(2) 樂德 joy;

(3) 我德 personality or the soul;

(4) 淨德 purity. These four important terms, while denied in the lower realms, are affirmed by the sutra in the transcendental, or nirvana-realm.