四法

There are several groups of four dharma:

(1) 教法 the teaching of the Buddha); 理法 its principles, or meaning; 行法 its practice; 果法 its fruits or rewards.

(2) Another group relates to bodhisattvas, their never losing the (sa) bodhi-mind, or the wisdom attained, or perseverance in progress, or the monastic forest life ((sa) āraṇyaka).

(3) Also 信解行證 faith, discernment, performance, and assurance.

(4) The Pure-land 'True' sect of Japan has a division: 教法, i. e. the 大無量壽經; 行法 the practice of the seventeenth of Amitābha's vows; 信法 faith in the eighteenth; and 證法 proof of the eleventh. The most important work of Shinran, the founder of the sect, is these four, i. e. 教行信證.

(5) A 'Lotus ' division of 四法 is the answer to a question of Puxian (Samantabhadra) how the Lotus is to be possessed after the Buddha's demise, i. e. by thought (or protection) of the Buddhas; the cultivation of virtue; entry into correct (sa) dhyāna; and having a mind to save all creatures.