Catuḥpratisaraṇasūtra

Catuḥpratisaraṇasūtra is a sutra from the Sanskrit tradition that outlines the four reliances (pratisaraṇa):

The four reliances are:

1. rely on the Dharma, not on the teacher
2. rely on the meaning, not the letter
3. rely on the definitive meaning (nitartha), not on the provisional one (neyartha)
4. rely on wisdom (jnana), not on your ordinary mind (vijnana)

Alternate translation

Alternate translation of the four reliances:

1) teaching (dharma) is a criterion (pratisaraṇa), not person (pudgala)

2) meaning (artha) is a criterion, not letters/words (vyañjana)

3) a sūtra of definitive meaning (nītārtha) is a criterion, not one of provisional meaning (neyārtha)

4) direct knowing (jñāna) is a criterion, not discursive knowing (vijñāna)

Sanskrit text

The four reliances in Sanskrit:

dharmaḥ pratisaraṇaṃ na pudgalaḥ

arthah pratisaraṇaṃ na vyañjanam

nītārthaṃ sūtraṃ pratisaraṇaṃ na neyārthaṃ

jñānaṃ pratisaraṇaṃ na vijñānam

Further reading

• Westerhoff, Jan (2018), The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy, Oxford University Press , "The Question of Authenticity"
• Problems with Scripture
• Four Reliances Sutra