Ultimately, we must come to know the Dharma through our own practice and realization. This is what the fourth reliance (or third in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra) is about. We must rely on direct knowledge (S. jñāna) of the truth, and not merely our discursive consciousness (S. vijñāna), which is always second hand, after the fact, and dualistic in that it can’t help but bifurcate experience into the two poles of subject and object. From the very beginning, the Buddha taught people to come and see the truth for themselves, and not to rely on external authorities, hearsay, or even personal speculation. As the Buddha taught the Kālāmas:

“It was for this reason, Kālāmas, that we said: Do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by a collection of scriptures, by logical reasoning, by inferential reasoning, by a reflection on reasons, by the acceptance of a view after pondering it, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or because you think: ‘The ascetic is our teacher.’ But when you know for yourselves, ‘These things are wholesome, these things are blameless; these things are praised by the wise; these things, if undertaken and practiced lead to welfare and happiness’, then you should engage in them.” (Nyanaponika & Bodhi, p. 66)