The source of the four reliances (or “four refuges”) is the Four Refuges Sūtra (S. Catuḥpratiśaraṇa Sūtra) according to Étienne Lamotte: “The Catuḥpratiśaraṇa Sūtra posits, under the name of refuges (pratisaraṇa), four rules of textual interpretation: (1) the dharma is the refuge and not the person; (2) the spirit is the refuge and not the letter; (3) the sūtra of precise meaning is the refuge and not the sūtra of provisional meaning; (4) (direct) knowledge is the refuge and not (discursive) consciousness. As will be seen, the aim of this sūtra is not to condemn in the name of sound assessment certain methods of interpretation of the texts, but merely to ensure subordination of human authority to the spirit of the dharma, the letter to the spirit, the sūtra of provisional meaning to the sūtra of precise meaning, and discursive consciousness to direct knowledge.” (Lamotte, p. 12)