The "four reliances" （1） Four kinds of bodhisattvas. Four great teachers who instruct sentient beings after the passing away of the Buddha. In the Nirvana Sutra 涅槃经， the messenger of the Tatha^gata， spreading the teaching of the end of the age， established the four kinds of bodhisattvas which people would depend upon， according to the four kinds of people. Depending upon which treatise one reads， the stages of the bodhisattva are divided up among these four in various ways. See the ninth chapter in the Nirvana Sutra entitled 四依品. （2） The four necessities of food， clothing， shelter and medicine.