Sūtra of the Teaching on the Four Dharmas (Sanskrit: ārya-catu[h]-dharma-nirdhesha-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra,Tibetan: phags pa chos bzhi stan pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo)

The "Four Dharmas" (Tib: chos bzhi) of the title refer to the Four Powers (T: stobs bzhi), that is, the four powers of karmic purification. These same Four Powers later became extremely important for the Mahāyāna tradition, in general, and the Tantric (Vajrayāna) Buddhist tradition in particular, largely due to the popular purification practice of the deity Vajrasattva, in which the Four Powers play a central role as the main methodology of praxis. The Sūtra gives us a unique view into the early scriptural origins of an influential practice of "confession" and "karmic purification" in Mahāyāna and Tantric Buddhism, one of the most wide-spread of its type.

The Four Powers as given in the Sūtra are as follows:

(1). rnam par sun ‘byin pa’i stobs: the power of strong remorse (or regret)
(2). gnyen po kun tu spyod pa’i stobs: the power of full application of the antidote (or counteracting force)
(3). sor chus par byed pa’i stobs: the power of restoration (or renewal) and
(4). rten gyi stobs: the power of support (or fortification).