The spiritual and symbolic meaning of FOUR:
The symbolic meaning of number Four deals with stability and invokes the grounded nature of all things. Consider the four seasons, four directions, four phases of the moon, the four heavenly directions, the four winds, etc.
The number 4 is the number of reality and concretion. Of the material universe. Physical laws, logic and reason. Cognition by perception, experience and knowledge. The intellect, consciousness, as sharp as between the spiritual and material, the monumental and phenomenal worlds, represented by the higher and lower harmony.
The number four symbolizes the fundamental concepts and methods of Buddhism as contained in the Four Noble Truths: the existence of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering; also, the four methods of inducement: giving, speaking lovingly, acting beneficially, and cooperating. These are the four virtues through which the bodhisattvas transform the beings of the world.
