QUESTION: What proof do you have to say that the five virtues prior to the introduction of Buddhism into China were the “five precepts” of Buddhism?

ANSWER: The Sūtra of the Golden Splendor states, “All the teachings in the world encouraging to do good, stem from this sutra;” the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 19 on the “Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, “When they (devout people) expound scriptures of the secular world, talking about the government, or teaching the way to earn a livelihood, they all will be in accordance with the True Dharma;” in the Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva, “Ruling the country by the True Dharma without oppressing the people unjustly is the practice of the third repentance;” and in the Nirvana Sūtra, “All the non-Buddhist scriptures in the world are of the teachings of the Buddha, not of the teachings of non-Buddhists.”

The Great Concentration and Insight of Grand Master T’ien-t’ai declares, “One who knows the true way of the world knows the Buddhist dharma.” In the Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight, Grand Master Miao-lê states, “Such worldly teachings as courtesy and music spread first, opening the way of the Buddha,” and Priest Annen’s Comprehensive Interpretations says this:

“The Buddha sent three wise men to China to teach the five precepts by means of the five virtues. In the past, when the prime minister of the Sung State asked Confucius whether or not the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns in ancient China were sages, Confucius answered that they were not. The prime minister then asked whether Confucius himself was a sage, and he said he was not. The prime minister asked again whether or not there was anyone who was considered a sage. Confucius replied that he heard that there was a sage known as Śākyamuni in the land to the west.”

The Heterodox History of the Chou Dynasty states:

“On the eighth of the fourth month in the 24th year in the reign of King Chao of the Chou, rivers, springs, ponds and wells all suddenly overflowed while palaces, houses, mountains, rivers and the great earth all quaked. At night, rays of five colors went through the T’ai-wei Constellation, shining in four directions. In the day, the rays turned blue-red. King Chao asked Historian Su-yu what caused this strange phenomenon. Su-yu replied that it was an omen of the birth of a great sage in the land to the west. Answering the king who asked what would be the effect upon the world, Su-yu declared that there would be no immediate effect, but his teaching would prevail over this land in 1,000 years. King Chao is said to have at once sent a man to Komen to have it (Su-yu’s prediction) inscribed on a stone and buried in the ground. It is in front of a heavenly shrine in the western outskirts.

“Also on the 15th of the second month in the 52nd year during the reign of King Mu, a storm occurred suddenly destroying houses and toppling trees; mountains, rivers and the great earth all trembled at once; in the afternoon the sky turned dark with black clouds; white rainbows hanging over the western sky passing from north to south, did not disappear for many nights. King Mu inquired of the Historian Hu-to about what these phenomena foretold. Hu-to replied that they predicted the death of a sage in the land to the west.”

Now, as I contemplate these citations, the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor assures us, “All the teachings in this world encouraging to do good, stem from this sūtra.” Before Buddhism was introduced into China, ancient rulers such as the Yellow Emperor first learned the five virtues from Hsüan-nü. The Buddha caused them to learn the teachings of the Eternal Buddha through learning Hsüan-nü’s five virtues in order for them to govern the country. As their capacities for comprehension were not yet developed, they would not have understood the relationship between causes in the past and effects in the future, even if the five precepts of Buddhism had been preached. So, they concentrated on governing the country and establishing themselves by strictly observing the moral codes of loyalty and filial piety in this world.

Sainan Kōki Yurai, The Cause of Misfortunes, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 82-84