The Chinese character fa (法), originally meaning “penalty,” refers to the legal system consisting of laws, decrees, and regulations. In ancient China, both fa and li (礼rite) set standards for individual behavior. In particular, rites rewarded virtue, while laws punished vice. It was generally accepted that while only a sovereign ruler had the right to enact and promulgate laws, everyone, be it a ruler or a subject, had to obey the laws. This point of view reflects the justice and fairness of law. In 536 BC, Zichan (?-522 BC), the chief minister in the State of Zheng, had the legal provisions cast on a bronze ding, a tripodal vessel that symbolized the power of the ducal ruler. Zichan’s action, known as “casting the penal code,” was the very first example of publishing a statute in Chinese history. The Warring States Period witnessed the rise of the Legalists such as Shang Yang (390?-338 BC) and Hanfeizi (280?-233 BC). Fa (法) is also a Buddhist term. In scriptures, it is the Chinese equivalent of the Sanskrit word dharma with three shades of meaning. First, it refers to real being, which is the object of genuine knowledge. Buddhism argues that all things in daily life are produced through the concomitance of causes and conditions. In this sense, what one appears to see or know is unreal in nature. However, one can perceive the dharmas, the indivisible real elements beneath the surface, through mental practices. Indeed, there are more than a hundred types of the elements, such as substance and consciousness. Second, dharma can be defined as the Buddhist teachings. The teachings here not only refer to the words dictated by the Buddha but also what dharma-hearers receive and pursue. This point of view is different from the characteristics of dharma discussed in the Abhidhamma Pitaka (Basket of Advanced Dharma). But they do not contradict each other, because both of them advocate that perception of reality be based on relevant teachings. For Buddhism as a whole, the teachings constitute a significant portion of its knowledge system; for all Buddhists, the teachings pave the way for their personal liberation. Third, dharma denotes the worldly phenomenon, which is clearly distinguishable from the previous meaning. In scriptures, zhufa (all dharmas) and wanfa (tens of thousands of dharmas) represent all worldly phenomena, unreal in nature, in the broadest sense.