(Chinese: “Essentials of the Dharma”), discussion of Buddhist precepts written in the 4th century AD by Hsi Ch'ao, who, although Taoist, was a great admirer of Buddhism. One of the earliest discourses on the subject by a non-Buddhist, it is regarded as a milestone in the advance of Buddhist thought in China. Although it contains some erroneous interpretations of Buddhist ideas, the Feng-fa-yao is comparable in its accuracy to the works of Hsi Ch'ao's Chinese Buddhist counterparts.