worship.
　　 Some  of the central  tenets  of Confucian  morality  are
embraced  in the "Ethics of Grace" of Won Buddhism.  With his
fundamental  moral  principle, "Be aware of grace and requite
it, "  Sot'aesan  intended  to  show  why  a  world  full  of
resentment  could be changed to one of gratitude.  The former
aggravates the human predicament;  the latter ameliorates  it
and leads to a paradise on earth. A life of gratitude lies in
requiting  the grace one has received  in one's own life from
various sources. Sot'aesan listed four such sources of life -
Heaven  and  Earth, parents, Brethren, and  Law  -  which  he
called  the Four  Graces, a "grace"  being  anything  without
which one's life would be impossible. He challenged people to
question  whether they could exist and live without them, and
said that  even  a man of low intelligence  could  understand
that life would be

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impossible  without  them.  He argued that nothing could be a
greater favor or grace than that without  which life would be
impossible.  As to  why  these  graces  ought  to be requited
prudential  reasons  were given.  Graces requited  will being
blessings;  graces unrequited  will bring punishment.  Of the
four  graces, those  of Heaven  and Earth  and  Parents  were
central moral tenets of Confucianism.  Sot'aesan attempted to
synthesize the moral systems of Buddhism and Confucianism  by
showing  that  the Four  Graces  were  none  other  than  the
contents or manifestations  of Dharmakaya  Buddha, symbolized
by Irwonsang(K. 131).
　　 Sot'aesan  derived  the moral norm to require  the graces
from  the way  men  are  indebted  to them.  And how are  men
indebted  to the grace of Heaven  and Earth? Men are indebted
through the eight virtues of the way of Heaven and Earth: (i)
extremely  bright,  (ii) extremely  sincere,  (iii) extremely
fair,  (iv) natural, (v) vast  and  limitedless, (vi) eternal
and immortal, (vii) without good or evil fortunes, and (viii)
harboring  no false  ideas (K.27).  Since man is indebted  to
these virtues, his duty is to cultivate, to model his moral
character after them.  The representative  moral virtue to be
cultivated  as a way  of requiting  the grace  of Heaven  and
Earth is to do good to others without  harboring  in mind the
idea of having done so.  This specific moral character is, of
course, a Buddhist  moral ideal.(30)The same virtue is taught
in the Bible: "But when  you give  alms, do not let your left
hand know  what your right  hand is doing..."(31)However, the
idea of imitating the moral virtues of Heaven and Earth comes
mainly from the Confucian tradition.  Chu Hsi,commenting on a
Chou Tun-i (1017-1073)quotationfromthe I-ching(ao), says:

　　 ...Thus  (the sage) establishes  himself  as the ultimate
　　 standard  for man.  Hence, the character  of the sage  is
　　 identical with that of Heaven and Earth;his brilliancy is
　　 identical with that of the sun and the moon; his order is
　　 identical with that of the seasons; and his good and evil
　　 fortunes are identical with those of spiritual beings.(32)

Whether  Heaven  and earth  can be said  to have  such  moral
character is a philosophical question; however, some of those
characterizing moral

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norms  run  through  the  Confucian   texts.   For  instance,
"Sincerity is the way of Heaven; the attainment of sincerity,
or the attempt to be sincere, is the way of Heaven.  To think
how to be sincere is the way of man. Never has there been one
possessed of complete sincerity who did not move others."(34)
Sot'aesan  suggested  that everyone  ought  to model  himself
after  the  way  of  Heaven,  with  sincerity, as  a  way  of
requiting  the  Grace  of  Heaven  and  Earth.  For  Chu  Hsi
impartiality  or fairness, another  of the Heavenly  virtues,
was a necessary condition for practicing jen:

　　 ...a man originally possesses jen. It comes with him from
　　 the very beginning. Simply because he is partial, the jen