Basic goodness is a term coined by Tibetan spiritual teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and is a core concept in his terma. It is used both to discuss the experience of reality and also basic human

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...

. In his 1980 Seminary, he associates this term with both absolute

bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta, ("enlightenment-mind" or "the thought of awakening"), is the mind (citta) that is aimed at awakening ( bodhi), with wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings. Bodhicitta is the defining quali ...

and specifically the Tibetan term ''künshi ngangluk kyi gewa'' ( Wylie: ''kun gzhi ngang lugs kyi dge ba''), which comes from the Kadam tradition and refers to the natural virtues of the ''künshi'' (

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

;

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: ālāya).

Three virtues

This ethical scheme presents three virtues: *''Unborn'', meaning non-manufactured *''Nondwelling'', meaning that it cannot be pinned down *''Free from pigeonholing'', meaning that it is beyond conceptual reference points In his 1981 Seminary, he described the term as also referring to personal wholesomeness and dedication to others.

Explanations

Melvin McLeod explains the term "basic" as indicating the primordial, self-existing nature and "goodness" as a faultless aspect. John Miller associated the term with

Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...

.The holistic curriculum By John P. Miller; p29 Trungpa Rinpoche's son,

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, Jampal Trinley Dradul (born Ösel Rangdrol Mukpo on November 15, 1962) is an American and Tibetan Buddhist descendant of the Shambhala lineage and Shambhala, a worldwide network of urban Buddhist meditation center ...

, expressed the relationship between basic goodness and enlightened society in these words: :"In essence, the emphasis of the Buddhist path is to help us attain enlightenment, and the emphasis of the Shambhala path is to help us create and maintain a good society. When we put these two together, we have the Shambhalian Buddhist view of enlightened society. Thus the two paths work in tandem, not in competition."

Three virtues

Explanations

References

Further reading