Basic goodness is a term coined by Tibetan spiritual teacher Chögyam Trungpa

Chögyam Trungpa

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...

 and is a core concept in his terma

Terma

Terma can refer to:*Terma , traditions of revelation in Tibetan Buddhism, Bön and the Greater Himalayan region*"Terma" , an episode of The X-Files*Terma A/S, a Danish company...

. It is used both to discuss the experience of reality and also basic human virtue

Virtue

Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality subjectively deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being....

.

In his 1980 Seminary he associates this term with both absolute bodhicitta

Bodhicitta

In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...

 and specifically the Tibetan term kun.gzhi.ngang.lugs.kyi.dge.ba which comes from the Kadam

Kadam

Kadam may refer to:* Kadam clan, the present-day royal Kshatriya Maratha clan descended from the Arya King Kadam* the Kadam school of Buddhism* the Kadam virus of the Flavivirus genus* the first Arya Kshatriya king of Hinduism who ruled Afghanistan* Mt...

 tradition and refers to the natural virtues of the kunshi or alaya. Specifically he described three virtues: unborn meaning non-manufactured; nondwelling meaning that it cannot be pinned down, and free from pigeonholing meaning that it is beyond conceptual reference points. In his 1981 Seminary he described it as also referring to personal wholesomeness and dedication to others.

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

Buddha-nature

Buddha-nature, Buddha-dhatu or Buddha Principle , is taught differently in various Mahayana Buddhism traditions. Broadly speaking Buddha-nature is concerned with ascertaining what allows sentient beings to become Buddhas...

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Sources

• Realizing Enlightened Society
• Basic goodness as original sin?
• Unconditional Cheerfulness
• Primordial wisdom
• The Ancient Wisdom of Shambhala
• A Reign of Goodness
• Mipham, Sakyong. "Ruling Your World: Ancient Strategies For Modern Life." Broaway Publishing. 2005.
• Trungpa, Chogyam. "Shambhala The Sacred Path of The Warrior." Shambhala Publishing. 1988.