ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 21, 2014
Dōgen’s Primer on the Nonmoral Virtues of the Good Person
Douglas K. Mikkelson
University of Hawai’i at Hilo
The Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki provides a good introduction to Dōgen’s ideas about the virtues possessed by “the good person.” His depiction includes, but extends beyond, the conception of a “morally good” human being. This is evident by the number of “nonmoral” virtues that are manifest in the text. Edmund Pincoffs presents a schematization of numerous virtues based on his conception of virtues and vices as dispositional properties that provide ground for preference or avoidance of persons. This schematization seems especially well suited for an exploration and description of the nonmoral virtues that appear in the Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki.
I appreciate how much Dogen emphasized the value of keeping to the clear-cut precepts: in abstaining from killing, stealing, having illicit sex, intoxication, and divisive speech.