"Satori and the Moral Dimension of Enlightenment" is a paper by Dale S. Wright that
responds to Brian Victoria's critique of Zen social ethics by attempting to answer his question about Japanese Zen masters before and during the Second World War: how could they seemingly act without moral conviction in confronting the crisis of their time?
and also dovetails nicely with Chris Hamacher's "Zen Has No Morals". Here is the first paragraph:
This essay addresses the question posed by Brian Victoria's description of "moral blindness" in twentieth-century Japanese Zen masters by claiming that since Zen monastic training does not include practices of reflection that cultivate the moral dimension of life, skill in this dimension of human character was not considered a fundamental or necessary component of Zen enlightenment. The essay asks what an enlightened moral sensitivity might require, and concludes in challenging the Zen tradition to consider re-engaging the Mahāyāna Buddhist practices of reflection out of which Zen originated in order to assess the possible role of morality in its thought and practice of enlightenment.
Here is the link to the full document:
http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/Philosophical/Satori_and_Moral_Dimension.pdf
Home 