「慈悲」意涵之初探──某佛教學系學生之觀點

Objectives: To investigate the different possible meanings of compassion (cibei 慈悲) by interviewing students enrolled in a Buddhist Studies Department and surveying their experiences and understandings of the term. Methods: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 25 students enrolled in a Buddhist Studies Department were conducted to explore their experience and understanding of compassion. The interview transcripts were analyzed through content analysis in order to identify key categories and themes. Results: Through this qualitative analysis four themes have been found in relation to compassion, each containing three to four sub-themes. These themes are empathy (The four sub-themes being perception, companionship and listening, empathic feeling and understanding for others.), altruism (The four sub-themes being non-harming, caring and inclusiveness, helping behavior and selfless service.), proper discernment (The three sub-themes being equanimity, reflection and appropriate action.), and self-awareness and self-regulation (The three sub-themes being self-awareness, self-compassion and self-regulation.). Conclusions: This study identified the contemporary and local meanings of the term compassion based on empirical data. These results demonstrate HOW compassion works. They reveal all the different meanings of compassion as well as the potential of the fulfillment of compassion. These results can provide a framework for further research on compassion as well as help putting compassion in practice in a clinical setting, create a consensus in the palliative care community, and lead to the creation of compassion-based palliative care programs for terminal patients.