At the beginning of the present study the author poses a question she became aware of while practicing dharma –– " Why should we be compassionate？" She then proceeds to deal with all the other issues deriving therefrom, including the definition of compassion, its practice and its theoretical foundation. In connection with the definition of compassion, the author quotes Harvey B.Aronson's idea of two kinds of compassion, one an experience in daily life, the other the meditational practice of the Four Immeasurables. Quotations from canonical commentaries prove the close relationship between both, and passages in the scriptures themselves make it clear that the Four Immeasurable s actually are a door leading to liberation. Following this, the present writer in self-reflection formulates some questions about the practice and theoretical foundation of compassion. She feel s the need to understand what the "I" is before one can practice compassion, and surmises that the Four Immeasurables could have been taught as the door t o liberation after someone had arrived at a penetrating understanding of the nature of the "I". Regarding the theoretical foundation of compassion the author feels there are still problems concerning the "is-ought" issue as well as "selflessness and compassion" which require further research. The paper concludes with an exposition of the writer's stance and the understandings gained during the writing process.
