本研究關切的重點是，癌末臨終病人與佛教臨床宗教師在臨終處境時的交談經驗。透過詮釋現象學方法的引導，研究者於嘉義某區域教學醫院的安寧病房進行為期七個月的田野觀察與訪談。從田野觀察記錄及三位研究參與者的深度訪談資料中，取得文本資料，並進行視域化的綜合分析工作。從中提煉出臨終病人與宗教師交談經驗的本質，並加以描寫與詮釋。 研究發現，癌末病人因應病程時間的發展而有身心靈安頓的不同需求，而佛教宗教師透過交談所欲達成的任務，即是在佛教所提供的心靈地圖上，為病人安頓身心。此交談經驗由(1)交談經驗的開展及(2)交談經驗的內涵兩個層次的描寫與詮釋構成。第一個層次依病程時間說明病床關係的締結如下：(1)研究參與者背景資料；(2)病人與宗教師初接觸的情境；(3)病況加劇後的轉渡難題；(4)臨終時刻的信仰處境及解脫方向。第二個層次則透過四個面向說明：(1)臨終原初經驗；(2)宗教皈依的神聖經驗；(3)無言的臨終交談；(4)宗教的靈性照顧。 本研究雖對癌末病人與宗教師的交談經驗進行了經驗本質的探討，但臨床交談的語境涉及靈性的深度且變化萬千，為強化佛教臨床宗教師在本土安寧專業化的角色與助人關係，建議在後續的研究中，能以此交談經驗脈絡為基礎，更進一步發展出佛教臨床宗教師養成訓練之參考手冊。 The main point which the study concerns the most is about the dialogue experience between terminal cancer patients and a Buddhist hospital chaplain while the patients are on their deathbeds. Under the guidance of hermeneutic phenomenology, the researcher proceed a seven-month long field observation and interviews in a hospice ward in a regional medicine teaching hospital in Chia-Yi. The text in this article is based on the information which we get from the field observation record and the depth interviews with three research participants; it then undergoes a process of synthetic analysis on various viewing horizons. Besides, we excerpt the essence of the dialogue experience between terminal cancer patients and a Buddhist hospital chaplain from the analysis, on the basis of which the description and interpretations are made. According to the study, terminal cancer patients have different needs to comfort their bodies, minds, and spirits as the illness develops. And the goal a Buddhist hospital chaplain wants to reach through the dialogue experience is to comfort the patients by the map of the soul the Buddhism has supplied. The description and interpretation of the dialogue experience mainly involve the following two levels: (1) the development of the dialogue experience. (2) the intrinsic meanings contained in the dialogue experience. The first level explains the connection of the sickbed relationship as the illness develops, which concludes: (1) the backgrounds of the research participants. (2) the situation of the first contact between the patients and the chaplain. (3) the transitional difficulties as the patients’ condition worsens. (4) the religious situation and the extrication of the patients while they are dying. The second level is described in the following four perspectives: (1) the primordial experience of terminal stage. (2) the sacred experience of religious conversion. (3) the “speechless talking” while dying. (4) the spiritual care of religion. Although the study inquired into the essence of dialogue experience between terminal cancer patients and Buddhist hospital chaplain, the contextual interpretation of the dialogue relates to the depth of spirit and is ever changing. To strengthen the role as a helper of a Buddhist hospital chaplain in local hospice professionalizing, we suggest basing on the context of the dialogue experience in the subsequent studies, and developing a training manual of Buddhist hospital chaplains in the future.
