Buddhist ethics of care is based on the Buddhist concept of compassion. Compassion can be said to be the foundation of the Bodhisattva Path in Buddhism. It is the purpose of the Bodhisattva’s practice to save all living beings from the suffering of reincarnation. It is not only a must-practice for Buddhist practitioners, but also the mentality that practitioners should have towards sentient beings. The concept of compassion can be called the Buddhist theory of care ethics because when we treat other sentient beings with compassion, our actions overlap greatly with what is called care ethics in Western philosophy.
Although contemporary care ethics and Buddhist compassionate care have a high degree of overlap in terms of application, since they come from different ideological systems, although the two have many similarities, they also have many differences. This article will compare the similarities and differences between the two and try to find a way to integrate the two. Finally, clinical cases are used to illustrate the application of The Four Means of Embracing in clinical spiritual care.
