※ Reproduced from Pyschotherapy (정신치료) Vol. 7, No. 1, December 1993, Korean Academy of Psychotherapists, Seoul, Korea.
Presented at the 36th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of psychoanalysis, May 2nd, 1992.


The Tao and Empathy : East Asian Interpretation

Dongshick Rhee, M.D.
Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea


The purpose of this paper is to show that the highest degree of empathy can be attained by purification of mind which is the core of East Asian tradition (Buddhism, Confucianism, Laotzu and Chuangtzu). Three veils, a 360 degrees transformation, transcending love and hate, three profound gates, and pictures of ten cows were presented to illustrate the process of purification of mind. Also the differences of the psychotherapy and cultural core of East and West were compared. It was pointed out that Western psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and philosophy are heading towards the Tao but always try to go back to ‘conceptual prison’, that is, theory.

Keywords : Tao, Zen, Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, Phenomenology