閱讀與意義治療之實踐研究─以《六祖壇經》為示例=A Practical Study on Bibliotherapy and Logotherapy: A Case Study of Reading The Dharmic Treasure Altar-Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
Seeking the meaning of life is a lifelong task. A person’s “original mind” determines how the meaning of life is interpreted. The feeling of meaninglessness, which denotes a failure in creating the meaning of existence, leads to a loss of the sense of existence. When one faces existential anxiety induced by the feeling of meaninglessness, such as emotional disturbance and psychosomatic disorders that modern people suffer due to stress and anxiety, are there any alternatives to save him from emotional distress aside from professional medical or counseling treatments?
Recent scientific studies show that sports and reading are the best methods to alleviate emotional distress. Reading has been proven to be beneficial to calm one’s body and mind. Reading classics is especially effective in bringing positive results. Chinese traditional classics in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism all contain immeasurable wisdom and thus are potential logotherapeutic devices that can be adopted in treating existential anxiety induced by meaninglessness.
The Dharmic Treasure Altar-Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch upholds the belief that “Mind is Buddha.” With the prajna wisdom, it leads one to find and comprehend his nature, transcend the ego’s adherence to dichotomy, and return to the Original Nature. The sutra not only contains healing effect of Zen wisdom, the language art of Zen also embodies the therapeutic practice. It guides readers to attain enlightenment, discover the Original Nature, return to the harmony of body, mind and spirit, and eventually, to transcend the ego, to regain a healthy and balanced life. This classic is entitled to be the treasure for modern people to heal the mind.
This study used The Dharmic Treasure Altar-Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch as an example to discuss the influence and effectiveness of reading classics, practiced in the context of of bibliotherapy and logotherapy, on pacifying the body and mind. The main purpose is to disclose the profound subtleties and wisdom of this classic sutra, in the wish that the unique and magnificent Chinese traditional classics can be understood and valued by more people, the cultural wisdom in classics can be inherited and promoted.
The results of the study revealed that the Zen wisdom in The Altar Sutra echoed Jungian psychology and Viktor E. Frankl’s logotherapy in many perspectives; thus, the integration of reading Classics and logotherapy as a cross-field treatment was highly feasible. Practiced daily, or adopted as an aid to clinical psychotherapy, it could bring promising results. Reading classics as a treatment might help to maintain modern people’s health and therefore lead to a positive and healthy social atmosphere. Moreover, this treatment will increase the attention on the diversified development of humanities, which is worth noting for scholars in the field of humanities.
