宗教的四窗、四鏡、羅盤與黑洞：宗教自我曼陀羅模型的諮商應用

Four Windows, Four Mirrors, Compass and Black Hole of Religion: The Mandala Model of Religion and Self Applied to Counseling

作者依「宗教自我曼陀羅模型」建立窗、鏡、羅盤與黑洞等比喻，用來分析宗教人的認知與施為。宗 教常被比喻為一扇窗或一面鏡子，「窗」讓人得窺「教義微世界」，而「鏡」則反射個體的「直覺認 知」。就實在論而言，宗教像一扇窗而揭示其他世界；從實證論來說，宗教像鏡子般鑒照人自己的焦 慮、價值觀與行為。此外，Mircea Eliade指出，宗教都藉禮儀或聖化活動而定義聖、俗，從而建立倫理 秩序；其「世界軸」意象如神山與曼陀羅等，象徵「信眾生活世界」所有角色所形成的秩序結構。信 仰者將宗教視為行動的指導羅盤，因此本文用可更新之羅盤來類比於動態世界軸。最後，作者以「黑 洞」來象徵對「終極實在」的懸擱，以及創教者的「個體施為」。生活世界保留給「神」那唯信能入 的中心位置，畢竟是個高深莫測的黑洞；黑洞特別適於類比新教派。四喻分別象徵「宗教自我曼陀羅 模型」的四象限，四者任一都可依據其於二維的整合關係而分為四類。窗喻分為車窗之景、天窗之 光、氣窗之風與囚窗之寄，鏡分為明鑒之鏡、理念之鏡、焦慮之鏡與藏身之鏡，黑洞分為黑洞之上、 黑洞近處、黑洞遠處與黑洞之內，羅盤則分上線羅盤、堪輿羅盤、拼裝羅盤與返魅羅盤。這些比喻提 供諮商師與案主一個意象化而鮮活的跨文化平台以發展宗教機制類型學，藉此輔助框架來建立共識以 評估案主之宗教信仰與行為。

 

The author uses the analogies of windows, mirrors, compass and black hole derived from the Mandala Model of Religion and Self to analyze religious beliefs and acts. To begin with, the meaning of religion is compared to a window and a mirror. The window offers a view into ""the micro-world of doctrine"", while the mirror reflects an individual’s ""intuitive cognition"". In religious realist perspective, religion functions as a window by which the believers get to look into the outside world, into the worlds of myths, miracles, fairy tales and mysteries. They get to see things from the perspective of these other worlds and explain how their faith was shaped. This allows them to critique their own world and in the process to be transformed at a deep level. In the positivist perspective, religion serves as a mirror that reflects back to the viewers what they already believe. It is a powerful mirror, providing divine sanction for people’s beliefs, values and behavior, but unfortunately that’s all it does in most cases. Besides, based on the Phenomenology of Religion, Mircea Eliade’s study of the archetype of the dynamic axis mundi shows that there is always a distinction between the sacred and the profane in all religions. In lifeworld, the rites or sanctified activities could define the sacred fields. The images of Eliadian axis mundi such as the Kabbalah Tree of Life, Mount Olympus in Greek mythology and the Buddhist mandala depicting a central Buddha figure surrounded by groups of Bodhisattvas implies the hierarchical structure composed of all the various roles in ""believers’ life-world"". Given that ""moral compass"" refers to a person’s ability to judge what is right and wrong and act accordingly, the compass of religion provides a system of behavioral guidelines for society and helps to maintain social stability by binding people to the normative aspects of their society. Because religious believers accept the view which set all human activities within the compass of religion, the author draws an analogy between religious axis mundi and resettable geomantic compass. Finally, the author uses ""black hole"" to symbolize the suspension of assumptions about the ultimate reality, as well as the ""individual agency"" of religion founders. There is a unfathomable ""black hole"" at the faith-demanding center of lifeworld where ""God"" should be. The black hole is especially an analytical simile of cult or new religions guided by selfproclaimed prophet. Regarding the counseling application of the Mandala Model of Religion and Self, the analogies of windows, mirrors, compass and black hole are in the I, II, III and IV quadrants respectively. The analogies in each quadrant can be classified into four categories based on its relationship with other quadrants. The analogies of windows can be classified into ""scenery from moving car window"", ""lighting of skylight"", ""picture seen through prison window"" and ""wind of the wind"". Mirrors are classified into ""clear reflecting mirror"", ""mirror of ideas"", ""mirror of anxiety"" and ""mirror turned outward"". Black hole can be divided into ""above black hole"", ""inner accretion disk of a black hole"", ""outer accretion disk of a black hole"" and ""black hole itself"". Compasses are classified into ""online compass"", ""fengshui compass"", ""reassembled compass"" and ""re-enchantment compass"". The Mandala Model of Religion and Self with 16 analogies provides professional counsellors and religious clients a universal, symbolic, pictorial and thus lucid platform to develop a typology of religious mechanisms, leading to the consensus on a framework for the assessment of client’s religious beliefs and acts, and help religious people to walk on the path of equilibrium and harmony.