在病苦與療癒之間的轉化──萬德佛寺療癒社群的形成

Transformation from Suffering or by Suffering: The Forming Process of a Buddhist Healing Community

本文以花蓮縣萬德佛南無阿彌陀佛寺（以下簡稱W寺）兩個道場為田野地點，進行為期兩年半的參與觀察研究。十多年來，W寺師徒在不花錢、不吃藥的前提，與簡陋的鐵皮屋之硬體環境下，十數位癌症病患、疑難怪病、慢性病患者在W寺獲得身心靈的療癒。曾經歷病危經驗的W寺師父，與常住居士及信徒在面臨病苦、病危經驗之時，他們如何展開宗教療癒的過程？此一療癒社群如何形成？而W師父的療癒心法，對求療癒者轉念內修的影響又如何？透過對W寺師徒從病苦到療癒之間轉化經驗的觀察，發現一方面，病苦病危者在人世間主流文化或西醫醫療體系中不易找到生命的出路，許多人在生命承受重大打擊或走投無路時，對W寺具有選擇上的親近性。另一方面，W寺為求療癒者提供了一個療癒的氛圍：（1）從服青草藥、朝山、示現唸佛功德乃至身體力行地苦行苦修，社群中豐富的語言所描繪的種種神聖經驗，既是對求療癒者展開的說服行動，也是W寺療癒社群提供求療癒者身心支持的強大力量；（2）W寺以醫療技術體系難以做到的靈性照顧方式，全方位地提供帶病修行者種種身體的照顧技術；（3）W寺療癒社群提供異於世俗倫常的逆向思考、行動與詮釋，增強了求療癒者對身心靈療癒的信心。最後，本文並提出擺盪階段與直心直行階段等兩種不同的療癒階段。W寺療癒社群具有種種棄絕俗世的療癒氛圍，然，其棄絕與在世之間並非決裂，而是相互勾連的關係。苦行、共修、朝山、渡眾生等病苦療癒經驗、種種神蹟、表現在生命轉化的身體經驗，加上W師父的療癒心法，使W寺師徒所組成的療癒社群，陪伴求療癒者堅定地向內探索生命的意義與往生何處的信念。

A Buddhist healing community (called as W temple), located at Hualien, an East coast county of Taiwan, was observed for two and half years for investigating its heal-ing phenomena. The Master of the W temple was a Buddhism nun; she accepted vari-ous kinds of patients, including cancer and other syndromes, living in the W temple, took care of them without any western medical care. Only a few herbal treatment, most were living an atmosphere of religious reverence to Amitabha, a popular Buddha in Taiwan. Suffering was regarded as a way of transformation rather than a dead-end disease. When the pain or the syndromes attacked, the patients were instructed to call the name of Amitabha, pacifying the suffering souls by the felt closeness to the Master and Amitabha. Everyday life was to practice the doctrine of Amitabha’s instructions taught by the Master. The Master led them to various religious worships, such as pil-grimage to holy places, simple life discipline, or saved lives of animals. Through all activities, patients become Amitabha’s devout followers, and relied on the temple’s sanctified practices, the healing community was formed as a small unit. These devotes explore the inside depth, and through the suffering they firmly believed in“to die in order to enter the paradise of Amitabha”.