In an unusual move, Sung withdrew from the literary scene and turned to self-cultivation just as his reputation was taking flight. His religious explorations took him from Chan to primitive Buddhism, and eventually led to Buddha Betrayed, a work that sparked a Taiwanese critique of Buddhism. Sung ultimately found solace not in Buddhism, but in Christianity.
聲譽鵲起時，宋澤萊卻淡出寫作，轉向修行，從禪學一路追索至原始佛教，結果以《被背叛的佛陀》揭開台灣的佛教批判潮流，然後在基督教的異象神蹟中得到救贖。