This summer we wrote about an amazing phenomenon where many Muslims around the world are encountering the Lord in dreams and coming to faith. But did you know that the Lord is also revealing Himself to Buddhists?
One of many remarkable accounts is that of Tenzin Lahkpa (pseudonym), a former Tibetan Buddhist monk, as recounted in the book co-written with Eugene Bach (pseudonym, Back to Jerusalem) titled Leaving Buddha: A Tibetan Monk’s Encounter with the Living God.
Tenzin was born in the Amdo region of western China, in the northeastern Tibetan plateau. At age 15, his parents dedicated him to local Buddhist temple in Tibet as an offering, and he embraced his life as a monk. Highly dedicated, he trekked 2,000 miles barefoot with no money over the Himalayas to meet the Dalai Lama, but he did not find peace and continued to search for the Truth.
Through a series of events and encounters, a curiosity towards Christianity was formed in Tenzin. One night, after he had felt an inexplicable power from a Christian doctor’s prayer, Tenzin recounts the following:
A man in a white robe came to me in my dreams. He had a glow about Him that radiated in every direction. I felt warm and safe in His presence. As He approached me, I could tell there was something wrong with His hands. In His palms were scars that had not completely healed over. I tried to look closer to see if I could catch a glimpse of His face, but I could not.
“Follow Me,” He said. He spoke perfect Tibetan and had a low, soothing voice like that of a loving father.
“Are you Jesus?” I asked.
But again, He simply said, “Follow Me.”
“Are you the one to show me the path to truth?”
“Follow Me, Tenzin. I am the Way. I am the Truth. No one comes to the Path but through Me.”
“Okay,” I answered. “I will follow You.”
Tenzin embraced the Lord and the suffering that comes with being a disciple of Jesus in Tibet. He continues to minister in his homeland despite being marked for death.
It is rare for detailed accounts like this to make their way from least reached nations into the western media, but there are enough published reports of Jesus appearing to Buddhists in dreams to suggest that supernatural encounters with the Lord is common as well in the Buddhist world. And when He does, He speaks to us in our heart language, like he did with Tenzin. While it seems like ministry reports from the field are more modest when it comes to Buddhist world, compared to the Muslim world, we know that through extraordinary prayer, anything is possible.
Dear Lord, we thank you that we have the privilege of partnering with You in heart language media outreach to the Buddhist world. We pray for the many Buddhist-background listeners from Bhutan, Nepal, and Thailand who tune into our programming. May they encounter You with ready hearts.