The transforming power of Jesus and Buddha

Having had a bit of a break over Christmas, I got back on the pioneering trail this week.

It’s interesting how God has been expanding our vision. We started out with only the spiritual seekers in mind and while this is still very much on the agenda (I’m hoping to run a ‘spiritual encounter’ course in the spring), God has laid other groups on our hearts as we’ve prayer walked.

We’ve felt increasingly drawn, for example, to two high-rises on the edge of a nearby park and to a particularly uninviting pub on the high-street. So we’re starting to pray through how best to engage with these people.

Anyway, yesterday we felt God prompt us to go back to the Buddhist centre. It turned out to be another great session. As is our usual practice, we went into the café and quietly prayed. Then, after about 15 minutes, an ordained Buddhist nun (robes, shaved head and all), turned around and said ‘Do you mind if I sit down with you, I’d really like to talk’! She was soon joined by another nun, and the woman working behind the counter, and we sat in a circle for nearly two hours sharing stories about our beliefs and spiritual experiences. It was a fascinating time. My feeling was that while they had found some peace and contentment in Buddhism, they hadn’t experienced the kind of transformation that only Jesus offers. So, for example, they seemed particularly impressed when I shared how Jesus had completely healed me from depression and a torn cartilage in my knee.

I did push it a bit at one point by asking if I could pray in Jesus’ name for one of the nuns who had Multiple Sclerosis and was clearly struggling with back pain. She said that while she was blessed by my offer, she didn’t feel it would be appropriate in a Buddhist centre!

Interestingly, both the nuns had previously been church goers, but had grown disillusioned with it, (although they both said they held Jesus in very high regard, seeing his as a ‘pure’ being). I think though that by the end of our time with them they had more respect for Christianity and saw it less as an empty religion and more as a genuine and living expression of Jesus centred faith and spirituality.

Tim