Buddhist monk rises and claims that Jesus is the only truth
'In 1998 a Buddhist monk died. A few days later, his funeral was held during which he was to be cremated. From the smell, it was obvious that his body had already begun to decompose - he was very clearly dead! ' according to the report of the missionary agency Asian Minorities Outreach. 'We have tried to verify this news that has come to us from various sources, and now we are convinced that it is correct', they write. Hundreds of monks and relatives of the deceased attended the funeral. Just when the body was about to be burned, the dead monk suddenly sat up, shouting, 'It's all a lie! I have seen our ancestors burn and be tortured in a kind of fire. I have also seen Buddha and many other holy Buddhist men. They were all in a sea of fire! ' 'We must listen to Christians', he continued vigorously, 'they are the only ones who know the truth!'
These events shook the whole region. More than 300 monks became Christians and began studying the Bible. The risen man continued to warn everyone to believe in Jesus, because he is the only true God. Audiocassettes of the monk's account were distributed all over Myanmar. The Buddhist hierarchy and the government were soon alarmed, and arrested the monk. He hasn't been seen since, and he is feared that he was killed to shut him up. Now it is a serious crime to listen to the tapes, because the government wants to stifle the sensation. '
Taken from: Dawn 2000, 09
'We heard about the events for the first time from a number of church leaders from Burma, who investigated the news and have no doubt as to their authenticity. The monk, Athet Pyan Shintaw Paulu, has changed his life, and suffers and risks much to tell his story. Nobody would bear such adversity at all. He has already led hundreds of monks to Jesus, has been imprisoned, despised by his relatives, friends and colleagues, and has been threatened with death if he does not sweeten the news. Currently he is not sure where he is: one Burmese source says that he is in prison and may have been killed, another source says that he is free and is preaching '(Asian Minorities Outreach).
The personal account of the former monk
My name is Athet Pyan Shintaw Paulu, I was born in 1958 in Bogale in the Irrawaddy Delta, Southern Myanmar (Burma). When I turned 18, my Buddhist parents sent me as a novice to a monastery. At 19, I became a monk, entering the Mandalay Kyaikasan Kyaing monastery, where I was instructed by U Zadila Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw, probably the most famous Buddhist teacher of the time, who died in a car accident in 1983. When I entered the monastery I was given a new name; U Nata Pannita Ashinthuriya. I tried to sacrifice my own selfish thoughts and desires: even when the mosquitoes landed on my arm, instead of chasing them away I allowed them to bite me.
Doctors give up
I became very seriously ill, and the doctors diagnosed a combination of Malaria and Yellow Fever. After a month in the hospital, they told me there was nothing else they could do for me, and they discharged me from the hospital so that I could prepare to die. Upon returning to the monastery, I became increasingly weak, and eventually I lost consciousness. I discovered that I had died only later: my body began to rot and smelled of death, my heart had stopped beating. My body was passed through the purification rites of Buddhism.
Lake of fire
But my spirit was fully awake. I found myself in a powerful storm that made everything fly away. Not a single tree, nothing remained standing. I was on an empty plain. After some time, I crossed a river, and saw a terrible lake of fire. I was confused, because Buddhism doesn't know such a thing. I didn't know it was Hell until I met Yama, the King of Hell. His face was that of a lion, his feet were like snakes, and he had many horns on his head. When I asked for his name, he said, 'I am the King of Hell, the Destroyer.' I then saw the saffron-colored clothes of the Myanmar monks in the fire, and looking more closely I saw the shaved head of U Zadila Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw. 'Why is he in the lake of fire?' 'He was a very good teacher; his audio cassette 'Are you a human being or a dog?' it has helped thousands of people recognize that they are worth more than a dog. ' 'Yes, he was a good teacher,' said Yama, 'but he didn't believe in Jesus Christ. That's why he's in Hell! '
Buddha in Hell
I was then shown another man, with long hair tied in a ball on the left side of his head. He also wore a suit, and when I asked who he was, I was told: 'Gautama, whom you worship (Buddha)'. I was upset. Buddha in Hell, with all its ethics and all its moral character? ' 'It doesn't matter how good he was. He did not believe in the Eternal God, and so he is in hell, 'replied the King of Hell. I also saw Aung San, the revolutionary leader. 'He is here because he persecuted and killed Christians, but mainly because he did not believe in Jesus Christ,' I was told. Another man was very tall, wore armor and carried a sword and shield. He had a wound on his forehead. He was bigger than anyone else I could see, he was about eight feet tall [1 foot = 30,48 centimeters]. The King of Hell said to me: 'That is Goliath, who is in Hell because he mocked the eternal God and his servant David.' I had never heard of Goliath or David. Another 'King of Hell' came up to me and asked, 'Are you going to the lake of fire too?' 'No, I said, I'm just here to watch.' 'You're right,' the creature said to me, 'You only came to look. I can't find your name. You will have to go back to where you came from. '
Two ways
On the way back, I saw two routes, one wide and one narrow. The narrow way, which I followed for about an hour, was soon made of pure gold. I could see my own reflected image perfectly! A man named Peter said to me, 'Now go back and tell people who worship Buddha and other gods that they will end up in hell if they don't change. They must believe in Jesus. He then gave me a new name: Athet Pyan Shintaw Paulu (Paul, who came back to life). The next thing I heard was my mother shouting, 'My son, why are you leaving us now ?!' I understood that I was lying in a coffin. When I moved, my parents shouted, 'He's alive!', But the others around were not believing them. When they saw me, they were frozen with fear and began to shout: 'He is a ghost!' I noticed that I was sitting in the middle of three and a half bowls of a smelling liquid that must have come from my body while I was lying in the coffin. I was told they were going to cremate me. When a monk dies, his name, his age, and the number of years of his service as a monk are engraved in the coffin. I had already been registered as dead, but as you can see, I am alive! '