Nyima Chotar

A Tibetan’s Story

Nyima Chothar, former Buddhist Monk

Nyima Chothar was a Tibetan Buddhist monk for thirty two years (1923-1955) living in Tibet itself. He relates the early memories of Buddhism:

‘In the fire-serpent year of the 15th rabchung (1917) in the little village of Churn in Namling county, I was born to a family of farmers. Until I was six years old, I lived with my parents and sisters at home. When I was small, I used to play at being a monk: beating the drums, blowing the white conch-shell, setting up the special offerings called tormas, and imitating the sacred dances. My parents encouraged me by giving me red and yellow clothing, just like the monks wear.

Before I was seven, my parents went to their master to ask permission for me to enter the monastery. In former times in Tibet there were many landholders and lords, and the common people, without any power of their own, had to live under their authority. One could not just decide to become a monk on one’s own – one had to ask permission. Hence my parents had to seek their Lord’s permission for me to become a monk.’

Nyima’s uncle enrolled him in the monastery at Ganden Chokhor where he looked after him.

‘From the time I was eight until I was eleven’, says Nyima, ‘I studied Tibetan language and the whole course of study known as Chojo Rabsel, on which all the monks had to pass an examination. Though I didn’t have to, I also took an examination on the Gyan Juk (Buddhist philosophy book) and ten chapters of another book called Cho Juk (known in English as Santideva’s ‘Guide to the Boddhisattva’s Way of Life’). Of sixty boys who took the exam, I had the good fortune to receive first place prize – an ‘a-she khatag’ or Tibetan ceremonial scarf.’

Later Nyima asked his parents if he could have permission to go to Lhasa. He says: ‘When I reached Lhasa I stayed in Sera Monastery’s Je College, where about thirty monks from Ganden Chokhor were studying Buddhist philosophy. There for two years I diligently studied the scriptural commentaries called Namdel, and the Buddhist Scriptures known as Prajnaparamita.’

As he grew in understanding and knowledge of Buddhism, some years later he began to serve his people, as he relates:

‘Then I went out into Lhasa and the nearby villages to recite Buddhist texts. Sometimes, when someone had died, I went to recite the text known as the Bardo Thodol. Tibetans believe that when someone dies, his spirit wanders in an intermediate state called the Bardo before taking rebirth (reincarnation). During this time, the person’s spirit is terrified by visions of wrathful gods. By hearing this scripture, it is believed that the person can be delivered from fear; hence the name Bardo Thodol (which means ‘deliverance through hearing in the Bardo’). When a monk conducts such ceremonies, he receives so much good food and money for his services that he doesn’t need to do any other kind of work. Often young monks don’t think about the needs of the sick and the dying, but only about the money they receive for doing this ceremony.

Many times too, I had to go to Lhasa’s Nechung Monastery for ceremonies to worship the goddess Dolma. At Nechung lived the State Oracle, a man whom the Tibetans believe can see into the future.’

For a year Nyima had the privilege of being a servant to the Dalai Lama’s personal bodyguard at the Potala. He says:

‘For other people it was difficult to see or meet the Dalai Lama, but we saw him every day. At that time he was about thirteen or fourteen years old.’

Nyima took to the life of a pilgrim monk after this appointment, travelling through Tibet, visiting other monasteries. He also travelled through Bhutan and part of India. In 1950, he had an experience which made him unhappy. He writes:

‘On the fourth day of the sixth Tibetan month is the festival commemorating the preaching of the Buddha’s first sermon. Early in the morning the monks and nuns and former monks of that area come together to worship the goddess Dolma. In the evening all of us drank Tibetan beer and hard liquor until we were out of our minds. That night four of us broke our monastic vows with Bhutanese women, who became

very unhappy. Feeling very sad, and knowing that I’d shamed my parents, I didn’t want to stay there any more. I felt deep regret, but there was no way to repent and take it back. To have thought ahead would have been wise; to feel sorry about it later was stupid.’

In fact, he became somewhat disillusioned at the often low moral standards among his fellow monks with their gambling for money, drunkenness and immorality.

In 1951, whilst on the way back to Tibet from Bhutan, he fell sick with malaria. There was a Christian hospital run by the Finnish Mission at Baxaduars. The Christians cared for him and he thought that they were very kind. He also noticed that their morality was of a higher standard than was usual amongst the monks. He began to recover and Miss Hellin Hukka, a Finnish lady, exchanged some of his Buddhist books for the Bible. For the first time in his life, he read the Bible. He says:

‘In the Bible they’d given me I read about the God who made the sky, the earth, the ocean, the trees, and all that is in the world. There it was written that God created the earth’s birds and animals and all the ocean’s creatures. The Bible said that God made the first man and woman, and by disobeying God’s command these two became sinners. Their sin spread to all men, making us all sinners.

But according to our Buddhist religion, the world arose by itself. A monkey, the emanation of the god Chenresi, was the father of all men, and a rock-demoness, the emanation of the goddess Dolma, was the mother of all. That was the way mankind began. But the Christians taught that God had made everything. I had to think about which story was true. Even if that monkey could be the father of mankind, how could the rock-demoness be the mother?

And in the book of the prophet Isaiah I found written that there is no God but God. Gods and idols are not God, and making sacrifices to them is pointless. For though they have eyes, they can’t see, and though they have ears, they can’t hear. I thought: ‘How is that? If this is true, all the religion I’ve practised so far is worthless. This Christian religion is unsuitable for Tibetans,’ and I quit reading. But morning and evening I went to worship with the Christians and acted as though I believed, for they were taking care of me.’

A Bhutanese girl named Sangey came to the hospital for treatment and she began to live with Nyima. The Christians said that this was not right, so he left. Later however, he met an English Christian who encouraged him to start reading the Bible again and so the two of them met to discuss it every day. But it was a struggle for Nyima, as he states:

‘Because I’d studied Buddhism for so many years, I couldn’t leave it. Occasionally I still said mantras and recited texts, and I still believed in the Buddhist gods and idols. The Christians were very devout, but I wondered why they made no offerings to their God. After all, it isn’t a sin to make offerings, I thought.

One day when I was reading the Bible’s book of Isaiah, I found this written: ‘From one tree a man cuts a piece of wood, throws it in the fire and cooks his food. From another he makes an idol and bows down to it, praying to it: ‘Save me!’ But the idol doesn’t answer and it cannot save.’ (Isaiah 44:15ff) After reading that, my faith in the Buddhist gods grew less and less.’

At one point, Nyima contracted tuberculosis and was in a desperate state in hospital. A visiting Pentecostal Christian evangelist came and prayed for him in Jesus’ name and Nyima miraculously recovered, to the amazement of his doctors. Nyima was elated. He recounts:

‘I believed that my Saviour Jesus healed me, and gave Him thanks. I prayed and opened my Bible to the eleventh chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, the twenty-six and twenty-seventh verses: ‘Today I have set before you a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.’

And God said to me: ‘If anyone sins, we have an Advocate in the presence of the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.’ (1 John 2:1) And the book of Isaiah (43:18-19) says: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it comes into being.’

And in the book of Ephesians 4:22-23, it says: “With regard to your former way of life, put off your old self, which is being corrupted by deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds: and to put on the new self, created to be like God in righteousness and holiness.’

In the book of Hebrews (10:17) it says: ‘I will remember their sins and lawless acts no more. And where these have been forgiven there is no longer any sacrifice for sin’. And in verse 22: ‘Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water.’

After reading this, I received a new heart. I turned away from my adultery, idols, drinking, and other sins; confessing them, I left them all behind. All my sins were washed away in the blood of the Lord Jesus. Now I was a real Christian. Before this, many people had said to me: ‘If you’re a Christian, you should be baptised’, but because my mind hadn’t really changed, I hadn’t been baptised. Because I’d studied Buddhism for so long, it took three years to come to faith in Christ.

I was baptised by Pastor Nathaniel in November 1955 at the Finnish Mission in Ghoom, near Darjeeling. Because the weather was cold, the church people had poured a great deal of hot water into the place where I was to be baptised, but the air was so cold that this had little effect. My friends wanted to give me special help, for I was the first Tibetan they’d baptised.’

Since then, Nyima married another Tibetan from Lhasa, Rigdzin Wangmo. The two worked with all their hearts for Jesus Christ, serving and helping the sick and suffering and telling all, including the Dalai Lama, about their Lord and Saviour. In May, 1972, Bishop Dindiel from Lucknow ordained Nyima as a pastor and he served in a church until 1982, and then in Nepal he worked amongst the Tibetan refugees until 1994.

From A Tibetan Monk’s Story by Nyima Chothar, published by Samdan Publishers, Post Box 2119, Kathmandu, Nepal, © Nima Tshering, KTM 1995

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Buddhist Priest Resurrected, Preaching Jesus Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu Paul, Who Came Back to Life

October 6, 2002

The Remarkable Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who came back to life a changed man!

Introduction The story that follows is simply a translation of a taped testimony from a man with a life-changing story. It is not an interview or a biography, but simply the words from the man himself. Different people react in different ways when they hear this story. Some are inspired, some skeptical, a few will mock and ridicule, while some others have even been filled with rage and anger, convinced these words are the ravings of a mad man or an elaborate deception. Some Christians have opposed the story simply because the radical and miraculous events described herein do not fit their feeble image of an Almighty God. We were first made aware of this story from several Burmese church leaders who shared it with us. These leaders had looked into the story and had not found any suggestion of it being a hoax. It was with this in mind that we decided to step out and circulate the story. We do not do so for any monetary gain, or with a motivation of self-promotion. We just want to let the story speak for itself, and invite Christian believers to judge it according to Scripture. If God wants any part of it to be intended for His glory or to encourage His people, then we pray His Spirit will work in the hearts of the readers in those ways. Some people have told us they think the monk in this story never actually died, but that he just lapsed into unconsciousness, and the things he saw and heard were part of a fever-driven hallucination. Whatever you think, the simple fact remains that the events of this story so radically transformed this man that his life took on a complete 180-degree shift after the events described below. He has fearlessly and boldly told his story at great personal cost, including imprisonment. He has been scorned by his relatives, friends and colleagues, and faced death threats for his unwillingness to compromise his message. What motivated this man to be willing to risk everything? Whether we believe him or not, his story is surely worth listening to and considering. In the cynical West many people demand hard evidence of such things, evidence that would stand up in a court of law. Can we absolutely guarantee, beyond doubt, that all of these things happened? No, we cannot. But we feel it is worth repeating this man's story in his own words so that readers can judge for themselves. My Early Years Hello! My name is Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu. I am from the country of Myanmar. I would like to share with you my testimony of what happened to me, but first I would like to give some brief background information from my life growing up. I was born in 1958 in the town of Bogale, on the Irrawaddy Delta area of southern Myanmar [formerly Burma]. My parents, who were devout Buddhists like most people in Myanmar, named me Thitpin [which means 'tree' in English]. Our lives were very simple where I grew up. At the age of 13, I left school and started working on a fishing boat. We caught fish and sometimes shrimp from the numerous rivers and streams in the Irrawaddy area. At the age of 16, I became the leader of the boat. At this time I lived in Upper Mainmahlagyon Island [Mainmahlagyon means 'Beautiful Woman Island' in English], just north of Bogale where I was born. This place is about 100 miles southwest of Yangon [Rangoon], our nation's capitol city. One day, when I was 17, we caught a large number of fish in our nets. Because of the many fish, a large crocodile was attracted to us. It followed our boat and tried to attack us. We were terrified, so we frantically rowed our boats toward the riverbank as fast as we could. The crocodile followed us and smashed our boat with its tail. Although no one died in this incident, the attack greatly affected my life. I no longer wanted to fish. Our small boat sank because of the crocodile attack. We had to go home to our village that night on a passenger boat. Not long after, my father’s employers transferred him to Yangon City [formerly spelt Rangoon]. At the age of 18, I was sent to a Buddhist monastery to be a novice monk. Most parents in Myanmar send their son into a Buddhist monastery, at least for a time, as it is considered a great honor to have a son serve in this way. We have been observing this custom for many hundreds of years. A Zealous Disciple of Buddha When I turned 19 years and 3 months old (in 1977), I became a normal monk. The senior monk at my monastery gave me a new Buddhist name, which is the custom in our country. I was now called U Nata Pannita Ashinthuriya. When we become a monk, we no longer use the name given to us at birth by our parents. The name of the monastery I lived at is called Mandalay Kyaikasan Kyaing. The senior monk's name was called U Zadila Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw [U Zadila is his title]. He was the most famous Buddhist monk in all of Myanmar at the time. Everyone knew who he was. He was widely honored by the people and respected as a great teacher. I say he "was" because in 1983 he suddenly died when he was involved in a fatal car accident. His death shocked everyone. At the time I had been a monk for six years. I tried hard to be the best monk I could and to follow all the precepts of Buddhism. At one stage, I moved to a cemetery where I lived and meditated continually. Some monks who really want to know the truths of Buddha do things like I did. Some move deep into the forests where they live a life of self-denial and poverty. I sought to deny my selfish thoughts and desires, to escape from sickness and suffering and to break free from the cycle of this world. At the cemetery I was not afraid of ghosts. I tried to attain such inner peace and self-realization that even when a mosquito landed on my arm I would let it bite me instead of brushing it off! For years I strived to be the best monk I could and not to harm any living being. I studied the holy Buddhist teachings just like all my forefathers had done before me. My life proceeded as a monk until I got very, very sick. I was in Mandalay at the time and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. The doctors did some tests on me and told me I had both Yellow Fever and malaria at the same time! After about one month in the hospital I was getting worse. The doctors told me there was no chance for me to recover and discharged me to make arrangements to die. This is a brief description of my past. I would now like to tell you some of the remarkable things that happened to me after this time... A Vision that Changed My Life Forever After I was discharged from the hospital I went back to the monastery where other monks cared for me. I grew weaker and weaker and was lapsing into unconsciousness. I learned later that I actually died for three days. My body decayed and stunk of death, and my heart stopped beating. My body was prepared for cremation and was put through traditional Buddhist purification rites. Although I faded away in my body I remember my mind and spirit were fully alert. I was in a very, very powerful storm. A tremendous wind flattened the whole landscape until there were no trees or anything else standing, just a flat plain. I walked very fast along this plain for some time. There were no other people anywhere, I was all alone. After some time I crossed a river. On the other side of the river I saw a terrible, terrible lake of fire. In Buddhism we do not have a concept of a place like this. At first I was confused and didn't know it was hell, until I saw Yama, the king of hell [Yama is the name ascribed to the King of Hell in numerous cultures throughout Asia]. His face looked like the face of a lion, his body was like a lion, but his legs were like a naga [serpent spirit]. He had a number of horns on his head. His face was very fierce, and I was extremely afraid. Trembling, I asked him his name. He replied, "I am the king of hell, the Destroyer." The king of hell told me to look into the lake of fire. I looked and I saw the saffron colored robes that Buddhist monks wear in Myanmar. I looked closer and saw the shaven head of a man. When I looked at the man's face I saw it was U Zadila Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw [the famous monk who had died in a car accident in 1983]. I asked the king of hell why my former leader was confined to this lake of torment. I said, "Why is he in this lake of fire? He was a very good teacher. He even had a teaching tape called 'Are You a Man or a Dog?' which had helped thousands of people understand that their worth as humans is far greater than the animals." The king of hell replied, "Yes, he was a good teacher but he did not believe in Jesus Christ. That's why he is in hell." I was told to look at another person who was in the fire. I saw a man with very long hair wrapped on the left hand side of his head. He was also wearing a robe. I asked the king of hell, "Who is this man?" He replied, "This is the one you worship: Gautama [Buddha]." I was very disturbed to see Gautama in hell. I protested, "Gautama had good ethics and good moral character, why is he suffering in this lake of fire?" The king of hell answered me, "It doesn't matter how good he was. He is in this place because he did not believe in the Eternal God." I then saw another man who looked like he was wearing a soldier's uniform. He had a large wound on his chest. I asked, "Who is this man?" The king of hell said, "This is Aung San, the revolutionary leader of Myanmar." I was told, "Aung San is here because he persecuted and killed Christians, but mostly because he didn't believe in Jesus Christ." In Myanmar the people have a common saying, "Soldiers never die, they live on." I was told that the legions of hell have a saying "Soldiers never die, but they go to hell forever." I looked and saw another man in the lake of fire. He was a very tall man and he was dressed in military armor. He was also holding a sword and a shield. This man had a wound on his forehead. This man was taller than any person I have ever seen. He was six times the length between a man's elbow and the tips of his fingers when he stretches his arm out straight, plus one span of a man's fingers when he spreads out his hand. The king of hell said, "This man's name is Goliath. He is in hell because he blasphemed the Eternal God and His servant David." I was confused because I didn't know who either Goliath or David were. The king of hell said, "Goliath is recorded in the Christian Bible. You don't know him now, but when you become a Christian you will know who he is." I was then taken to a place where I saw both rich and poor people preparing to eat their evening meals. I asked, "Who cooked the food for these people?" The king of hell replied, "The poor have to prepare their own food, but the rich people get others to cook for them." When the food had been prepared for the rich people, they sat down to eat. As soon as they started a thick smoke came up. The rich people ate as fast as they could to ease their consciences. They were struggling to breath because of the smoke. They had to eat fast because they were fearful of losing their money. Their money is their god. Another king of hell then came to me. I also saw a being whose job is to stoke the fires beneath the lake of fire, to keep it hot. This being asked me, "Are you going into the lake of fire too?" I replied, "No! I am only here to observe!" The appearance of this creature stoking the fire was very terrifying. He had ten horns on his head and a spear in his hand that had seven sharp blades coming from the end. The creature told me, "You are right. You came here just to observe. I cannot find your name here." He said, "You must now go back the way you came." He pointed me toward the desolate plain that I had first walked along before I came to the lake of fire. The Road of Decision I walked a long time, until I was bleeding. I was hot and in great pain. Finally, after walking for about three hours I came to a wide road. I walked along this road for some time until I came to a fork. One road, going off to the left, was wide. A smaller road went off to the right hand side. There was a signpost at the fork saying that the road to the left was for those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The smaller road to the right was for believers in Jesus. I was interested to see where the larger road led so I started down it. There were two men walking about 300 yards ahead of me. I tried to catch up with them so I could walk with them but no matter how hard I tried I could not catch up to them, so I turned around and went back to the fork in the road. I continued to watch these two men as they walked down the road away from me. When they reached the end of the road they were suddenly stabbed. These two men cried out in great pain! I also cried out when I saw what happened to them! I realized the bigger road ended in great danger for those who traveled down it. Looking into Heaven I started walking down the believers' road instead. After traveling for about one hour the surface of the road turned to pure gold. It was so pure that when I looked down I could see my own reflection perfectly. I then saw a man standing in front of me. He was wearing a white robe. I also heard beautiful singing. Oh, it was so beautiful and pure! It was much better and more meaningful than the worship we have in churches here on the earth. The man in the white robe asked me to walk with him. I asked him, "What is your name?" but he did not answer. After I asked his name six times the man answered, "I am the one who holds the key to heaven. Heaven is a very, very beautiful place. You cannot go there now, but if you follow Jesus Christ you can go there after your life has finished on the earth." The man's name was Peter. Peter then asked me to sit down and he showed me a place to the north. Peter said, "Look to the north and see God create man." I saw the Eternal God from a distance. God spoke to an angel, "Let us make man." The angel pleaded with God and said, "Please don't make man. He will do wrong and will grieve you." [In Burmese literally: "He will make you lose face."]. But God created a man anyway. God blew on the man and the man came to life. He gave him the name "Adam". [Note: Buddhists do not believe in the Creation of the world or of man, so this experience had a significant impact on the monk]. Sent Back with a New Name Then Peter said, "Now get up and go back to where you came from. Speak to the people who worship Buddha and who worship idols. Tell them they must go to hell if they don't change. Those who build temples and idols will also have to go to hell. Those who give offerings to the monks to earn merit for themselves will go to hell. All those who pray to the monks and call them 'Pra' [respectful title for monks] will go to hell. Those who chant and 'give life' to idols will go to hell. All those who don't believe in Jesus Christ will go to hell." Peter told me to go back to the earth and testify about the things I had seen. He also said, "You must speak in your new name. From now on, you are to be called Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu ["Paul who Came Back to Life."]. I didn't want to go back. I wanted to go to heaven. Angels opened a book. First they looked for my childhood name (Thitpin) in the book, but they could not find it. They then looked for the name I had been given when he entered the Buddhist monk hood (U Nata Pannita Ashinthuriya), but it wasn't written in the book either. Then Peter said, "Your name is not written here, you must return and testify about Jesus to the Buddhist people." I walked back along the gold road. Again I heard beautiful singing, the kind of which I have never heard before or since. Peter walked with me until the time I returned to the earth. He showed me a ladder that reached down from the heaven to the sky. The ladder didn't reach to the earth, but stopped in mid-air. On the ladder I saw many angels, some going up to heaven and some going down the ladder. They were very busy. I asked Peter, "Who are they?" Peter answered, "They are messengers of God. They are reporting to heaven the names of all those who believe in Jesus Christ and the names of those who don't believe." Peter then told me it was time to go back. It is a Ghost! The next thing I was aware of was the sound of weeping. I heard my own mother cry out, "My son, why did you leave us now?". I also heard many other people weeping. I realized I was lying in a box. I started to move. My mother and father started shouting, "He is alive! He is alive!" Other people who were farther away did not believe my parents. I then placed my hands on the sides of the box and sat upright. Many people were struck with terror. They cried out, "It is a ghost!" and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. Those who remained were speechless and trembling. I noticed I was sitting in smelly liquid and body fluids, enough to fill about three and a half cups. This was liquid that had come out of my stomach and my insides while my body was lying in the coffin. This is why people knew I had indeed been dead. Inside the coffin there was a type of plastic sheet fixed to the wood. This sheet is placed there to retain a corpse's liquids, because many dead bodies release much fluid like mine did. I learned later that I was just moments away from being cremated in the flames. In Myanmar people are placed in a coffin, the lid is then nailed shut, and the whole coffin is burned. When I came back to life, my mother and father were being allowed to look at my body for the very last time. Moments later, the lid of my coffin would have been nailed shut and I would have been cremated! I immediately started to explain the things I had seen and heard. People were astonished. I told them about the men I had seen in the lake of fire, and told them that only the Christians know the truth, that our forefathers and us have been deceived for thousands of years! I told them everything we believe is a lie. The people were astonished because they knew what kind of a monk I had been and how zealous I had been for the teachings of Buddha. In Myanmar when a person dies, their name and age is written on the side of the coffin. When a monk dies, the monk's name, age and the number of years he has served as a monk are written on the side of the coffin. I had already been recorded as dead but as you can see, now I am alive! Epilogue Since 'Paul who came back to life' experienced the above story, he has remained a faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. Burmese pastors have told us that he had led hundreds of other monks to faith in Christ. His testimony is obviously very uncompromising. Because of that, his message has offended many people who cannot accept there is only one Way to Heaven, which is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Despite great opposition, his experiences were so real to him that he has not wavered. After many years in the Buddhist monk hood, as a strict follower of Buddhist teachings, he immediately proclaimed the Gospel of Christ following his resurrection and exhorted other monks to forsake all false gods and follow Jesus Christ with all their hearts. Before the time of his sickness and death, he had no exposure to Christianity at all. Everything he learned during those three days in the grave was new to his mind. In a bid to get his message out to as many people as possible, this modern-day Lazarus began distributing audio and video cassette tapes with his story on them. The police and Buddhist authorities in Myanmar have done their utmost to gather these tapes up and destroy them. The testimony you have just read has been translated from one of those cassette tapes. We are told it is now quite dangerous for citizens of Myanmar to be in possession of these tapes. His fearless testimony has landed him in prison at least once, where the authorities failed in their bid to silence him. Upon his release, he continued to testify of the things he saw and heard. His current whereabouts are uncertain. One Burmese informant told us he is prison and may have been killed, while another informant was told he is now released from prison and is continuing his ministry.