Chasing Nirvana

Some, you can tell by their appearance. Walking the streets early in the morning, shaved heads, saffron robes with one shoulder revealed, they cradle begging bowls in their hands, But not all Buddhists are monks. American actors Richard Gere and Brad Pitt are among the 3 million in the US who practice Buddhism. Still, it’s very possible you never met one. Although over half a billion strong, most chasing Nirvana live in places like Myanmar (Burma), China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Japan, and Cambodia.

Nirvana is not a place like heaven, it’s a “state of being” and the ultimate objective of every Buddhist. While not exactly “peace and happiness",” it essentially is. And Siddhartha Gautama (aka the Buddha) taught that the way to get there is the “Eightfold Path,” consisting of Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

While the path is admirable, the best it can do is improve your life here and bring you some peace. When I traveled crowded streets in Laos and Vietnam, I was awed by the seeming traquility of drivers and pedestrians whose lives hung by a thread. And almost no horns.

But the path fails to offer any hope for a negotiated peace between a good God and His less-than-good creatures. The lone path to that is Jesus.

You may not know a Buddhist, but God does. In fact, He knows each of them right down to their shoe size, their greatest aspirations, and their deepest anxieties. And loves them.

Maybe as a response to this love, you could devote 21 days to pray for some of these people. Click on https://beyond.org/21-days-of-prayer-for-the-buddhist-world/. On that page you find links for many different cities and countries that can guide your praying. The guide began last week on January 9, but begin it when you can and simply follow it for the next 21 days. God hears when His people pray!