While in Cambodia, Chris Sorensen asked an old Buddhist Khmer man, “Grandpa (a culture term of respect), do you hope to attain Nirvana after this present lifetime?”
“No, grandchild,” he answered. “Not after this lifetime.”
Again, Chris asked, “Do you hope, Grandpa, to attain Nirvana after your next lifetime?”
The old man replied in a pitiful chuckle, “No, grandchild. Not after the next lifetime either.”
Finally he asked, “After how many lifetimes do you expect to attain Nirvana?”
Very matter-of-factly, the old grandpa declared, “After 500,000 lives...I may reach it.”
Five hundred thousand reincarnations into a life that Buddhists equate with suffering! And if you are a good Buddhist, you enter Nirvana. What is Nirvana? Buddhists say it is a place of perfect peace—freedom from life, and thus freedom from suffering—nothingness. When it’s all boiled down, Nirvana is essentially a condition almost identical to the Bible’s description of the state of the dead. And this is the Buddhist’s hope?! This is the goal—eternal death?!
Chris and Shannon Sorensen want to tell the 1.3 million Northern Khmer of Thailand that Jesus can break the chains of our evil desires (“karma”) and lift all who believe in Him out of this miserable life into an eternally conscious and joyful life, completely free from suffering—no reincarnations required (John 5:24)! That’s real hope, and the Northern Khmer need it!
Contact Wolf Jedamski at the church office (423-396-2134) to find out how you can help with this project.
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