In Thailand, Buddhism is an extremely common practice. I’ve had the opportunity to visit a handful of temples and spend some quality time with some lovely monks. It has been extremely interesting and refreshing to witness new ways of life that are fairly uncommon in the U.S. surrounding me so abundantly.
However, I get a sense of urgency as I enter the temples that are spotted throughout Chiang Mai. Their ominous spiritual atmospheres leave me feeling super uneasy. Something that has grown prevalent since arriving here in Thailand is my discernment for sensing evil, for sensing Satan. Don’t get me wrong, the people who practice Buddhism tend to be extremely kind. Buddha did not promote evil. From what I’ve learned so far, Buddha was a very wise, humble, and kind man among other admirable attributes. Even just reading through his quotes, I gain so much wisdom! I never get a sense of evil when speaking to monks about their morals and practices. They’re searching for answers just like I am. They’re trying to figure out what’s right and wrong just like the majority of other people on the planet. They’re searching for authentic fulfillment in life just like I have. Originally, I was surprised by the freedom and flexibility they seemed to have. Not all monks follow all the same rules or even have similar beliefs about seemingly big concepts in Buddhism. I greatly admire their open-mindedness and always strive to meet their level when it comes to this. (Yes, I am an open-minded Christian. Controversial, huh?)
Another thing I noticed was a common theme among the monks I chatted with is that they don’t view Buddha in the way I view Jesus. To them, Buddha is a great teacher, but it pretty much ends there. To me, yes, Jesus is an extremely wise teacher, but he is so much more. Instead of just being able to provide me with wise answers to all my questions, he is the answer. I’ve been told by one of my friends who is a monk that he does not worship Buddha. He simply goes to him for answers. They don’t believe that they can converse with Buddha directly, so they resort to his teachings. Sounds kind of lonely to me. I mean, the Bible without the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit would just be another book.
(Side note: I feel like people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus may view worship differently or with a negative connotation. To me, worship means connecting with Abba. It means thanking Him. It means reflecting on the goodness he has rained down on my life. It means going to him in the worst and best of times. It means asking him tough questions but loving Him and being loved anyways. I wish the church encouraged questioning more, similar to the monks I conversed with. Anyways, this will be a whole different blog…)
I am a firm believer that Jesus can arise in any walk of life. For example, I have learned so much about life from the practice of Buddhism since arriving in Thailand, yet Abba is still guiding me in every way. Yes, monks can reflect the character of Jesus. I’ve witnessed it first hand.
To reiterate, I never sense evil in these people, I sense it around them.
My first memory of this is from a couple weeks ago. My team and I had a half day of ministry at Connie’s Home, the foster home we’re serving at, so we did what’s called “Ask The Lord.” This means that we used our afternoon as a blank canvas, asking God who, what, and where to pray, minister, or speak. The opportunities are endless since Abba’s creativity and the way he works through us is mind-blowing and never-ending.
Lily, Hannah, and I went out to pray over the city. After stopping at a clothing shop and getting to know the owners, we entered a temple that we’d passed a couple times throughout the previous weeks. As soon as I stepped foot into gates, it felt like my soul was being suffocated. As I remained in constant prayer and communication with Abba, he began to reveal things to me about that space and the temples in Thailand in general. The words “ghost town” echoed in my head. People come to these temples to have their minds filled with wisdom and their hearts filled with purpose, but they’re only met with emptiness, with a vacuum. Somehow the street noise didn’t carry over into the open temple area, and this silence was telling. God kept warning me that Satan was intimidated by our prayer and that he was going to attempt to distract and place fear in my heart. Not soon after, a flock of birds started to surround me. This wasn’t a life-or-death situation by any means, but the symbolism was beyond powerful. Despite the enemy surrounding me, I stood my ground, knowing that God’s hedge of protection was wrapped around me. As I continued in prayer, I noticed a dog sitting on the stairs near an entryway to the temple. This is actually a fairly common occurrence in Chiang Mai. Dogs tend to be hanging out everywhere. Sadly I didn’t get my rabies shot, so, even though most of the dogs appear harmless, it’s a look-but-don’t-pet situation. The dog on the steps wasn’t just any innocent puppy though. God quickly revealed to me that the dog represented Satan and his attempt to put on a show and scare us away due to his own fear of God’s power. While there were a few people going into the temple without a peep from the dog heard, as soon as Lily, Hannah, or I even looked toward the stairs, the dog began to growl. This may have appeared silly to anybody passing by, but I spent a good minute in a stare down with the riled up dog. I was not going to lose my stance and fall into the cycle of fear that Satan was desperately trying to pull us into.
Remember the power you walk in with Abba on your side. Every space you enter has potential to be a spiritual battleground — don’t let Satan take any victories! Declare the Lord’s dominion over every space you enter. His name is so powerful and makes the puny demons shutter.
Earlier this week, me and a handful of my squad-mates had the opportunity to go hike up to Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat, Thailand’s floating temples. The trek to the top was a bit sketchy (they were in the process of building/rebuilding stairs, so we were basically walking on wood planks balancing on thin metal bars on the side of a mountain.) However, the view was absolutely breathtaking once we reached the top. After spending some quality time capturing the beautiful scenery, snapping some group shots, and laughing and chatting with one another, Abba led me to go pray over every temple.
In order to set up the scene for you, each Buddhist temple open to the public (as there are some only monks enter) usually has at least one shrine and offering area set up.
I simply just declared Jesus’ name over these spaces, praying that His love would be felt in order to fill the emptiness of the room. I could sense that the visitors at the temple had longing hearts. I prayed that their longing would cease after being met with the Lord’s love, grace, and kindness.
We then traveled up to the highest temple/offering area. There were a few things I noticed up here. Firstly, there were 2 gongs placed in the center of the structure. People sat in front of them and went on to rub their palms on the center. This created a super ominous, deep sound that echoed throughout the temples. There was also numerous big bells and gongs placed throughout other areas of Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat that made similar sounds. Honestly, the eerie sounds made me sick to my stomach.
For Buddhists, “…ringing the holy bells and gongs have always been [a] matter of showing affection towards the “Buddha “ and all the Bodhisattvas. This is a ritual of accumulating positive karma.”
The temple eventually started to clear out until we were the only people remaining. Some of my teammates were reading their Bibles while others were simply taking in the breathtakingly beautiful sights. I put in my earbuds and began to worship Abba. This was such a sweet time. My eyes got to be indulged by the stunning mountain view and my heart was being indulged by the Lord’s love and power. I declared Jesus’ name over the space. THERE WAS SO MUCH POWER IN THIS! Abba began to reveal to me that we were the first people to worship him up on that temple. Chills shot up my body. After my worship session came to a close, the air felt lighter and the little bells and wind chimes hanging around the temple were ringing with a serene, joyful sound. The nasty spiritual battleground I walked into was transformed by the sweet aroma of Jesus.
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“The bell is a representation of ‘wisdom.’ Ringing the bell is a method to evoke wisdom and show compassion. Bells, gongs, Tibetan bowls, wind chimes, and other such sound instruments are symbolism of good luck and spirituality all over Asia. These instruments have the capacity to rejuvenate the place with their pleasant sounds and create a happy spiritual atmosphere.”
In that moment of worship, God used his wind to make the bells move and to symbolize his true wisdom coming down on that place. The atmosphere was revived by His spirit.
“Buddhists believe that the sounds produced by these instruments have the capacity to transform all the occurring and experience into a more en-lighted perspective. Bells and gongs are symbols of spiritual authority of the peaceful deities. The holistic sounds produced by these instruments have the power of destroying the delusion, waking you up from the desires and unrealistic expectations that causes sufferings in life.”
When I read this, my mind was blown! The increased activity of the bells at the temple following our worship and declaration of Jesus was symbolic of the Lord’s spiritual authority coming to fruition, the only peaceful deity, Abba, washing over the temples, his presence destroying the delusion, suffering, and unrealistic expectations Satan was creating within the temple, and giving visitors an enlightened perspective through His love.
“All over Asia, these instruments can be found in their religious places like Temples and are believed to attract peaceful spirits while protecting against the evil forces.”
God is the peaceful spirit! Satan is the evil force! Wow!
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We then went back down to the first cluster of temples we visited and I spent half an hour praying over one of the rooms that I hadn’t entered before. Abba revealed to me the deception that Satan works in Buddhism. While the offering tables look glamorous and voluptuous, I realized that it was only covering up an ugly, messy truth. It even kind of looked like there was a snake under the table! Satan is slithering in the most unlikely places, which is why we must declare Jesus everywhere!
Once again, the temple was filled with Abba’s presence after I prayed and His victory was fulfilled.
God’s presence fills spaces with a light wholeness rather than deceitful, dreary emptiness. Throughout this month, I’ve learned that it’s not about what Buddhists believe and practice, but what their way of life is lacking: the love of Jesus! I fervently pray that the empty spaces in their lives will be filled with Jesus. Let’s invite Abba into different cultures rather than disrespectfully wrecking peoples’ ways of life.
In a place like Thailand, spiritual battlegrounds are obviously placed and extremely prevalent. However, I guarantee that the U.S. has a plethora of places that need to have Jesus’ victory proclaimed over them! I challenge you to declare His victory over every space you encounter. Let’s create an atmosphere of authentic freedom rather than suffocation. Remember that Abba has already won the war. Let’s proclaim His victories over the battles!
P.S. I only have $869.00 more to fund-raise! Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed! Your impact on the Lord’s kingdom is bigger than you even realize! If you didn’t receive an email from me with an update about my first month in Thailand, comment your email below. Also, feel free to comment any prayer requests you have.
I will be doing a Q&A blog/vlog soon, so comment any questions you have!
sources:
http://www.originalsource.com/blog/worship/bells-gongs-significance-tibetan-buddhism/
