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By Athet Pyan
Shinthaw Paulu |
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Many
people have sent in to us questions about the
authenticity of the below story. It cannot be
authenticated. And it cannot be proven an outright fake.
No NDE that I know of can be proven or disproved.
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The Remarkable
Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who came back to
life a changed man! |
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Story told by Athet Pyan
Shinthaw Paulu |
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 also 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, his employers transferred my father 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 try to 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 terrible, terrible lake of
fire
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 ethnics 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 couldn't catch them up, 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 named 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 with 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, 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 form 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. |