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CSI Good News
(Church of South India Good News)
Vol. 2 / Issue 24 / July 20 2000
Contents of this issue
Editorial
Buddhist Monk who came back to life I
One-Day Conference in NJ
News Items (Common to all issues) :
Through the Valley of Death & other Books
Download Articles in Handheld Computers
Kids Page - Free Tutorials
Hindi / Malayalam/Tamil Bible Online
Your Spam Folder
Your Feedback
Editorial
By Sherly Isaac
Genesis 47:9, And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage."
Jacob was asked by Pharaoh, "how old are you?" And the answer comes, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life. Why did he reply like that? Because his life was full of pain and misery.
The first reason for his misery was that, he cheated his own brother and not only did he buy his brother’s birthright but he stole all his blessings also of being first born. Pain and misery started for him from that date. He had to run for his life. He left everything and went to his mother’s place where he fell in love with Rachel. He worked seven years for marrying Rachel. Laban changed his wages ten times and cheated him. In fact he worked very hard to get his love, but what he found in the morning was that Laban gave him Leah instead of Rachel as we read in Genesis 29:25, ‘So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?"’ What he did he got back as it is.
Many times we forget that there is a God who judge between us. We try to cheat others and even try to cheat God, but Bible says in Job 4:8, "Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same." Oh, Jacob got back what he sowed and he shed tears during his whole life. Why should you live in misery and tears? Why live in curse when Jesus is there to help you to come out from your misery and tears.
The second reason for his misery was that, he never tried to know the will of God for his life. He fell in love with Rachel and made up his mind to marry her. He never considered to ask God, what His will was for his marriage. How many times we do the same thing. We make up our mind to gain something and try to gain it. We cry, we pray, we beg God but it never happens. And as many could not find the things they asked God, they quit the ways of God and start cursing God. They forget that whatever God will do would be for their best. Yes, it is difficult to understand at times, but if you yield to the will of God you will find later on that God had done it for your good. Suppose a small child asks for a knife from his parents and when they do not allow him to take the knife he cries and feels very sorry, but his parents know that this thing may harm him. So they refused to give it to him. In the same way God knows what is best for us. Psalmist says in Psalms 84:11, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly."
Jacob lived in misery and in pain but you need not to live in misery and pain because Jesus died on the cross to take away all our misery and pain. He wants to give us a life full of peace, joy and happiness. If you have not yet accepted Him in your life, please ask Him to come into your life. He will gladly come in and take all your misery and pain from your life.
In this Issue you will read a very wonderful testimony of a Buddhist Monk who came back to life and was showed hell and heaven. I am really excited to publish this story. When I contacted AMO (Asian Minorities outreach) workers they gladly gave permission. Events of this story so radically transformed this man that his life took on a complete 180-degree turn after the events described below. He has fearlessly and boldly told his story at great personal risk, including imprisonment. He has been scorned by his relatives, friends and colleagues, and he faced death threats for his unwillingness to compromise his message. What motivated this man to be willing to risk everything?
Buddhist Monk who came back to life I
The Remarkable Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who came back to life a changed man!
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."
To be continued….
One-Day Conference in NJ
The Church of St. Paul's and Resurrection, Wood-Ridge, NJ is hosting a one-day interdenominational Mission Conference on Saturday, July 29, 2000 from 9 AM - 5 PM at the Life Christian Church in West Orange, NJ. This will be a day of fasting, meditation, renewal, and prayer, focusing on the mission of the church. There will be several well-known and effective leaders, including Dr. Sam Kamaleson. For more information, directions, program, and online registration,
please visit:
http://www.stpaulsnj.org/conference2000
Through the Valley of Death & other Books
As many of you know that in the year 2005, our dad was very sick even unto death. God miraculously healed him. We have compiled it in a book form. I sure believe that it will inspire you and encourage you greatly.
This book is available for purchase at JasmineCorp Store
Also read these two books by Sherly Isaac "Allah and Elohim - Are they the same God" Available at JasmineCorp Store, and "Is Jesus God?" Available at JasmineCorp Store,
Both books compares the Bible and the Quran and read eye opening facts about Jesus, God of the Bible, Allah and Islamic faith. I am sure that you want to read this.
Download Articles in Handheld Computers
You can now download articles in Palm Doc format for your palm handheld computer. It will work with any devise that has Palm OS and Palm Doc Reader installed. To download click on the link named "Palm Doc Format" i.e. at the top of this page by the side of each articles.
Kids Page - Free Tutorials
Now you can learn Graphics and web designing online at Kid's page. These tutorials are free for kids who subscribe for CSI Kids Newsletter. Currently tutorials for Paint Shop Pro, HTML and Dreamweaver are available.
So please enroll your kids by going to http://kids.csinewsletter.org/member/join.asp
And visit CSI Kid's page at http://kids.csinewsletter.org
Hindi / Malayalam/Tamil Bible Online
Now you can read Bible in Hindi online at http://www.hindibible.org
in Malayalam online at http://www.malayalambible.org
in Tamil online at http://www.hindibible.org?ver=tamil
Your Spam Folder
If you are getting this newsletter in your bulk/junk/Spam folder please hit the "not junk" or "not spam" button so that you could receive it in your mailbox. Also adding news@csinewsletter.com email address into your contact list can avoid this email from ending up in your bulk folder.
Your Feedback
Your feedback and comments are Welcome. Please send your Parish news & articles to Editor (Sherly N. Isaac) at this address News@csinewsletter.comThe messages submitted will be checked whether they are correct according to the word of God. Editor reserves the right to accept, reject or edit the messages. The writers are responsible for the contents of their writings.
 
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