In this excerpt from Leaving Buddha, Tenzin Lahkpa, formerly a Buddhist monk, recalls his first introduction to Jesus the Messiah.

Tenzin Lahkpa and Eugene Bach, Leaving Buddha: A Tibetan Monk’s Encounter with the Living God (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2019), 206 pages, ISBN 9781641231022.
Read the review by John Lathrop.
Read the introduction from Eugene Bach, “The Tenzin Lahkpa Story.”

A Christian Family Member

“Tenzin!”

“Yes?” I responded to the unknown voice yelling down the corridor after me.

“There is someone outside looking for you.”

I ended my meditation, stood up, and walked to the door. As I stepped outside, I saw a kind-looking young man, a little older than I, pacing around.

“Tenzin?” he said as soon as he saw me. I nodded.

“I’m Peema. Your uncle told me that you have been looking for us.”

“Ahh…so good to see you. My uncle told me that I had family living here, but I didn’t even know where to start. I was told that your family was living in Dharamsala. I asked around about you, but no one knew where you were.”

“Yes, we used to live in Dharamsala, but we moved to America a year ago.”

“I heard that you are a monk.”

“I used to be, but not anymore.”

I pulled my head back in surprise. “Not anymore? What happened? Did you decide you needed a wife?” I asked jokingly. Marriage was the number-one killer of monastic living.

“Not exactly,” he said a bit sheepishly. “Do you care to take a walk?”

“Sure.”

Peema and I strolled down the side of the mountain from the mon­astery. There wasn’t really anywhere to walk to, but taking a walk in the shadow of the mountains and away from the listening ears of other monks seemed to be what my relative wanted to do.

“My family is living in America and they really like it a lot. America is nothing like Tibet or India. Everything there is so much better. Everyone has a car, a house, and a mobile phone.”

“How did you get to go to America?” I asked.

“We were invited by a Christian man. Their church sponsored our visa and have helped us.”

“Christian?” I had heard the word before. I knew that it was the reli­gion of Westerners but didn’t know anything about it.

“Yes. There was an American who came to Dharamsala and told us about Jesus. We listened to him, and what he had to say changed our lives forever. We have never been happier, and we are doing better than any generation before us.”

I was shocked at what he was saying. Although I didn’t know much about the religion of the Christians, I did know that Tibetans hated their religion. Even Hindus, who recognize almost every god under the sun, hate Christians.

Eugene Bach is a leader with the Back to Jerusalem ministry (www.backtojerusalem.com). He has written a number of books about Christianity in nations that are hostile to the gospel; he has written about Christianity in China, Iran, and North Korea. This current volume deals with the experiences of a Tibetan Buddhist monk who left Buddhism to follow Jesus Christ.

Most of the text of this book deals with the experiences Tenzin had while he was in the Buddhist faith. As you read you will become acquainted with Buddhist teachings and practices, many of which are explained in the book. Tenzin was raised in a Buddhist family; when he was a teenager he was sent off to live in a Buddhist monastery. This was considered an honor and was to set him off on the path toward “enlightenment.” During his time in the monastery, he learned the disciplined life of a monk; their schedules were very regimented. In addition he also learned the tenets and practices of his faith and how to debate (which was a major facet of their training). While he was there he also became aware of some of the dark things that could take place in the Buddhist faith. In the first monastery he lived at he heard loud cries at night. He learned that these cries came from a younger monk who was being sexually abused by an older monk.

During the course of his studies, Tenzin moved to a number of different monasteries. In one place he found that the Buddhists hated the Chinese, in another he found that they hated the Muslims. He came to the conclusion that Buddhism was a very hateful religion. He also became aware that some of the top religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama, all of whom are supposed to be celibate, had secret families. He saw some of the inconsistencies and hypocrisy in the Buddhist faith. He also came to realize that some of his fellow seekers on the path to enlightenment seemed to be no more enlightened than he was.

In India, Tenzin tried to connect with one of his relatives who was also a monk (or so he thought). He learned that his cousin had actually moved to the United States a year earlier through the help of a Christian man and his church. His cousin had also become a Christian and was happier than he had even been. In the course of his journey, Tenzin found out from another monk that Jesus was dangerous for Buddhists; Jesus could undo all that Buddhists sought to attain. This monk told Tenzin to put away everything he had learned about Jesus. At one particular point in his studies Tenzin heard the Dalai Lama speak. In his teaching this man seemed to express respect for the other religions of the world. However, Tenzin noticed that he did not make any reference to Jesus or His followers.

Leaving Buddha is an interesting story of how God is at work in the world today, specifically in the lives of people from other world religions (yes, they can be reached). The book demonstrates how Tenzin’s emptiness, questions, and doubts brought him to Jesus. If you are interested in missions this book will be a welcome addition to your library. As Paul wrote to the church in Colossae “the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world” (Col 1:6 NIV); this is true even in the Buddhist world.

Reviewed by John Lathrop

Read Excerpts from Leaving Buddha:

In this excerpt from Leaving Buddha, Eugene Bach introduces us to the amazing story of Tenzin Lahkpa, a Buddhist monk who had a powerful encounter with Jesus the Messiah.

In this excerpt from Leaving Buddha, Tenzin Lahkpa, formerly a Buddhist monk, recalls his first introduction to Jesus the Messiah.