Member of Dai Royal Family meets the Holy Spirit

(July 2009)

This past week it came to my attention again how in the 1960's, Religion scholars were predicting that the Church and Religion in general would be pushed into a corner, small and irrelevant and the Secular World would prevail. These same social observers, Dr. Peter Berger and Dr. Harvey Cox, whom I read during College and Graduate School in the early 80's returned in the 90's to confess that the opposite has happened.

This is very evident here in SE Asia. Of course, many know the story of communists in SE Asia in the 60's and some know of what is happening now. A real story that encapsulates this is about John. John is of Royal lineage of the Dai People. In 1949 and the liberation of China, his family lost everything they had, status, wealth and property. In the following 30 years, their particular culture came under intense threat to relinquish their ways in favor of Atheism and Science. Yet despite these difficulties, they were able to maintain it during the tumultuous time. As a result, John was raised as a loyal Dai Hinayana Buddhist, especially so since his family heritage demanded it. To be Dai is to be Buddhist.

His world was alive with the Spirits. There was daily evidence of the reality of these Spirits, both good and bad. He was surrounded with Monks, Temples and Stupas and/or Pagodas. Stupas and Pagodas signify where a Buddhist saint is recognized as helping the community, such as saving people from a flood or healing a loved one and so on. Sometimes, they are places said to have relics of the Buddha. Mostly, it seems that it is former rather than the latter. These Stupas are everywhere in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and in Yunnan where the Dai people are.

There was also the local Shaman who would visit the home to help in healing and of casting of spells and the driving out of the evil spirits. This was very real to him. One time, he was healed on account of the Shaman's instruction. He had intense headaches on both sides of his head. His parents took him to the Shaman for consul. The Shaman said, pull the 2 nails out that are both sides of the entrance to your home and the headaches will go away. Of course, they went away only convincing him further that this world is real.

John & the University: When it is time to continue his education, John moved to the big city to attend university. He was going to receive the typical education any aspiring young person would get, except in the 1990's there was more exposure to ideas from outside of China. One of these ideas was Jesus. He was given the traditional story of the life of Jesus and he readily accepted this. To him, the Holy Spirit Alive was totally real for the Spirit World is Real and now he can have relationship with the Creator.

A natural consequence of this new expression of faith was the conflict with his Buddhist/Spirit upbringing. His parents, at first struggled with his new ideas and he struggled with the Spirit World and Nurtured Cultural Habits he was accustomed too for all his life. For about 2 years he had dark moments of despair as he wrestled with this World and he once was fully involved with. He went back and forth between outright rejecting his upbringing and rejecting his newly found faith. Eventually, he came to a place where he could live peaceably in his old Culture yet embracing the new. He is currently meditating through the areas which are noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious or the good and not the ugly of these 2 worlds. How he can engage his previous world while respecting and applauding the heritage of his family.

Footnote: Most recently, John has intense family pressure to do more studies and enter political service in the home area. The goal is that he can help them restore their former glory. On the other hand, he does not, at this time, have the desire to pursue such power. In addition, his parents have also accpeted the Holy Spirit Alive World and their views are beginning to change.