Evangelicals hope to reach Buddhists

If you’re a Tibetan Buddhist or you’re leaning that way, you may not know it, but you need Jesus.

That’s the thinking behind a series of Christian evangelical workshops — including one later this month in Wheaton — that will coincide with the Dalai Lama’s trip to Chicago and other American cities this spring.

“We welcome the Dalai Lama here, but we also want to have a chance to reach Tibetan Buddhists with the gospel,” said Doug Van Bronkhorst, executive director of Interserve, an international missionary group based just outside of Philadelphia.

The online announcement for the upcoming workshop offers this enticing hook: “Tibetan Buddhism. It’s ancient. It’s complex. It’s trendy. And its leader, the Dalai Lama, is visiting your city this spring.”

But Van Bronkhorst said in a telephone interview Tuesday, “We are interested in people, not notches on a belt.”

That’s not quite how it sounds to the head of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago, which includes bishops and leaders from most of the largest Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups in the area.

“I’m speaking without knowing anything about this group,” said the Rev. Stan Davis, acting director of the council. “But my sense is that their goal is to try to convert to Christianity. Our goal would be to enter into a dialogue with them, to find out about their faith in a two-way conversation.”

‘He’s a very thoughtful man’

So does Van Bronkhorst think Christians can learn something from the Dalai Lama and his teachings?

“Oh, sure,” Van Bronkhorst said. “He’s a very thoughtful man. He has a lot of good things to say about peace in the world, and he’s quite knowledgeable about other faiths, including the Christian faith.”

Van Bronkhorst says his organization has no plans to send Christian evangelicals to greet the Dalai Lama during his American tour. “Of course that’s up to [individuals] if they want to do that,” Van Bronkhorst said.

The Rev. Patti Nakai, a part-time minister at Buddhist Temple of Chicago in Uptown, says Buddhists in general may not disagree with the Bible, just the evangelical spin.

“Most Buddhists would not have a problem with what is written in the gospel,” said Nakai, who does not follow the particular practices of the Dalai Lama’s sect. “It’s what evangelical Christians say — the idea that you have to be saved in a certain way or you’re doomed to eternal damnation, that’s what we have a problem with.”

The Dalai Lama is due to travel to Chicago in early May, making his first public appearance in the city since 1999.

The spiritual leader is expected to stay on the 24th floor of the Palmer House Hilton in the presidential suite, where amenities include three bathrooms.

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