I Once was a Buddhist Nun by Esther Baker

Author:Esther Baker
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781844747276
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
Published: 2009-06-18T16:00:00+00:00

10 Leaving the temple

‘I am the LORD your God...You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.’

(Exodus 20:2–5 NKJV)

I had decided to spend three more weeks at the temple, which the monks and nuns agreed to allow. I had lived in a Buddhist temple for so long that I needed a little time to adjust to my new lifestyle. I didn’t ever go again to meditation, or to hear any Buddhist teaching or talk, or to a ceremony. I just stayed there, preparing myself for the world outside.

After the disrobing, someone kindly gave me £10. This was the first time I had handled money in five years. I remember going to the local village shop, buying some crisps and eating them with great relish. I smiled all the way back to the temple: not only had I bought them myself, but I was eating solid, ‘non-medicinal’ food after noon, which I hadn’t done for many years. I felt that each ‘normal’ thing I did, such as using money again, was a mini-conquest, another step towards acclimatizing to life outside the temple.

The following morning I went to visit the local Anglican vicar and his curate, who happened to be his wife: Cyril and Mary Ross. They led the church on the other side of the hill from Revd Richard Mason’s church and were the couple whom Richard had called in case I needed to contact them while the Masons were away on holiday. I had heard of them anyway, as they were well respected locally.

I had called Mary a day or two before. I didn’t know it, but they were having a church meeting at the vicarage at the time. I explained to Mary on the phone, ‘I’m a Sister from the Buddhist temple and I want to become a Christian.’ I didn’t realize the stir and excitement that I caused! Usually they had little to do with the monks and nuns, but were aware of us in our distinctive garb as we walked about the village. They were about to become more intimately acquainted.

When I knocked on the vicarage door in my freshly disrobed state, Mary opened it. I still had very little hair and was dressed a bit strangely. She warmly welcomed me in, sat me down with a cup of tea, and I shared my story about having just disrobed. She and her husband Cyril were amazed and delighted and started to plan how to help me. From the beginning I warmed to them and enjoyed being with them.

Over the next three weeks, I took the short walk down the hill to their house several times. Dear Mary took time to teach me the basics of the Christian faith.

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