PILGRIMS FLOCK TO HEAR 'BUDDHA BOY'
By Rhys Blakely
The Australian
November 13, 2008
Original LinkMUMBAI - Thousands of pilgrims have flocked to a remote jungle in southeast Nepal after a 17-year-old boy whom some believe to be a reincarnation of the Buddha emerged after more than a year in the forest.
Ram Bahadur Bamjan appeared on Monday to preach in a temple in Ratanpur, southeast of Kathmandu.
Dubbed "Buddha Boy" by the press, and dismissed as a charlatan by some, the teenager first garnered headlines in 2005 when tens of thousands of devotees travelled to see him as he sat cross-legged amid the roots of a tree for nearly 10 months without, it was claimed, food or water.
This week the long-haired Bamjan, attired in a gleaming white cloth, appeared to be in good health when he spoke to his followers about fostering peace and ending discrimination.
He plans to give similar audiences for the next week or so. A police spokesman said: "The whole jungle area where he has appeared has turned into a festival and around 10,000 people came to see him on Monday."
Many of those have described the experience as amazing and are convinced that he is the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in about 560BC and later became revered as the Buddha.
Several doubts have been raised, however, over the authenticity of Bamjan. During past appearances thousands of pounds were collected from devotees, leading to allegations that he was really a con man.
Most damagingly, perhaps, a French journalist filmed Bamjan nibbling on fruit while supposedly midway through a fast; another correspondent found him asleep while he was supposed to be meditating.
In March last year supporters of Bamjan said that he planned to meditate for three years in an underground bunker -- an idea he now appears to have thought better of.
There has not been any official statement from Buddhism's authorities on Banjam. Min Bahadur Shakya, of the Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods in Kathmandu, said: "Meditating without food does not prove that he is reincarnation of Buddha. There is much study needed to be done."
Dr K.T.S. Sarao, head of Buddhist studies at the University of Delhi, said: "In this part of the world religion incites very strong feelings.
"Science is unable to explain all of the world ... if you're asking for my personal opinion, well I'm a rationalist sceptic."
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Wikipedia on Ram Bahadur Bomjon--------------
PREVIOUS NHNE NEWS LIST ARTICLES:
UPDATE 17: BUDDHA BOY VIDEO FROM 2005 (11/12/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13278
UPDATE 16: MORE ON BUDDHA BOY BUNKER (3/27/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12770
UPDATE 15: NEPAL'S BUDDHA BOY PLANS LIVE BURIAL (3/26/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12768
UPDATE 14: 'BUDDHA BOY' DOES SECOND VANISHING ACT (3/10/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12696
UPDATE 13: MIRROR 'EXCLUSIVE' ON 'BUDDHA BOY' RAM BAHADUR BOMJAN (12/28/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12341
UPDATE 12: 'BUDDHA BOY' BOMJON FOUND IN BARA JUNGLE (12/25/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12328
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 11 (3/20/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/11019
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 10 (BOY FOUND) (3/19/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/11007
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 9 (3/13/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10967
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 8 (BOY STILL MISSING) (3/13/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10965
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 7 (BOY REPORTED MISSING) (3/11/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10956
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 6 (2/24/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10866
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 5 (2/10/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10805
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 4 (1/27/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10745
'BUDDHA BOY' UPDATE 3 (12/5/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10493
MORE ON 'BUDDHA BOY' INVESTIGATION (12/02/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10478
NEPAL TO PROBE MYSTERY 'BUDDHA BOY' (11/28/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10439
PILGRIMS FLOCK TO SEE RAM BOMJON, THE 'BUDDHA BOY' (11/21/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10393