Buddha's Back!

[Mingus]

15 year old boy in Nepal, said to be the reincarnation of Buddha.

(from Taiwan News Online)

Friday, November 25, 2005

Boy in Nepal believed to be reincarnation of Buddha

2005-11-25 / Associated Press / Translated by Jessie Liu
A teenage boy has been locked in meditation ?allegedly without food or water in a Nepalese jungle for six months, and thousands have flocked to see him with some believing he's the Buddha reincarnated, police and media said yesterday.

Ram Bahadur Banjan, 15, sits cross-legged and motionless with eyes closed in a niche among the roots of a tree in the jungle of Bara, about 160 kilometers south of the capital, Katmandu.

A reporter for the Kantipur newspaper, Sujit Mahat, said he spent two days at the site, and that about 10,000 people are believed to visit every day.

Many visitors believe Banjan is a reincarnation of Gautama Siddhartha, who was born not far away in southwestern Nepal around 500 B.C. and later became revered as the Buddha, which means Enlightened One.

But others aren't so sure.

Police inspector Chitra Bahadur Gurung said officers have interviewed the boy's associates about the claim that Banjan has gone six months without food or drink. Officers have not directly questioned the boy, who appears deep in meditation and doesn't speak.

“We have a team ... investigating the claim on how anyone can survive for so long without food and water,” Gurung said.

Local officials have also asked the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology in Katmandu to send scientists to examine Banjan.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/showPage....rea_code=00000

[Gary Sisco]

Again?

I thought one got off the wheel of life once nirvana has been attained.

Clearly an imposter.

[Mingus]

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

Again?

I thought one got off the wheel of life once nirvana has been attained.

Felt so good, He had to do it again

DoItAgainDoItAgainDoItAgainDoItAgainDoItAgainDoItAgainDoItAgain

[Gary Sisco]

I guess nothingness would get boring after awhile.

[Doc Martin]

Who does he think he is, David Blaine?

[clinthopson]

Wait a minute. I saw Buddha the other day at the 7-11.

He was talking to Elvis.

[Mingus]

More on "Buddha Boy"

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/news...L-RELIGION.XML

Nepal to probe mystery 'Buddha' boy
Sun Nov 27, 2005 9:13 AM GMT13

By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Authorities in Nepal urged religious groups and scientists on Sunday to help solve the mystery of a meditating teenaged boy who some believe is an incarnation of Buddha.

At least 100,000 devotees from Nepal and neighbouring India have flocked in recent weeks to a dense forest in southeastern Nepal to see 15-year-old Ram Bahadur Bamjon, who, his associates say, has been meditating without food or water for six months.

Shanta Raj Subedi, district administrator of Bara, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Kathmandu and where the boy is meditating, said he had requested the Lumbini Development Trust, a Buddhist panel, and the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology to get to the bottom of the mystery.

"We want to investigate claims that the boy has survived for so long without food or drink," Subedi said.

Bamjon sits cross-legged beneath a "pipal" tree, which is sacred to Hindus, with his eyes closed in meditation. He does not speak and followers are only allowed to see him from a distance of 50 metres (165 feet).

The young mystic is hidden from public view at night behind a curtain drawn by his followers. Doctors observing from a distance have said the boy is breathing normally but is weak.

Local journalist Govinda Devkota, who has visited the site,

said the boy sits with a shawl across his chest from armpit to shoulder, in the same posture as Buddha is shown in pictures.

The number of visitors had reached up to 10,000 a day but fewer people are going to the retreat now, he said.

"He sits motionless from dawn to dusk when visitors are allowed to see him. This demands something," said Devkota. "But whether he is an incarnation of Buddha, I have doubts because we don't know what he does at night. This must be investigated."

His mother, Maya Devi -- the same name as that of Buddha's mother -- said Bamjon, the third of her seven children, is a quiet boy who kept aloof from friends.

"Initially, I was worried about him. But now I am happy. He is in devotion to Buddha," Devi told Nepali daily, Rajdhani.

Buddha, who founded Buddhism, was born a prince in Lumbini, a dusty village in Nepal's rice growing plains about 350 km (218 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, over 2,600 years ago.

He attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in the eastern Indian state of Bihar that borders Nepal.

[moneyp]

Originally Posted by Mingus

He attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in the eastern Indian state of Bihar that borders Nepal.

I attained enlightenment in a Mexican bordello laying supine on the floor while receiving la aspiradora vieja, when a tumult of shouting and gunfire in the town square announced that something had happened.

[Rob C]

Gee, are they sure some poor kid didn't just sit down by a tree and die?

[scrotum boy]

I was hoping this thread meant that the record label that produced so much groovy bubble gum music was back.

1-2-3 Red Light, Baby.

[Doc Martin]

Originally Posted by scrotum boy

I was hoping this thread meant that the record label that produced so much groovy bubble gum music was back.

1-2-3 Red Light, Baby.

Yea, and Buzzy Lindhardt.

[steve(thelil)]

Buzzy Linhart put on the worst concert I ever saw. However I have some affection for him because my college girlfriend had a tight Buzzy Linhart T-shirt which caused us to name her breasts Buzzy and Linhart (respectively and respectfully)

[A. Kingstone]

A teenager who doesn't speak and sits in one place.

That's odd.

[Mingus]

Originally Posted by mone peterson

I attained enlightenment in a Mexican bordello laying supine on the floor while receiving la aspiradora vieja, when a tumult of shouting and gunfire in the town square announced that something had happened.

now *there's* something worth seeking by 100,000+ believers!