Posted on 11/13/2008 9:22:22 AM PST by KerryOnNoMore
RATANPUR, Nepal – The teenage boy revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha sat silently in the jungle as he blessed his devotees Wednesday with a light tap on the head, which they consider the touch of the divine.
His face was still, his long hair spilled over his white robe, and he never said a word.
The followers of Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, believe he has been meditating without food and water since he was first spotted in the jungles of southern Nepal in 2005, when believers say he spent months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree.
Bamjan re-emerged this week to meet his followers, who have come by the thousands to see him in the jungles of Ratanpur, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Katmandu.
"I got a chance to see God today," Bishnu Maya Khadka, a housewife, said after receiving Bamjan's blessing Wednesday. "They say he is Buddha, but for me he is just God."
Bamjan was expected to address his followers on Nov. 18 and then retreat again into the jungle for meditation, said Kamal Tamang, a Buddhist priest.
Bamjan received the pilgrims from atop a podium covered in yellow cloth and placed before a massive tree. He looked healthy and strong and showed no signs of starvation or dehydration.
Buddhism, which has about 325 million followers, mostly in Asia, teaches that every soul is reincarnated after death in another bodily form.
But several Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of the claims that Bamjan is a reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal roughly 2,500 years ago and became revered as the Buddha, or Enlightened One.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Is Benjamin Creme his handler?
ping
ping
ping
these kind seem to be crawling out of the woodwork lately
Sounds mentally ill, and should be receiving medical help instead of worship. Arrange an intrevention, worshipers.
Site comment on this kid, "I thought we were the only country with The One leading us."
Thanks for the ping. I saw another thread about this yesterday. :-)
If he was there since 2005 that robe would NOT be white anymore like the picture from the link!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.