Sure!
Posted on 11/23/2005 11:26:55 AM PST by laney
KATMANDU, Nepal - A teenage boy has been meditating in a Nepalese jungle for six months, and thousands have flocked to see him, with some believing he is the reincarnation of Buddha, police and media said Wednesday
Ram Bahadur Banjan, 15, sits cross-legged and motionless with eyes closed among the roots of a tree in the jungle of Bara, about 100 miles south of the capital, Katmandu.
He's supposedly been that way since May 17 — but his followers have been keeping him from public view at night.
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 daily.
Soldiers have been posted in the area for crowd control, officials said.
A makeshift parking lot and cluster of food stalls have sprung up near Banjan's retreat, an area not previously frequented by visitors.
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.
Others aren't so sure.
Police inspector Chitra Bahadur Gurung said officers have interviewed the boy's associates about their 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.
Mahat said visitors can catch a glimpse of Banjan from a roped-off area about 80 feet away from him between dawn and dusk.
Followers then place a screen in front of him, blocking the view and making it impossible to know what he is doing at night, Mahat said.
"We could not say what happens after dark," Mahat said. "People only saw what went on in the day, and many believed he was some kind of god."
Buddhism teaches that right thinking and self-control can enable people to achieve nirvana — a divine state of peace and release from desire. Buddhism has about 325 million followers, mostly in Asia.
WWRBBD?
That's what I first thought... "He's dead, Jim."
That's not a fast. That's a delay.
What good is a "god" that gets no more respect than a monkey at the zoo? BTW, someone has been slipping him food at night if he hasnt ate since May.
That's a nifty little bullet for a resume!
"The reincarnation of Buddha. Hmmm...
Can you give me couple of references?"
Well, if you can't get anyone else to do it, you just gotta go flock yourself.
The concept of reincarnation is one of the most depressing theories I've ever heard uttered.
Every instance of it means you failed last time around.
Every infraction this time around means another attempt in some other life form.
Thank God for Jesus and being freed from such a vicious cycle.
If he's a normal 15 year old boy and his hands aren't broken - I can pretty well guess what he's doing at night!
A very convenient way to fast if you ask me.
Yeah, you only get one shot.........
If he's still meditating at night, why would they bother to screen him? That would really bolster their case. Doesn't pass the smell test.
I bet that Google Earth could figure out what he's doing at night, with an infrared camera.
Actually, the old Greek philosophers who invented the concept of kairos were the first to discuss the concept of linear time, which subsequently became the cornerstone of Western civilization.
In fact, the first noun uttered by Christ in the New Testament is kairos. This demonstrates how classical Greeks ideas were connected to early Christian ideas.
>>>Has anyone poked him with a stick to make sure he's still alive?>>
Noone is allowed to get that close.
LOL! I can see it now...
"Boy, do I have to take a dump...oh, and get me some Subway, pronto!"
Sure!
I wonder if there are any reincarnations of Bubba out there.
Personally I think all organized religion is BS.
"Ram Bahadur Banjan, 15, sits cross-legged and motionless with eyes closed among the roots of a tree in the jungle of Bara . . . .
"He's supposedly been that way since May 17 — but his followers have been keeping him from public view at night. . ."
at which time he breaks out the pizza and watches reruns of Gilligan's Island.
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