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.
Actually, the Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama is the reincarnation of Avalokitesvara. He is just one of the "bodhisattvas" of which Buddha is the most famous.
The Buddha's back
Gonna save my reputation
Heyla, Hey la, the Buddah's back.
No way. *I'm* the reincarnation of Buddha.
And the next Pope, too!
LOL!
Orthodox Judaism is such a convenient cakewalk.
And that getting by with only four wives in Islam is so incredibly disciplined!
So much tougher than that creampuff monogamy rule that Christianity requires.
It's also much more psychologically challenging to lash out violently at your enemies rather than take that easy turn-the-other-cheek route.
Personally I think all organized religion is BS.
Given the weakness of your other statements, this one fails to surprise me.
Shhh! It's supposed to look like a competitive election! You're ruining everything.
When I'm elected Pope, I can't wait to hold a Jewish service in the Vatican wearing nothing but lingerie and high-heels.
Strappy black ones with 3-inch heels.
No, no, no... That was the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard.
BTW: I'm not really Redcloak. He's letting me post this under his screen name. I'm John Smith. Got that? JOHN SMITH.
I never said it was.
It's also much more psychologically challenging to lash out violently at your enemies rather than take that easy turn-the-other-cheek route.
So President Bush isn't a very good Christian?
Well, you're about 20 centuries too late on the Jewish service part, and I'm pretty sure that some Dutch or Belgian bishop has beaten you to the punch on the ensemble.
Damn.
Well, no Jewish cross-dressing Buddha Pope has ever married an alpaca in St. Peter's Basillica before.
So I'm pretty sure CNN will cover THAT.
What? Is the baby fat, bald, and smiling? Holy Smokes! It must be him.
Nope. The Hebrews had it down well over a millennium earlier: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. . . "
But it demands "less sacrifice" than Islam, which requires: (1) nominal almsgiving, (2) vacationing in Mecca one time, (3) reciting one sentence 5x a day and (4) skipping lunch for a few days a year.
So President Bush isn't a very good Christian?
Which enemy has president Bush lashed out violently at? Did he take a swing at Chuck Schumer or Cindy Sheehan and I missed it?
If they X out the alpaca I will just lose it.
Yes I agree with you, Hebrews says it well.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Heb 9:27-28)
Did the Hebrews have a concept that was similar to the GReek Kairos (or timeliness or the right time)? The concept of linear time as represented by kairos appears in the New Testament (as mentioned earlier). Do you have any Old Testament references? Thanks.
Dan Rather says he has documents from the 70's proving the alpaca is just an ordinary llama.
I just gave you one. And yes, the Hebrews plainly had an idea of a linear time, which started at Creation and runs through to the coming of the Messiah (what Christians believe to be the Second Coming) rather than a cyclical time where the same old crap keeps happening over and over again without end.
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