He sits motionless from dawn to dusk when visitors are allowed to see him. But ... we don't know what he does at night.
I do........
Posted on 11/27/2005 2:11:07 AM PST by CarrotAndStick
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, 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.
He sits motionless from dawn to dusk when visitors are allowed to see him. But ... we don't know what he does at night.
I do........
Oh jeezz, I guess I should have read farther before posting.
I didn't mean to butt into a conversation.......sorry.
However, if any folks feel that the words MENTALLY "savage, horrifying or kinky" doesn't apply to their favorite third-world moon, rock, sun or mystical cult, I have no quarrel with that at all.
Peace be with you.
Leni
The "followers" then bring him a big bowl of rice and a diet coke.
Nepali boy Ram Bahadur Bamjon meditates in the village of Bara, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of the capital Kathmandu on November 20, 2005. 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 Bamjon, who, his associates say, has been meditating without food or water for six months. Picture taken November 20, 2005. REUTERS/Stringer
Put some glasses on him and he looks like Harry Potter.
Pssst...nope! But then, the whole world is full of "miracle" stories!
LoL!
American hippies will respectfully hang this picture on the walls of their pads and meditate before it all day.
Great theater.
Leni
If I am not mistaken, the pose of the boy is the one attributed to Siddhartha when he was determined to either attain enlightenment or die trying - I forget what all of them are, but each pose of Buddha figurines represents some event in Siddhartha's journey and symbolically, an attitude or mental state.
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.