Nepal "Buddah Boy" Returns To Jungle To Meditate

KATMANDU, Nepal — A Nepalese teenager revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha has returned to the jungle to meditate after emerging for less than two weeks, officials said Saturday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, reappeared on Nov. 10 after several months of meditation to bless thousands of his followers, speaking to them on at least two occasions.

He made his last appearance on Friday and then returned to the jungle to meditate, said Biswo Prakash Newpane, a government administrator in the area. It was not clear when he would return again.

His followers lined up near the jungle of Ratanpur, about 100 miles south of Katmandu, to be blessed by Bamjan. He tapped the believers on their forehead but did not speak to them individually.

The followers believe he has been meditating without food and water since he was first spotted in the jungles of southern Nepal in 2005. Believers say he spent months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree.

Buddhism, which has about 325 million followers, 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.

Rakesh, a Buddhist scholar, told the Associated Press last week that being Buddha means the last birth and the highest level that can be achieved and there can be no reincarnation of Buddha, even though Buddhists believe in life after death.

Comments

[happiness seeker]

05:40 PM on 12/15/2008

This is an excellent documentary about Nepal by an American Teenager, which won her $10,000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIsA_ACfsFM

[nomoredead]

08:22 PM on 11/23/2008

Good for him.....at least he isn't flashing an 800 number asking for money like on TBN. Anyway I thought Pastor John Hagee was a Buddha.

[shimari]

06:51 PM on 11/23/2008

If you meet the Buddah Boy on the road, teach him how to spell "Buddha."

[Smith808]

02:41 PM on 11/23/2008

Although I believe that religious principles CAN offer productive insight into making our lives more meaningful, I am always skeptical of its leaders and icons (and the way in which religion is incorporated into its respective societies).
To me, enlightenment does not arise from isolation, but inclusion and participation. Religions have always gotten their start from someone who's escaped to the woods, desert or mountains to be "alone" (such a luxury). These escapists (often men) end up being "touched" by their time in isolation, return into town with a "divine" message, then try to convince others their disorientation is really "other worldliness."

While watching a documentary on the Buddhist monks of Nepal, I was struck by the way in which these young boys, draped in their Buddhist garments, were the source of such awe and reverence from the women and young girls of the village. These girls had such worn faces from the labor and toil their gender (and religion) had conscribed them to. For a woman, the disparity in "worthiness" was not hard to miss.
I feel the same way when I see the Pope, in all his regalia, emerge from his castle and speak to his followers from a balcony, while Mother Theresa held sick and dying children in her arms.

Enlightenment, to me, comes from being "of" this earth, not "removed" from it.

[howard16]

03:20 PM on 11/23/2008

Give up your pictures of what constitutes enlightenment. Enlightenment can come from meditating on a mountaintop, leading a political movement, taking the est training, or anywhere. It has no form. There is nothing to study, no set path to take. It is a personal experience that can as easily arise from the darkness as from the light. Do not sit in judgment of a young man seeking his own elightenment in order to move the world to a better place.

[Mort]

04:56 PM on 11/23/2008

Good thoughts, Smith. Lots of spiritual leaders have had their time of solitude, but I think the key is in why. If the goal is some feeling of nirvana through isolation, maybe that works for some but it doesn't seem to me to be a life of purpose. Moses went into the mountain and came back with rules to live by. The sojourn wasn't the goal. It was a step in the service of others. Real joy comes from not only feeling one with nature or God, but in living, loving and serving. Not from hiding behind a tree, a glass wall or velvet drapery. Not from playing dead, but reaching out to improve the lives of others. To me, that's enlightenment.

[Smith808]

06:43 PM on 11/23/2008

I have to confess, my beliefs about "enlightenment" are somewhat tainted by having witnessed its impact on a teenaged friend (years ago). Her father spent 2-3 hours a day (everyday) in the meditation house he built in their backyard. I remember how she lamented the fact that his "PT-time" (as he called it), seemed more of a priority to him than spending time with her. Their relationship had deteriorated to such a degree that she had resorted to thinking of him as a "guest" (I suppose this is what most parents think of their teenaged kids!). While I do think meditation is a form of self-healing, I think extreme devotion to solitude also has the potential to untether "secular" connections to the very people who make life meaningful.
Although I can't presume to judge the benefit of such an endeavor to Ram Bahadur Bamjan's own personal enlightenment,...I will say that planting a tree in the city awakens "my" consciousness much more so than does a tree falling in the forest (even with news reporters present).

[TheIndependenceParty]

02:25 PM on 11/23/2008

In the end, there is more to be learned about this world that what we already know. Ram Bahadur Bamjan has found somehing in and about himself in meditation that I have not found in myself. Criticizing him is like criticizing a person who plays the cello. Whatever it is that his meditation brings to him, I suspect it is better than my situation, ... as my 401k falls my blood pressure climbs.

Who of us is the wiser? Certainly not I. His lesson comes unbidded and free to all.

[NDMS]

01:35 PM on 11/23/2008

Boy, religion sure makes people crazy. It's the same if you're christian, muslim, or buddhist. I don't doubt that this guy believes in what he's doing... but like that other guy said, "The world is imploding on itself and we are seemingly on the eve of destruction and one kid decides to go sit in the woods and meditate and has become a worldwide phenomenon." If only the republicans would check out in a similar fashion.

[howard16]

01:53 PM on 11/23/2008

His point is that the meditations of Ram Bahadur Bogwan are approrpiate to the vast changes taking place in the world. He is not doing it out of devotion to any organized religion but because he recognizes that the world must be brought to a new spiritual level and knows that he has the ability to teach others and make a difference. What he is doing is the opposite of checking out. It is checking in to spirit.

[howard16]

12:32 PM on 11/23/2008

A pertinent comment by a blogger on a different site.

"I cant stop thinking about this kid from nepal. The world is imploding on itself and we are seemingly on the eve of destruction and one kid decides to go sit in the woods and meditate and has become a worldwide phenomenon. He has been sitting for years now and was even filmed by the discovery channel for four straight days and he did not take food or water. (For all you skeptics I suggest you try to sit without moving for 20 minutes. ) "

Posted by alex at 9:32 PM

Eric said...
As you said, he was verified to stay motionless for 96 hours, which is the span of time required for an average human to die of thirst. Ram's physical condition did not deteriorate throughout the test either. He achieved this through the practice of "tumi", where Buddhists raise their body temperature through harnessing spiritual energy. That is why he was sweating even though it was just 5 to 15 degrees Celsius at the time.
It's clear that something is going on with this kid. And he began medidation in 2005, with the expectation to attain Buddhahood in about six years.

[Mort]

02:21 PM on 11/23/2008

Yes, the mind and spirit are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Stillness is a great talent, and fasting has been shown to make a spiritual difference. But I don't think you can reach enlightenment by hiding in a cave or conquering pain through abusing your body. Wisdom comes from learning through experience. And spiritual growth develops through service to others. Whomever you revere as a spiritual guide, whether Jesus, Buddha or someone else, didn't get that way by lying in a coma or forsaking mankind. They all lived, learned, worked, and above all, served. They lifted others' burdens and taught from the wisdom they developed. They gave of themselves.

[martinchill]

02:24 PM on 11/23/2008

you mean like the david blaine?

;)

[howard16]

04:27 PM on 11/23/2008

No one is lying in a coma, hiding in a cave, ir forsaking mankind. Ram is giving of himself totally to the world - both in body and in spirit.

[JScott]

12:05 PM on 11/23/2008

I doubt the w/out food or water claims, jeez it's the jungle, water and edible fruit are everywhere, it'd be more of a miracle if he disappeared into the Siberian Tundra or the Arabian Empty Quarter.
And really if ya think about it there are children in Darfur that have probably done the same.
And yep it does look like Sanjaya.

[howard16]

11:30 AM on 11/23/2008

Wake up people. It's time to drop your "cool" cynicism. The world is changing. It's time to think outside of the box. Skepticism does not imply hard headed reason in all cases. Sometimes it just implies ignorance and an unwillingness to grasp things that are outside of your zone of comfort. The same cynics who now call Ram Bahadur Bomjan a hoax are the same ones who told us that Obama would be eaten alive by the Clintons and that even if he won he would be destroyed by the Republicans.

It's time to move to a new level, folks. We are living in a time of rapid change both physically and spiritually. Cynicism is the old paradigm.

[Lurker50]

11:33 AM on 11/23/2008

I like you howard16

[howard16]

12:15 PM on 11/23/2008

I like you back.

[serindipity803]

01:35 PM on 11/23/2008

I like you too Howard16, "high road Howard" - Thank you!

[howard16]

02:03 PM on 11/23/2008

Thank YOU.

[anzibaar]

11:27 AM on 11/23/2008

So THAT's where Sanjaya's been. He's packed on some weight I see.

[grantlingel]

11:17 AM on 11/23/2008

learn to spell

[ROCKETSENSE]

10:02 AM on 11/23/2008

It is so easy to dissapear for months (out of sight)
It is easy (even wise) not to talk

Questions:

Who did he TELL that he sat alone under a tree and meditated for months?
Who can verify that he went months without food or drink?

He obviously shaved and washed at some point in time (note pictures).

Unless he is extremely constipated , I'm convinced that he would have a bowel movement after several months.(Holy S**T)

My Lower Self wants to believe this that this is actually Budda re-incarnated.
My Higher Self ,however, tells me that this kid is a false prophet and a fraud.

[mstewart35]

12:46 PM on 11/23/2008

Let's think first in legal terms. Meaning? What would be the MOTIVE of this person to perpetrate such a fraud as impersonating a Buddha? On the other hand, what would be the MOTIVE of the "Thus Come One", Shakyamuni, to reincarnate in this form and announce his re-advent? What world-shattering thing is being accomplished by this "reincarnation"?

If Shakyamuni has come again at this time to lend support, or warn against, Barack Obama, he should do one or the other soon. Whatever his intent, if it is not made clear to us soon, we should ignore everything else about him. In answer to my first question about MOTIVE: People have long been known to exhibit dramatic, psychotic, attention-getting behaviors for their own gratification. Granted, they are usually sick people, but the end they achieve is much more important to self-gratification than even food and water.

Lastly, is there one witness? We do not know WHAT Bamjan has been doing in the woods when he disappears. He could, in fact, be eating and drinking. Let's be real.

[Emerald1943]

01:45 PM on 11/23/2008

Now why on earth would this boy be compelled to comment, one way or the other, about Barack Obama???

Leave him alone, let him meditate and achieve Buddhahood...perhaps after that, he can enlighten us all, especially the Republican Party! Now THAT would be incredible!!!!

[clumberfeet]

09:49 AM on 11/23/2008

He just needed new batteries for his Game Boy.

[akkadian]

08:59 AM on 11/23/2008

There are many more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Shakespeare, Hamlet.
Always worth remembering....

[liveinhope23]

11:29 AM on 11/23/2008

There's one born every minute

PT Barnum

Also worth remembering

[Krikkit]

08:48 AM on 11/23/2008

I am reminded of the old zen koan that says, "if you meet the Buddah on the road, kill him." This was never an advocacy for murder, as much as it sounds like one. It is an admonition to look to a spiritual buddah, not to a man.