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Nepal boy called reincarnation of Buddha
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-24 08:56
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, meditates in a niche
among the roots of a tree in the jungle of Bara, about 160 kilometers (100
miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005. Banjan has been
locked in meditation, allegedly without food or water, in the Nepalese
jungle for six months, and thousands have flocked to see him with some
believing he's the Buddha reincarnated, police and media said
Wednesday. [AP] |
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.
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