Prayers For Nepal's Missing 'Buddha Boy'

By Sam Taylor - Middle East Times

In the remote jungle of southern Nepal Buddhist monks in burgundy-colored robes and Hindu priests pray together for the safe return of Nepal's missing "Buddha Boy".

    Thought to be the birthplace of Buddha, the source of Hinduism's holiest river, and ruled by a king who is believed by many to be a descendant of the Hindu god Vishnu, Nepal is a country that takes religion seriously.
    
    So it was not surprising that people began flocking to Bara, 150 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of Kathmandu, to pay homage to a 16-year-old sage, when it was heard that he had been meditating non-stop for months, without food and water.
    
    But Ram Bahadur Bomjan, dubbed "Buddha Boy" by the media, vanished from his meditation site, nestled in the roots of a pipal tree, in the early hours of Saturday morning. Media reported that he had been glimpsed in the surrounding jungle on Saturday, but since then there was no clue to his whereabouts more than 48 hours later.
    
    "Over 1,000 people were involved in the search for Bomjan since Saturday but all came back to the meditation site empty handed," local journalist Shankar Acharya said on Monday.
    
    Bomjan started his meditation on May 16 last year, and supporters claim that he has taken neither food nor water or used the toilet since then.
    
    As well as the seemingly impossible feat of nearly 10 months continuous meditation, supporters claim that a few weeks ago the boy burst into flames, but emerged from the fire unscathed.
    
    Thousands of devotees have visited the site, to catch a glimpse of the boy being touted by followers as a reincarnation of Buddha.
    
    Media here reported that Bomjan had told a friend that he was not a Buddha, but merely an "austere sage".
    
    Visitors were kept at least 15 meters (50 feet) from the boy, and he was hidden from view at night behind a screen, prompting some to label the claims a hoax.
    
    Around 15 square kilometers of jungle have been combed by locals and police, but authorities have scaled back their search, said local police inspector Ram Kamal Acharya.
    
    "There is no point in searching the same jungle again and again," Acharya said on Monday.
    
    Over the weekend the police officer had said that he was 90 percent sure that Bomjan had left the site of his own accord, and had not been abducted as initial reports speculated.
    
    Bed Bahadur Thing, the chairman of the committee set up to manage the site and look after Bomjan, said that the disturbance caused by thousands of devotees probably prompted the boy to abandon his quest.
    
    "He may have shifted due to noise and pollution at the meditation site," Thing said.
    
    Gautama Siddhartha, who later became known as Buddha or the Enlightened One, is believed to have been born in the same region near the border with India in around 500 BC.
    
    Buddhists believe that Siddhartha achieved enlightenment after meditating under a pipal tree, and 20-year-old student Gaurab Tiwari believes that Bomjan's disappearance has parallels with the life of the founder of Buddhism.
    
    "Even the original Buddha used to change places for meditation so he might have gone to find a new place because he was not satisfied in Bara," Tiwari said.
    
    Thing has other ideas about the baby Buddha missing in the jungle.
    
    "It is impossible to find him," he said. "How can humans search for god?"

Ram Bahadur Bomjon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Palden Dorje in meditation.

Ram Bahadur Bomjon (born May 9, 1989, sometimes Bomjan or Banjan), and also known as Palden Dorje, is a 16-year-old Buddhist monk from Ratanapuri village, Bara district, Nepal who has drawn thousands of visitors and media attention for spending months in meditation allegedly without food or water. His story has gained popularity because it resembles a Buddhist legend from the Jataka Nidanakatha about Gautama Buddha's enlightenment, so much so that some devotees claim Ram is the reincarnation of the Buddha. However, on November 8, 2005 Dorje arose and said to the public, "Tell the people not to call me a Buddha. I don't have the Buddha's energy. I am at the level of rinpoche." He has said that he will need six more years of meditation before he may become one. The boy is gathering a following from all around the globe, and his hometown is full of tourists from throughout Nepal every day.

According to Buddhist beliefs, this boy is not a reincarnation of any previous Buddha. Once a person reaches the state of enlightenment (bodhi) and becomes a Buddha, he is never reincarnated. To become a Buddha means ending the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that it is believed the mind goes through until reaching enlightenment. Any human being can become a Buddha by realising the true nature of existence but when one reaches this point, by definition, the cycle of reincarnation is extinguished.

Bomjon could be a Bodhisattva, a person on the path to attaining full enlightenment. According to the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, there were twenty seven forms of Buddha before him. Bomjon could also be the incarnation of Maitreya Bodhisattva, the predicted successor to Sakyamuni.

It is reported that his mother fainted when she found out that her son meditated for an undefined period of time. His mother's name is Maya Devi Tamang, the same first name as Buddha's mother.

Early life

According to his family and neighbors, Dorje often acted differently from his childhood friends, frequently observing other people in worship and praying himself. He was born with a "peaceful nature" and would never get into a fight or kill an animal. Beginning at the age of five he only took leftovers for food, and went hungry if there was nothing.

He was accepted into the priesthood by Sombahadur Lama of Sudha, Ward 8 of Chhatiwan Village Development Committee. He hesitated to shave his head as is typical for a Buddhist priest; photos show him with a full head of hair. At the end of his training his class went to Lumbini, birthplace of Gautama Buddha, but instead of returning directly home with the rest of his class he continued on to Dehradun to receive additional teaching.

Returning home from Dehradun, he became ill for some time, and when he recovered he walked with a limp. On May 16, 2005, he admonished his family to not kill animals or drink alcohol, then left home while they slept. A search was conducted and he was found meditating under a nearby pipal tree. He told his family to go home and not worry. When his mother continued to despair, he plucked six leaves from the tree and gave them to her, saying, "Take these leaves home and keep them in a safe condition. If you lose these leaves, you will not be able to find me. If you keep them safe, I will remain with you forever."

On July 24, 2005, he opened his eyes to tell his brother to call him "Om Namo Buddha Gyani" ("salute to the wise Buddha").

Scientific tests

Prayer flags have been raised throughout the pipal grove.

An average human being who stops drinking will die of dehydration in three to four days. According to the Guinness Book of Records the longest time a human has survived without water is 18 days. The boy's followers claim the boy has gone for several months without drinking any water.^[1]

Bomjon has been observed not to leave the tree at least during the daytime, but nobody is allowed to approach him too closely. Between 5:00 PM and 5:00 AM nobody is allowed to see him, and a screen is erected for that purpose. Many people speculate that he eats and drinks during this time.

Most supporters believe that, even if Ram does eat and drink at nighttime, the ability to sit nearly motionless in the same position day after day, with no regard for extremes of weather including a cold winter and a monsoon season, is in itself a remarkable thing. Bomjon's local supporters claim that the money donated by visitors is used to provide security and assert that he meditates all night.

In December 2005, a nine-member committee led by Gunjaman Lama watched Dorje carefully for 48 hours and observed him not to take any food or water during that time. A video recording was also made of this test. However, they were unable to approach closer than 3 meters or take readings of his vital signs. The Nepalese government once planned a more careful scientific study but this plan has since been scrapped.

Disappearance

Bomjon, after about ten months of meditation, went missing on March 11, 2006. It is unclear whether or not he left for the local jungles or was abducted. Some believe he ventured farther into the jungle to seek a more serene place for intensive meditation. There is an ongoing investigation.^[2]

See also

• Buddha
• Buddhism
• List of Buddha claimants

References

1. ↑ Navin Singh Khadka, "Scientists to check Nepal Buddha boy", BBC, 30 November 2005.
2. ↑ Bhagirath Yogi, "Nepal's 'Buddha' boy goes missing", BBC, 11 March 2006.

External links

• Boy in Nepal draws crowds; some say he's Buddha reincarnate (USA Today)
• Pilgrims flock to see 'Buddha boy' said to have fasted six months (Telegraph)
• New Buddha in Nepal: Ram Bahadur Bomjon
• Report from Tibet
• Palden Dorje Bio
• Buddhist Teachings
• Nepalese blog linking to video (in Nepali, with some English comments)
• Tamang website with details (in Nepali, with some English comments)
• BBC News video segment - 1:02 long - better view of tree top and fenced area for pilgrims
• Description of medical team in November 2005 and other details
• Buddha Boy has nation guessing - (Article published on February 11, 2006) Australian news site (TheAge.com.au), claiming "fire erupted from his chest" on January 19, 2006.
• Buddha Boy of Nepal (Blog with 25 min. video and summarized translation in English)
• Ram Bahadur Bomjon Poem

Articles on his disappearance

• Buddha Boy disappears
• Jungle search for teenage 'Buddha' (CNN/Associated Press) Saturday, March 11, 2006; Posted: 11:31 p.m. EST (04:31 GMT)
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