Name: Anonymous 2006-03-11 21:13
11 March 2006
Ram Bahadur Bomjon, the teenage boy believed by his followers to be the reincarnation of Gautama Buddha, disappears from the tree he had called home (in Nepal) for nearly ten months.
Ram Bahadur Bomjon (born May 9, 1989, राम बम्जन, 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 allegedly spending months in meditation 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 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.
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.
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, 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.
Ram Bahadur Bomjon, the teenage boy believed by his followers to be the reincarnation of Gautama Buddha, disappears from the tree he had called home (in Nepal) for nearly ten months.
Ram Bahadur Bomjon (born May 9, 1989, राम बम्जन, 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 allegedly spending months in meditation 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 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.
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.
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, 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.