"Buddha or not, he's gone back to the jungle"



From the Associated Press / The San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS. Sunday, November 23, 2008.


"KATMANDU, Nepal -- A youth revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha has returned to the jungle to mediate after emerging for less than two weeks, officials said Saturday.

"Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, reappeared Nov. 10 after after several months of mediation to bless thousands of his followers, speaking to them at least twice.

"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 [an old American charismatic revivalist trick!] but didn't speak to them individually.

"The followers believe he has been mediating 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.

"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, said 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."