Devotees flock to 'Buddha reincarnation' in Nepal

[thehat 0]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-budha13-2008nov13,0,3375791.story

 

 

The Associated Press

November 13, 2008

"RATANPUR, NEPAL -- The teenage boy revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha sat silently in the jungle as he blessed his devotees Wednesday with a light tap on the head, which they consider the touch of the divine.

 

His face was still, his long hair spilled over his white robe, and he never said a word.

 

 

The followers of Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, believe he has been meditating without food and water since he was first spotted in the jungles of southern Nepal in 2005, when believers say he spent months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree.

 

Bamjan re-emerged this week to meet his followers, who have come by the thousands to see him in the jungles of Ratanpur, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Katmandu.

 

"I got a chance to see God today," Bishnu Maya Khadka, a housewife, said after receiving Bamjan's blessing Wednesday. "They say he is Buddha, but for me he is just God."

 

 

Bamjan was expected to address his followers on Nov. 18 and then retreat again into the jungle for meditation, said Kamal Tamang, a Buddhist priest.

 

Bamjan received the pilgrims from atop a podium covered in yellow cloth and placed before a massive tree. He looked healthy and strong and showed no signs of starvation or dehydration.

 

Buddhism, which has about 325 million followers, mostly in Asia, 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.

 

"Being Buddha means the last birth and the highest level that can be achieved. There can be no reincarnation of Buddha, even though Buddhists believe in life after death," said Rakesh, a Buddhist scholar in Katmandu who goes by only one name.

 

"Meditating without food does not prove that he is the reincarnation of Buddha," said Min Bahadur Shakya of the Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods, a Buddhist research center in Katmandu. "There is much study needed to be done."

 

Bamjan has never addressed the subject in any of his speeches.

 

The devotees who have flocked to visit him have fewer doubts. Colorful prayer flags fluttered and incense filled the air Wednesday as the pilgrims silently approached Bamjan, who was surrounded by a line of Buddhist monks.

 

"I have no doubt in my mind he is a God," said Meg Bahadur Lama, a local farmer. "He has been meditating without food and water and no human can achieve such a feat. I used to hear about such miracles in the past but now I got to see one."

[thehat 0]

Keen to hear other peoples thoughts.

 

Though in India there are many people walking around claiming to be a God or Supreme God, outside of India I hardly hear of a person in the news who's being proclaimed as God.

[AncientMariner 0]

Who knows but personality cults are rampant throughout America. People worship musicians, actors, politicians, you name it. Most Americans seem to be atheists these days so they tend to worship these celebrities as Gods so to speak even though they don't believe in God.

 

Don't know about this person being the Buddha or anything. I guess there are some real strict qualifications you have to have to be an incarnation of God. Who am I to say he is not the Buddha but I am not excited enough about it to go and found out for myself as usually it seems like these sort of things end up being a hoax.

[theist 1]

People will travel into the jungle to find God at great effort. But when Dhruva followed this advice he ended up finding God within himself.

 

The only sure incarnation of God in this age is the Holy Name.

 

 

The Coming of the Kingdom of God

 

Luke 17:20- Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21-nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within^[b] you."-Lord Christ

[Amlesh 1]

 

The only sure incarnation of God in this age is the Holy Name.

 

If there is a list for the best sentences in Audarya, that one would certainly been top of the list.