BINAJ GURUBACHARYA
KATHMANDU — Associated Press Published on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008 4:17AM EST Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009 9:09PM EDT
A teenager who many believe is the reincarnation of Buddha has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said yesterday.
After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, Ram Bahadur Bamjon, 18, re-emerged on Monday near the town of Nijgadh, about 160 kilometres south of the capital, Kathmandu.
Upon hearing the news, thousands of Bamjon's followers, some from as far away as India, travelled to the site yesterday to see him, police official Abhaya Joshi said by telephone.
There has been no formal declaration by Buddhist authorities that Bamjon is the reincarnation of the Buddha. But people have worshipped the teenager since he was first seen in 2005 meditating in the jungle, where he sat for months amid the roots of a tree, motionless and with his eyes closed.
Mr. Joshi said Bamjon plans to talk to his followers for a few hours every day for a week before returning to the jungle to meditate.
The long-haired Bamjon, dressed in a white cloth, appeared to be in good health as he spoke to his followers about peace and ending discrimination, according to the Rajdhani newspaper.
"It was an amazing experience to hear and see him. I have no doubt now he is the reincarnation of Buddha," said Sangeeta Lama, a woman who met Bamjon for the first time.
Buddhist priests have been divided over whether the young man is truly the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal about 500 B.C. and later became revered as the Buddha, which means Enlightened One.
Buddhists strongly believe in reincarnation, the doctrine that every soul reappears after death in another bodily form.
Min Bahadur Shakya of the Buddhist learning centre Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods in Kathmandu said Buddhist priests have not reached a conclusion about Bamjon because they have not been able to fully investigate him.
"Meditating without food does not prove that he is reincarnation of Buddha. There is much study needed to be done," Mr. Shakya said.
Buddhism is practised by about 325 million people, mostly in Asia.
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