Theos-Talk Archives (November 2005 Message tt00164)

Thanks, Christina,

It helps to read the report. Wouldn't it be something to be able to 
go there? Is anyone on the list nearby? It always seems useful to me 
to witness a phenomenon in person. One can pick up more information 
from the personal contact, even at a distance, than from the accounts 
of others, who might not have the same sort of understanding or 
interest.

Adelasie

On 27 Nov 2005 at 12:27, christinaleestemaker wrote:

> 
> In the first place telegraph news makes mistake with the name of the
> boy and that was not first hand news. Here it is for the ones are
> interested:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Boy meditates in Nepalese jungle for six months
> Associated Press
> 
> KATMANDU, Nepal — A teenage boy has been meditating in a Nepalese
> jungle for six months, and thousands have flocked to see him, with
> some believing he is the reincarnation of Buddha, police and media
> said Wednesday.
> 
> Ram Bahadur Banjan, 15, sits cross-legged and motionless with eyes
> closed among the roots of a tree in the jungle of Bara, about 100
> miles south of the capital, Katmandu.
> 
> He's supposedly been that way since May 17 — but his followers have
> been keeping him from public view at night.
> 
> A reporter for the Kantipur newspaper, Sujit Mahat, said he spent two
> days at the site, and that about 10,000 people are believed to visit
> daily.
> 
> Soldiers have been posted in the area for crowd control, officials
> said.
> 
> A makeshift parking lot and cluster of food stalls have sprung up near
> Banjan's retreat, an area not previously frequented by visitors.
> 
> Many visitors believe Banjan is a reincarnation of Gautama
> Siddhartha, who was born not far away in southwestern Nepal around 500
> B.C. and later became revered as the Buddha, which means Enlightened
> One.
> 
> Others aren't so sure.
> 
> Police inspector Chitra Bahadur Gurung said officers have interviewed
> the boy's associates about their claim that Banjan has gone six months
> without food or drink.
> 
> Officers have not directly questioned the boy, who appears deep in
> meditation and doesn't speak.
> 
> "We have a team ... investigating the claim on how anyone can survive
> for so long without food and water," Gurung said.
> 
> Local officials have also asked the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and
> Technology in Katmandu to send scientists to examine Banjan.
> 
> Mahat said visitors can catch a glimpse of Banjan from a roped-off
> area about 80 feet away from him between dawn and dusk.
> 
> Followers then place a screen in front of him, blocking the view and
> making it impossible to know what he is doing at night, Mahat said.
> 
> "We could not say what happens after dark," Mahat said. "People only
> saw what went on in the day, and many believed he was some kind of
> god."
> 
> Buddhism teaches that right thinking and self-control can enable
> people to achieve nirvana — a divine state of peace and release from
> desire. Buddhism has about 325 million followers, mostly in Asia.