So-called Buddha Boy a hit in Nepal

Published: Nov. 12, 2008 at 12:44 PM

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Hundreds have flocked to the Nepalese village of Ratanpuri to visit the so-called Buddha Boy, the alleged reincarnation of the Lord Buddha, an official says.

Police officer Prakash Sen said the 17-year-old boy, Ram Bahadur Bamjan, spoke to those assembled at a Ratanpuri temple this week in a near festival-like atmosphere, (Britain's) The Independent said Tuesday.

"Hundreds of devotees, including many from neighboring India are trekking the five kilometers (3.1 miles) to see him," Sen said of Monday's assembly. "He spoke to the devotees standing near a temple in the forest."

The Times of London said Bamjan first gained notoriety in 2005 after he allegedly sat on a tree's roots for 10 months without food or water.

Despite such alleged accomplishments, there are some who have doubted the authenticity of the Buddha Boy.

"Meditating without food does not prove that he is reincarnation of Buddha. There is much study needed to be done," Min Bahadur Shakya of the Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods told The Times.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
No short-term yuan appreciation seen (18 min)
NHL: Montreal 4, Phoenix 2 (20 min)
Distracted man drives Bugatti into lagoon (30 min)
COL FB: Rutgers 31, South Florida 0 (34 min)
Tagliabue to head a study of USOC (41 min)
NFL: San Francisco 10, Chicago 6 (45 min)
NBA: Cleveland 109, Miami 102
fark
Drew's list of 'seasonal' stories is woefully incomplete without "annual turkey baster search"
Experts wonder if the upswing in retail theft may be connected to the unemployment rate. What the...
MPAA shuts down an entire town's wi-fi because one person illegally downloaded a movie. Take that,...
Verizon has found a way to charge you for accidental keystrokes
Coming to a hipster douche near you: 1890s fashion. 'Cause nothing says "manly" like knee socks,...
Tennessee man found asleep in a ditch with a loaded rifle and a bottle of moonshine