Thousands of pilgrims have flocked to a remote jungle in southeast Nepal after a 17-year-old boy whom some believe to be a reincarnation of the Buddha emerged after more than a year in the forest.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan appeared on Monday to preach in a temple in Ratanpur, southeast of Kathmandu. Dubbed “Buddha Boy” by the press, and dismissed as a charlatan by some, the teenager first garnered headlines in 2005 when tens of thousands of devotees travelled to see him as he sat crosslegged amid the roots of a tree for nearly ten months without, it was claimed, food or water.

This week the long-haired Bamjan, attired in a gleaming white cloth, appeared to be in good health when he spoke to his followers about fostering peace and ending discrimination.

He plans to give similar audiences for the next week or so. A police spokesman said: “The whole jungle area where he has appeared has turned into a festival and around 10,000 people came to see him on Monday.”

Many of those have described the experience as amazing and are convinced that he is the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in about 560BC and later became revered as the Buddha.

Several doubts have been raised, however, over the authenticity of Bamjan. During past appearances thousands of pounds were collected from devotees, leading to allegations that he was really a conman. Most damagingly, perhaps, a French journalist filmed Bamjan nibbling on fruit while supposedly midway through a fast; another correspondent found him asleep while he was supposed to be meditating.

In March last year supporters of Bamjan said that he planned to meditate for three years in an underground bunker – an idea he now appears to have thought better of.

There has not been any official statement from Buddhism’s authorities on Bamjan. Min Bahadur Shakya, of the Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods in Kathmandu, said: “Meditating without food does not prove that he is reincarnation of Buddha. There is much study needed to be done.”

Dr K. T. S. Sarao, head of Buddhist studies at the University of Delhi, said: “In this part of the world religion incites very strong feelings.

“Science is unable to explain all of the world . . . if you’re asking for my personal opinion, well I’m a rationalist sceptic.”

Path to Enlightenment

— Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was born into a royal family in about 560BC in what is now Nepal

— Having learnt that death was an unavoidable fate he decided to live as a homeless holy man

— After adopting the Middle Way between luxury and ascetism, the Buddha, who was married and had a child, achieved Enlightenment while meditating beneath the Bodhi tree

— For the next 45 years he taught disciples to attain enlightenment

— The Mahabodhi Temple and tree are now a pilgrimage site

Source: Times archives

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