Teenage 'Buddha' goes missing

You would think that after 10 months of fasting he wouldn't have much energy to go anywhere. This certainly is strange, unless he has been kidnapped.

www.cnn.com...

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- A teenage boy in Nepal whose followers believe he is the reincarnation of Buddha has suddenly gone missing after 10 months of meditation, allegedly without food or water, officials said Saturday.

Followers of Ram Bahadur Banjan, 15, reported his disappearance and a police team has been sent to the jungles of Bara, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of the capital, Kathmandu, to investigate, said Santaraj Subedi, the chief government official in the district.



[edit on 11-3-2006 by valkeryie]

Hes probably shares the same fate as the true Panchen Lama which was kidnapped by the Chinese goverment and is likely now dead breaking the true line of the Dali Lama.

The Chinese Goverment dont like the important religous figures they cant control and they either flee the country or just happen to "disappear"

It's also possible that the, so called, "teen age Buddha" simply "split" or ran away. I cannot help but feel that this young man was a part of a scam to make money for himself, his family and, perhaps, others. It had been reported that the boy did not eat, yet every day he would disappear from his position at the bottom of tree to have a moment to himself. As he was not watched constantly, it would have been easy, and most likely, to have grabbed a quick snack to eat.

At some point or other, "greater spiritual demands" were likely. After all, sitting at a base of tree for fifteen months is a pretty good example of "spirituality" but fasting and sitting at the base of tree simply can't hold ones attention forever.

I think he simply took the money -- donations from the faithful -- and ran, most likely with his mother and/or "manager". I know I probably sound jaded and it's a real shame that I can't simply "believe". Believe me, I would really like to believe in something miraculous but, alas, the only miracle that I see here is that the kid had the self discipline and control to have lasted as long as he did without an X-Box or Nintendo or the equivalent in the teen-age society of his own culture.

I doubt whether we will ever hear of tho Buddha Boy again -- unless he is comes back with a follow-up "miracle" -- or is arrested for fraud.

[edit on 3/11/2006 by benevolent tyrant]

What caught my attention with this story is not that the boy has gone missing, but that they claim he meditated for 10 months straight without food or water. I know some strange things occur to those who are seemingly more spiritual or attuned than the rest of us, but I find this tidbit hard to swallow. I've heard of 40 day fasts (no food/no water) that went all well, and that seems a stretch, but 10 months?

Some people claimed he used to take a milk-like liquid from the root of the peepal tree.

Could have been a hoax who knows

Originally posted by daboga75
WhI've heard of 40 day fasts (no food/no water) that went all well, and that seems a stretch, but 10 months?

Was it only 10 months? ( not like it's a short time) I was thinking it was longer.

Yeah sitting in one place with your legs crossed and arms, I can do that standing on my head for 10 months. Easy man.

I have to agree that it is likely the Chinese came and took him since they want to control the whole world it looks like and they don't care what they have to do to achieve it. They are scary people like Russia used to be. Always threatening everybody else for no reason.

Originally posted by daboga75
I've heard of 40 day fasts (no food/no water) that went all well, and that seems a stretch, but 10 months?

There are many saints in the Catholic church who lived on nothing
except water and an occassional Eucharist .. for years. Some for
decades. The claim to living without food is not unusual in
metaphysical/spiritual persons.

Here's the original thread on the "fasting boy".

Pilgrims flock to see 'Buddha boy' said to have fasted six months

if the Chinese govt or some other human force hasn't got him, maybe wild animals got to him.

The chinese took him, used him , and when done disposed of the body... the chinese are evil in thius respect.... against buddism against free life...

Originally posted by MadGreebo
The chinese took him, used him , and when done disposed of the body... the chinese are evil in thius respect.... against buddism against free life...

I read articles where locals were getting worried that the story was too big and was attracting interest in China. Too bad since a worn down place like that needed something to lift them up again.

Who knows maybe the guy floated out of here and is long gone, good for him if he did.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Hes probably shares the same fate as the true Panchen Lama which was kidnapped by the Chinese goverment and is likely now dead breaking the true line of the Dali Lama.

The Chinese Goverment dont like the important religous figures they cant control and they either flee the country or just happen to "disappear"

Yea, I bet thats what actually happened and well documented. Its just like how Americans dont like civil right leaders and finally decided to shoot and kill Martin Luther King Jr.

I don't think that this buddha guy was at all political but it is likely that politically minded people took notice of him.

But Martin Luther King Jr. was involved they say in counter-revolutionary politics and I see how he could have upset a lot of people. It does not account for what happened to him but may indicate why he was taken out.

maybe the kid starved to death and well, the monks just ain't gonna tell anyone that little tidbit, or maybe he just decided that he didn't want to be buddha anymore, or maybe he was drawing too much attention from the wrong people and they kind of slipped him away to another place for safe keeping...who knows.
but, why do we think that he was part of a scam and they all flew the coop with a bundle of loot? or that china swipped him. there are other possible explanations.

Simply starving to death that a interesting one and could be right.

But conspiracies are so much more fun and interesting

Theres no evidence either way

I I I I I I I want the knife....time to call Eddie Murphy, he'll know what to do.

Guys come on, we all know he found Jesus in his meditation and went after him to go and have a cup of iced tea and discuss issues of saving souls and such... pufff come on wake up people.

Originally posted by esdad71
I I I I I I I want the knife....time to call Eddie Murphy, he'll know what to do.

Demons and eddie murphy now that would be interesting

Wasnt the true Buddha reported to have had trancended birth and death by becoming one with that which has never been born nor has ever died. Or something to that effect?

Originally posted by ShadowXIX

Demons and eddie murphy now that would be interesting

Wasnt the true Buddha reported to have had trancended birth and death by becoming one with that which has never been born nor has ever died. Or something to that effect?

Yes, thats the old story though, now its like buddha became a god and you have to rub his tummy.

Originally posted by valkeryie
Followers of Ram Bahadur Banjan, 15, reported his disappearance and a police team has been sent to the jungles of Bara, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of the capital, Kathmandu, to investigate, said Santaraj Subedi, the chief government official in the district.
[edit on 11-3-2006 by valkeryie]

Hmmm....
Revered religious figure disappears while 'guards' are sleeping. Where have I heard this story before?

Islamic Mahdi

Twelvers believe the twelfth Imam, the Mahdi ("the guided one"), has been occluded (in Ghaibah; "hidden away" by God). They believe he is still alive, and will return. He is sometimes refered to as the "Hidden Imam". Beliefs vary as to what will happen when he returns. It is generally believed that he will be accompanied by Jesus ("Isa" in the Qur'an) and will affirm Muhammad's message from God to mankind.

The Empty Tomb

All these accounts agree that Jesus was crucified late on Friday afternoon and placed in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. On Sunday, after the Saturday Jewish day of rest, some of Jesus' female followers returned to the tomb, to complete the burial rites. When they arrived they discovered that the tomb was empty, and they returned with some of the male disciples.

Elijah ascends to heaven

As Elijah was described as ascending into heaven in a fiery chariot, the Christian missionaries who converted Slavic tribes likely found him an ideal analogy for Perun, the supreme Slavic god of storms, thunder and lightning bolts. In many Slavic countries Elijah is known as Elijah the Thunderer (Ilija Gromovik), who drives the heavens in chariot and administers rain and snow, thus actually taking the place of Perun in popular beliefs

L. Ron Hubbard isn't really dead...

Three days after the founder's death, the news was broken to the church membership at the Palladium theater in Los Angeles. Hubbard's successor, David Miscavige, delivered the eulogy. Miscavige stressed the fact that Ron had not actually died, but rather progressed to a level above human (much like what Marshall Applewhite would attempt to do a decade later):

"Thus, at 2000 hours, Friday 24 January 1986, L. Ron Hubbard discarded the body he had used in this lifetime for seventy-four years, ten months and eleven days. The body he had used to facilitate his existence in this universe had ceased to be useful and in fact had become an impediment to the work he now must do outside its confines. The being we knew as L. Ron Hubbard still exists. Although you may feel grief, understand that he did not, and does not now. He has simply moved on to his next step. LRH in fact used this lifetime and body we knew to accomplish what no man has ever accomplished -- he unlocked the mysteries of life and gave us the tools so we could free ourselves and our fellow men..."

Obviously a popular story throughout history. I'm sure others could site additional examples.

Just my $0.02.