Je viens de le voir au zapping de la semaine: six mois sans bouffer, en lotus au pied d'un banyan; il manquait plus que cela. Je pars l'âme en repos...

Subject: budha boy

Pilgrims flock to see 'Buddha boy' said to have fasted six months
By Thomas Bell in Bara District, Nepal
(Filed: 21/11/2005)

Thousands of pilgrims are pouring into the dense jungle of southern
Nepal to worship a 15-year-old boy who has been hailed as a new Buddha.

Devotees claim that Ram Bomjon, who is silently meditating beneath a
tree, has not eaten or drunk anything since he sat down at his chosen
spot six months ago.

Ram Bomjon maintains his vigil in the shade of his pipal tree

Witnesses say they have seen light emanating from the teenager's
forehead.

"It looks a bit like when you shine a torch through your hand," said
Tek Bahadur Lama, a member of the committee responsible for dealing
with the growing number of visitors from India and elsewhere in Nepal.

Photographs of Ram Bomjon, available for five rupees (4p) from his
makeshift shrine, have become ubiquitous across the region. "Far and
wide, it's the only topic of conversation," said Upendra Lamichami, a
local journalist.

He said no allegation had yet emerged of Ram breaking his fast or
moving, even to relieve himself.

Santa Raj Subedi, the chief government official in Bara district,
appealed to the capital, Kathmandu, for assistance in dealing with the
influx of visitors, and for a team of scients to examine the case.

Local doctors failed to reach a final conclusion, although they were
allowed no closer than five yards from the boy mystic, declaring that
they could confirm no more than that he was alive.

The popularity of the phenomenon is partly because it resembles an
episode in the life of the historical Buddha, who was born 160 miles
away around 543 BC. The Buddha achieved enlightenment when he meditated
beneath a sacred pipal tree for 49 days.

Ram Bomjon is also sitting beneath a pipal tree, in the same posture as
the Buddha is depicted, but his vigil has already taken longer.

Ram's mother, who is called Maya Devi, like the Buddha's mother, admits
to anxiety, particularly at meal times. But she tells herself: "God
took him to the forest and I have faith that God will feed him."

She said: "He's definitely got thinner. Early in the morning he looks
sunken, like there's no blood in him, but as the sun rises he seems to
get brighter and brighter."

The fervour increased last week when a snake is said to have bitten
Ram, and a curtain was drawn around him.

After five days it was opened and he spoke. "Tell the people not to
call me a Buddha. I don't have the Buddha's energy. I am at the level
of rinpoche [lesser divinity].

"A snake bit me but I do not need treatment. I need six years of deep
meditation."

Despite his protestations, "Buddha boy" is famous.

A thriving market has grown in the once pristine forest, supplying
pilgrims with everything from chewing tobacco and bicycle repairs to
incense and sacred amulets. The ground is covered in litter.

A fence was built around Ram's tree to prevent pilgrims prodding him,
then a second, and now a third is planned, as well as a bus park,
leaving Ram at the centre of an ever growing circle of rubbish.

Prakash Lamsal, a businessman said: "Some people are selling 2,500
rupees [£20] worth of tea a day.

"These lamas [monks] are going to build mansions out of this. If I
wasn't a bit embarrassed I'd take a van down there and set up a stall."


J'ai aussi entendu dire que le Christ vit incognito à Londres, sous l'apparence d'un homme d'affaires pakistanais habillé tout en blanc.

"WHAT IF GOD WAS ONE OF US ?"