Nepal's Buddha boy returns to jungle to meditate

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, looks on as devotees come to seek his
A Nepalese teenager revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha has returned to the jungle to meditate after emerging for less than two weeks, officials said Saturday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, in white robe, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, blesses a devotee in Nijgadh town, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Bamjan, 18, has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said Tuesday. After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, he re-emerged Monday.
Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, reappeared on Nov. 10 after several months of meditation to bless thousands of his followers, speaking to them on at least two occasions.

Devotees stand in a queue to be blessed by Ram Bahadur Bamjan, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, in Nijgadh town.
He made his last appearance on Friday and then returned to the jungle to meditate, said Biswo Prakash Newpane, a government administrator in the area. It was not clear when he would return again.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, center in white, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha is surrounded by Buddhist monks.
His followers lined up near the jungle of Ratanpur, about 100 miles south of Katmandu, to be blessed by Bamjan. He tapped the believers on their forehead but did not speak to them individually.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, looks on as devotees come to seek his blessings.
The followers believe he has been meditating without food and water since he was first spotted in the jungles of southern Nepal in 2005. Believers say he spent months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree.

Buddhism, which has about 325 million followers, teaches that every soul is reincarnated after death in another bodily form.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, in white, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, blesses a Buddhist monk.

But several Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of the claims that Bamjan is a reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal roughly 2,500 years ago and became revered as the Buddha, or Enlightened One.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, right, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha is surrounded by Buddhist monks.

Rakesh, a Buddhist scholar, Buddha means the last birth and the highest level that can be achieved and there can be no reincarnation of Buddha, even though Buddhists believe in life after death.