Bara, Nepal
Thousands of pilgrims are trekking through the jungles of Nepal to see a teenage boy hailed as a new Buddha. Locals say that Ram Bomjon, 15, has been meditating for six months straight, and has not had anything to eat or drink the entire time. “I have faith that God will feed him,” his mother said. “Early in the morning he looks sunken, as if there’s no blood in him, but as the sun rises he seems to get brighter and brighter.” Last week, he finally spoke, asking the crowd not to call him a Buddha, saying he is only a “rinpoche,” a lesser divinity. Still, many observers have recalled a similar incident in the life of the historical Buddha, who was born about 2,500 years ago only 160 miles away.
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