Where is "Buddha Boy" today? (video)

Seven Dhr., Amber Larson, Teri Mei Wisdom Quarterly; Discovery Channel

How it all began: under banyan tree, Nepal, '05

The Buddha Boy or Ram Bahadur Bomjon (born April 9, 1990), now also known by his monastic name Ven. Palden Dorje or "Dharma Sangha," is from the small village of Ratanapuri, Bara district, Nepal.

Some of his supporters claim he is a buddha in the making, a bodhisattva reborn. Some even think he is the Buddha come back again, but Ram himself denies this. And many practitioners of Buddhism agree that the Buddha has attained to nirvana and so is no longer subject to being reborn.

Years later he began to publicly talk.

At the age of 15 Buddha Boy drew thousands of visitors and worldwide media attention by spending 10 months in meditation without drinking, eating, going to the restroom, or sleeping.

Nicknamed Buddha Boy, he began his jhanic meditation on May 16, 2005. 

Shakyamuni Buddha

During that time he was twice bitten by venomous serpents and survived [presumably by practicing khandha paritta, loving kindness toward snakes, as the historical Shakyamuni Buddha prescribed to avoid injury after a deadly snake bite], spontaneously combusted, avoided injury from a wild tiger roaming in the vicinity, and endured the cold and inclement weather with only a thin garment covering him.

He finally took food and drink months later.

Buddha Boy also one day unexpectedly disappeared from the hollow of the large tropical banyan tree where he had been meditating for nearly a year straight. This was on March 16, 2006, but he was found by some devoted supporters a week later. He told them he had voluntarily left his meditation spot, where large crowds of devotees had been gathering to watch him day and night, "because there is no peace [there]."

A humble Buddhist speaks in Hindu terms.

He then went his own way wandering off and reappearing elsewhere in Nepal on December 26, 2006, but he left again on March 8, 2007.

On March 26, 2007, inspectors from the Area Police Post Nijgadh in Ratanapuri found Bomjon meditating inside an underground chamber of about seven square feet. This is his amazing story and an update on his whereabouts and activities as Wisdom Quarterly remains committed to his case a decade later. More: DharmaSangha.info or Maitriya.info 

Dharma Sangha sitting with monks and foreigners, Jan. 2015

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