Ram Bahadur Bomjon () (born c. 10 April 1990, sometimes spelt ''Bomjan'', ''Banjan'', or ''Bamjan''), also known as ''Palden Dorje'' (his monastic name) and now ''Dharma Sangha'', is from Ratanapuri village, Bara district, Nepal. Some of his supporters have claimed that he is a reincarnation of the Buddha, but Ram himself has denied this, and many practitioners of Buddhism agree that the Buddha has entered nirvana and cannot be reborn.

He drew thousands of visitors and media attention by spending months in meditation. Nicknamed the ''Buddha Boy'', he began his meditation on 16 May 2005. He reportedly disappeared from the hollow tree where he had been meditating for months on 16 March 2006, but was found by some followers a week later. He told them he had left his meditation place, where large crowds had been watching him, "because there is no peace". He then went his own way and reappeared elsewhere in Nepal on 26 December 2006, but left again on 8 March 2007. On 26 March 2007, inspectors from the Area Police Post Nijgadh in Ratanapuri found Bomjon meditating inside a bunker-like ditch seven feet square.

On 10 November 2008, Bomjon reappeared in Ratanapuri and spoke to a group of devotees in the remote jungle.

Buddhist background

Bomjon is a member of the Tamang community, of which a majority practices Vajrayana Buddhism.

Bomjon's story gained popularity because it resembled a legend from the ''Jataka Nidanakatha'' about Gautama Buddha's enlightenment, so much so that some devotees claimed Ram was the reincarnation of a Buddha. The claim, made by some, that he is the reincarnation of Buddha has been criticized. Gautama Buddha himself taught that after parinirvana there is no more rebirth, making it impossible to be a "reincarnation of Buddha"; but it is possible to be another Buddha, another who has attained enlightenment. However on 8 November 2005 Dorje arose and said, "Tell the people not to call me a Buddha. I don't have the Buddha's energy. I am at the level of a rimpoche." Rimpoche ("precious jewel") is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism for a teacher and adept. He said that he will need six more years of meditation before he can become a Buddha.

According to his followers Bomjon may have been or may be a bodhisattva, a person on the path to attaining full enlightenment or Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. According to the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha, there were innumerable Buddhas before him and there are an infinite number of Buddhas to come. Others claim that Bomjon may be Maitreya Bodhisattva, the predicted incarnation of the historical Buddha. Scholars doubt the claims of his supporters. Mahiswor Raj Bajracharya, president of the Nepal Buddhist Council, has said, "We do not believe he is Buddha. He does not have Buddha's qualities".

His mother's name is Maya Devi Tamang, the same first name as Buddha's mother. It is reported that his mother fainted when she found out that her son intended to meditate for an indefinite period.

Wandering to Bara district

After about ten months of meditation, Bomjon went missing on 11 March 2006. He gave no explanation, and some believed he had been abducted. His followers theorized that he went deeper into the woods to look for a quieter place to meditate. Police abandoned a search for him after the likelihood of foul play was eliminated. Suspecting money laundering, the authorities froze the bank account of the local committee managing the crowds, which had gathered more than Rs. 600,000, but they found no evidence.

On 19 March, a group of Bomjon's followers met with him about southwest of his meditation site. They say they spoke to him for thirty minutes, during which Bomjon said, "There is no peace here," and that he would return in six years, which would be in 2011 or 2012. He left a message for his parents telling them not to worry.

On 25 December 2006, villagers in Bara district spotted Bomjon meditating. He was carrying a sword for protection in the jungle, reminding reporters that "Even Gautama Buddha had to protect himself," and claimed to have eaten nothing but herbs in the interim. He reiterated his six year commitment to Buddhist devotion, and said he would allow people to come and observe him, as long as they remained at some distance and did not bother him. When a reporter pointed out that pilgrims to his meditation site would be making donations in his name, he asked for the donations to not be abused or used for commercial purposes. A new wave of visitors came to see him and pray at his new meditation spot. On 8 March 2007 he left Bara district again to find a quieter place to meditate.

Meditating in a pit

On 26 March 2007, news spread of Bomjon meditating underground. Inspector Rameshwor Yadav of the Area Police Post Nijgadh, found Bomjon inside a bunker-like ditch seven feet square. "His face was clean and hair was combed well," Yadav said. According to him, the bunker had been cemented from all sides and fitted with a tiled roof. Indra Lama, a local deployed as Bomjon's caretaker since the beginning of his intensive meditation, said the bunker was prepared per Bomjon's request. "After granting audience a week ago, he expressed his desire to meditate inside the ground; so we built it," he said.

Preaching in Halkhoriya jungle

On 2 August 2007, Bomjon addressed a large crowd in Halkhoriya jungle in the Bara district of southern Nepal. The Namo Buddha Tapoban Committee, which is devoted to looking after Bomjon, assembled the meeting. A notice about the boy's first-ever preaching was broadcast by a local FM radio station, and the committee also invited people by telephone. Around three thousand people gathered to listen to Bomjon's address. A video was made of the event. According to Aditya Sedhai, a blogger who wrote an article and took pictures of the meeting, Bomjon's message was, "The only way we can save this nation is through spirituality". This was his speech:

Second speech excerpt:

Feats of Inedia

According to the ''Guinness Book of Records'' the longest time a human has survived without water is 18 days. Bomjon, on the other hand, does not appear to break his meditation to eat or drink.

Skeptics point out that claims of surviving after several months fasting are unsubstantiated as he was sometimes unobserved between dusk and dawn; they also claim that, besides the lack of proof, such a feat would be physically impossible. Bomjon was observed remaining at the tree at least during the daytime, though no one was allowed to approach him too closely. Under such circumstances, he could have eaten at night when no one could have witnessed his doing so.

Some supporters believe that claims of inedia are less relevant than Bomjon's undisputed ability to remain nearly motionless in the same position day after day, with no regard for extremes of weather including cold winter and monsoon rains. For example, American writer George Saunders visited Bomjon and observed him through a single night, and was impressed by Bomjon's perfectly still stature, even during an evening climate which seemed unbearably cold to the much better clothed journalist.

In December 2005, a nine-member government committee led by Gunjaman Lama watched Bomjon carefully for 48 hours and observed his not taking any food or water during that time. A video recording was also made of this test from a distance of 3 meters. The Nepali government planned a more careful scientific study, but the study was never carried out.

In 2006, Discovery Channel showed a 45-minute documentary titled ''The Boy With Divine Powers''. One of the aims was to establish whether Ram was indeed abstaining from all sustenance, water included, by filming him continuously for four days and nights. On their first attempt, in January 2006, the film crew was required to stay outside a guarded barbed-wire fence, and their camera's infrared capabilities did not pick up evidence of a body at the base of the tree where Bomjon sat during their non-stop recording. On a second attempt a few weeks later, however, the film crew was able to film Ram continuously for 96 hours, day and night, during which time he did not change his position and did not drink any fluids or eat any food. As Discovery Channel's commentator concluded: "After 96 hours of filming, Ram has defied modern science by continuing his meditation and remaining alive." According to scientists on the documentary, ''an average person would be expected to die from kidney failure after four days without drinking any fluids'' (although cases of inedia lasting for a whole week have been observed and the recorded Guinness World Record of inedia is eighteen days). The boy showed no signs of classical physical deterioration caused by dehydration. A close inspection by the film crew of the area around the tree where Ram was sitting revealed no hidden food supply or water pipes.

In 2008, Min Bahadur Shakya of the Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods in Kathmandu, stated that Buddhist priests have yet to investigate Ram.

Reappearance in Ratanpuri jungle

On 10 November 2008, Bomjon reappeared and gave blessings to approximately 400,000 pilgrims over a 12-day period in the remote jungle of Ratanpuri, southeast of Kathmandu, near Nijgadh. His hair was shoulder-length and his body was wrapped in a white cloth. He made two speeches in which he urged people to recognize the compassion in their hearts, and their connection to one another through the all-encompassing soul.

Non-appearance in 2009 at the Gadhi Mai Mela

Palden Dorje planned to give blessings on 18–23 November 2009 at the site of the Gadhi Mai Mela, a Hindu vedic religious festival where hundreds of thousands of animals are sacrificed, something he has condemned. However, alleging 'security reasons', priests were unwilling to allot a space for him. On 30 October 2009 he spoke out in public against the approaching Gadhi Mai killings.

Controversies

A "Western" media outlet quoted a local Nepali newspaper which claimed that Bomjon "had admitted" to slapping some local villagers after having been physically assaulted by them on July 22, 2010. According to these claims, the incident took place in the Bara district and police have been involved in the investigation after seventeen complaints. Bomjon was quoted as saying that some locals had been interrupting his meditation by climbing onto his platform, mimicking him, and attempting to manhandle him, and that he was "therefore forced to beat them". According to the newspaper, he slapped them "two or three times", while the attackers alleged that they had been assaulted more seriously. Bomjon had been fasting before the altercation.

A Slovak woman held held captive for three months by followers of Ram Bahadur Bomjon, was released on March 25, 2012. She was weak with a fracture hand.

See also

Buddhism

List of Buddha claimants

References

External links

Official Site of Palden Dorje

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:Nepalese Buddhists

cbk-zam:Ram Bahadur Bomjon de:Ram Bahadur Bomjon es:Ram Bahadur Bomjon eo:Ram Bahadur Bomjon fr:Ram Bahadur Bomjon ia:Ram Bahadur Bomjon it:Ram Bahadur Bomjon nl:Ram Bahadur Bomjan pl:Ram Bahadur Bomjon pt:Palden Dorje sq:Bamja vi:Ram Bahadur Bomjon

:''For the Buddhist scholar, see Robert Thurman; for the novelist, see Rob Thurman''

Name	Bob Thurman
Position	Outfielder / Pitcher
Bats	Left
Throws	Left
Birth date	May 14, 1917
Birth place	Kellyville, Oklahoma
Death date	October 31, 1998
Death place	Wichita, Kansas
Debutdate	April 14
Debutyear
Debutteam	Cincinnati Redlegs
Finaldate	April 21
Finalyear
Finalteam	Cincinnati Redlegs
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.246
Stat2label	Home runs
Stat2value	35
Stat3label	Runs batted in
Stat3value	106
Teams	Homestead Grays (1946–48) Kansas City Monarchs (1949) Cincinnati Redlegs (1955–59) }}

Robert Burns Thurman (May 14, 1917, Kellyville, Oklahoma—October 31, 1998, Wichita, Kansas) was a professional baseball pitcher, outfielder and pinch-hitter. He played in the Negro Leagues, the Puerto Rican winter league (where he was a star), and for a few years at the end of his career, in Major League Baseball with the Cincinnati Reds. He is a member of the Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Fame.

Background

Several baseball reference books give Thurman's date of birth as 1921. However, like so many Negro Leaguers, Thurman took some years off his age in order to interest scouts in developing him as a prospect. In fact, 1917 is the correct year of his birth, as he himself admitted after his playing career was over. Therefore he made his major league debut at the age of 38, and was still in the big leagues at 42.

A left-hander, he was listed at 6' 1" (185 cm) and 205 pounds (93 kg).

Thurman played semipro ball with various teams in the Wichita area before entering the U.S. Army at the beginning of World War II. He was stationed in New Guinea and Luzon and saw combat action in the Pacific Theater. When he was discharged in 1945, the Homestead Grays in the Negro National League offered him a contract.

Negro Leagues

He started with the Grays in 1946, playing alongside such greats as catcher Josh Gibson, first baseman Buck Leonard and outfielder Cool Papa Bell. His pitching was not impressive, but he played in the outfield as well. He hit .408 for the season. The following year he hit .338 with 6 home runs in 157 at-bats.

In 1948 he posted a 6–4 win-loss record as a starting pitcher, and also hit .345 to help the Grays win the last Negro National League pennant. They went on to defeat the Birmingham Black Barons in the World Series, but after this season the powerhouse Grays were dismantled, along with the league. With the fall of the color barrier in the major leagues in 1947, Negro Leagues teams began to lose their star players and also their fan support.

Thurman also played winter ball in Puerto Rico for twelve seasons, eleven with the Cangrejeros de Santurce and one with the Leones de Ponce. With Santurce he was a great fan favorite. Thurman led the league in homers in the 1947–48 season with 9, and the following season he had 18. At the end of his career in Puerto Rico he was and still is the All-Time Home Run leader with 120.

In 1949 he reported to the Kansas City Monarchs of the newly reorganized Negro American League. The Monarchs were managed by Buck O'Neil and their roster included stars and future stars like Willard Brown, Booker McDaniels, Nat Peeples and Elston Howard.

Minor leagues

Thurman's big year in Puerto Rico had not gone unnoticed in the major leagues. On July 29, 1949 it was announced that the New York Yankees had purchased his contract from the Monarchs. He was assigned to the Newark Bears of the International League, where he hit three homers in his first week. For the season, he hit .317 for the Bears in 59 games, before a hand injury sidelined him.

The Yankees transferred him to the Chicago Cubs and he spent the 1950 season with Springfield in the International League. There his batting average fell to .269. The next two years he was with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, where he hit .274 and .280. The Cubs still had not integrated at the major league level.

Dominican Summer League

Thurman had continued playing with Santurce in the Puerto Rican league. He was one of the biggest names in Latin American baseball. The Dominican Summer League was founded in the early 1950s. It was an "outlaw" league (not affiliated with major league baseball), and tried to lure big-name minor leaguers with generous salary offers. Thurman signed with Escogido in the new league and was suspended from organized baseball. He played in the Dominican Republic for two years, leading the league in homers and RBI in 1954 and also pitching occasionally.

Puerto Rican winter league

When the Dominican League joined organized baseball in 1955, Thurman was in limbo. He was still under contract to the Cubs, but they showed no interest. He was still playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, and his 1954–55 season got him noticed again. He hit .323 with 14 homers for the Santurce Crabbers, a team that Don Zimmer called "the best winter league baseball club ever assembled", or as baseball historian Jorge Colon Delgado called them, "The Perfect Machine."

Zimmer played shortstop, Ron Samford was the second baseman, Valmy Thomas and Harry Chiti were the catchers, and Thurman was in right field. Willie Mays played center field and led the league in batting. Left fielder, Roberto Clemente, hit .344 for fourth place in the league. George Crowe played first base, and former Negro Leagues star Bus Clarkson was at third. Rubén Gómez, Sam Jones (MVP and Triple Crown winner) and Bill Greason were the pitching staff. Thurman still continued to pitch occasionally.

Cincinnati Reds

Impressed with his winter season, the Cincinnati Reds bought his contract from the Cubs, for a reported $2,000. He made his major league debut on April 14, 1955, the same day Elston Howard became the first black man to play for the New York Yankees. Thurman hit 7 homers in only 152 at-bats, although his average fell to .217. The following year he hit .295 in only 139 chances, with 8 homers. On August 18, 1956 he hit three consecutive homers and a double against the Milwaukee Braves.

The next season he hit a home run against the Philadelphia Phillies on his birthday, May 14, 1957. He thus became the first major league player to homer on his fortieth birthday, although that fact was known at the time only to Thurman himself, since he had not yet revealed his true age.

The 1957 season was Thurman's best in the major leagues. He started the year on a hot streak. On June 1 he was hitting .351, but by the end of June his average had dropped to .259. On August 2 he was sent down to the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League. He hit 8 home runs in the Pacific Coast League before being recalled by the Reds later in August. The Reds were in a slump, and Thurman helped get them out of it. In his first five games back with the team, he hit 4 home runs with 12 RBI.

Return to the minor leagues

Thurman played the entire 1958 season with the Reds and had a few pinch-hitting appearances with them in 1959. His final game was April 21, 1959. He was sent back to the minor leagues that year, but failed to hit well with Seattle or with Omaha of the American Association. In 1960 he hit .274 with Charleston, also of the American Association. He was now 43 years old. In 1961 he finally retired as a player, after 21 games with Charlotte in the South Atlantic League.

After his playing career

Thurman had a career .246 average in 334 major league games. He hit 35 homers and drove in 106 runs in 663 at-bats. He played 12 seasons in the Puerto Rican winter league. He is the league's all-time home run hitter, and a member of the Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Fame.

He joined the Minnesota Twins as a scout after his playing career ended, and later scouted for the Reds and the Royals. He died in Wichita, Kansas in 1998, aged 81.

References

Clark, Dick and Larry Lester, ''The Negro Leagues Book''. Society for American Baseball Research, 1994

Obojski, Robert, "SCD profiles former Reds outfielder Bob Thurman", ''The Sports Collectors Digest'', October 11, 1991

Riley, James A., ''The Negro Baseball Leagues: The Biographical Encyclopedia''. Carroll and Graf, 1994

Swaine, Rick, ''The Black Stars Who Made Baseball Whole: The Jackie Robinson Generation in the Major Leagues''. McFarland, 2006

Young, A.S. "Doc", ''Great Negro Baseball Stars''. A.S. Barnes, 1953

Colón Delgado, Jorge, "La Maquinaria Perfecta" (The Perfect Machine) 2007

External links

Good biography from the Baseball Biography Project

Category:Major League Baseball outfielders Category:Negro league baseball players Category:Cincinnati Redlegs players Category:Cincinnati Reds scouts Category:Kansas City Royals scouts Category:Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Category:Minnesota Twins scouts Category:1917 births Category:1998 deaths Category:People from Creek County, Oklahoma Category:United States Army soldiers Category:American military personnel of World War II