Ram Bahadur Bomjon (; born , sometimes spelled ''Bomjan'', ''Banjan'', or ''Bamjan''), previously known as ''Palden Dorje'' (his monastic name) is an

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

from Ratanapuri, Bara district, Nepal who gained widespread attention and media popularity because of perceived semblances to

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

, leading to claims that he is a

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

of Gautama Buddha. Bomjon's followers have claimed that he meditates for months without eating or

sleeping Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain Sensory nervous system, sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with th ...

. Buddhist scholars have disputed these claims. In June 2024, Bomjon was convicted on charges of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

Biography

In May 2005, the 15-year-old Bomjon left his home near the Indian border after a dream in which a god appeared to him and told him to do so, and sat amongst the roots of a pipal tree to meditate. Claims suggest that for 10 months he rarely spoke, drank, ate, or even moved. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people visited the site to see the boy motionless for hours, days or as rumoured even months, or came in devotion to the possibility of an important spiritual event occurring. As a result of some of these claims, Bomjon's followers believe he is an incarnation of the historical Buddha,

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. Bomjon has rejected such comparisons, saying "Tell the people not to call me a Buddha. I don't have the Buddha's energy currently. I am at the level of a

rinpoche Rinpoche, also spelled Rimpoche (), is an honorific term used in the Tibetan language. It literally means "precious one", and may refer to a person, place, or thing—like the words "gem" or "jewel" (Sanskrit: '' Ratna''). The word consists of '' ...

." Mahiswor Raj Bajracharya, the president of the Nepal Buddhist Council, has stated likewise: "We do not believe he is Buddha. He does not have Buddha's qualities". Buddhist scholars have been sceptical of Bomjon's claims to be able to meditate for months on end without food or drink. On 11 March 2006, he went missing. On 19 March, Bed Bahadur Lama of the Om Namo Buddha Tapaswi Sewa Samiti (ONBTSS) told reporters that they had seen him in

Bara District Bara District ( ) is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal, located in the western part of the Madhesh Province. The district is third richest district in Nepal after Kathmandu and Morang with 3.3% share of total GDP of Nepal and highest ...

and that they had spoken to him for half-an-hour, during which Bomjon reportedly assured that he would return in six years. He was seen again in August 2007, preaching to crowds in Nepal's Hallori jungle, around 100 miles south of

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

Legal issues

In 2010, Bomjon was investigated for attacking a group of 17 villagers. Bomjon claimed that they were intentionally disturbing his meditation. However, the villagers said they were just looking for vegetables. Bomjon claimed to have taken "minor action" against them with just his hands after they had "tried to manhandle" him, and stopped as soon as they apologized. However, the victims claim that for three hours he struck them on their head and back with an axe handle, resulting in serious injury of one of the victims. Bomjon refused to attend any potential trial, stating, "Do you think a meditating sage will go to the court to hear a case? I took action against them as per the

divine law Divine law is any body of law that is perceived as deriving from a Transcendence (religion), transcendent source, such as the will of God or godsin contrast to man-made law or to secular law. According to Angelos Chaniotis and Rudolph F. Peters, di ...

". In 2012,

Nepal Police Nepal Police () is the national and primary law enforcement agency of Nepal. It is primarily responsible for maintaining law and order (politics), law and order, prevention of crime and crime investigation within the jurisdiction determined by ...

announced that they had rescued a Slovak woman from Bomjon's followers, but other reports claimed that she had been voluntarily released after media coverage of the kidnapping. ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' reported she had been taken from a hotel by two of Bomjon's men riding on a motorcycle and kept tied to a tree for three months and accused of practicing witchcraft in order to disturb the Boy's meditation. However, another report claimed she had been kidnapped from a monastery. When she was released, she had a broken arm. A week after her release, Bomjon's siblings accused him of holding his brothers captive overnight, and beating his brothers and his sister. Followers of Bomjon also assaulted five journalists and destroyed their cameras after they had recorded one of Bomjon's sermons. An investigation was opened in January 2019 after complaints from family members that four devotees had gone missing from several of Bomjon's ashrams. In the same month, police raided one of Bomjon's ashrams in Nepal, but he was not found. On February 6, 2020, the Sarlahi District Court issued an arrest warrant against Bomjon. The following day, police raided another one of his

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

Sexual abuse charges

In September 2018, Bomjon was accused of raping an 18-year-old nun repeatedly for nearly two years. During a press conference organized by women's rights groups, the nun also accused his wife of trying to keep the abuse hidden so as not to "attract attacks" on their religion. Supporters of Bomjon claim that the nun was in fact involved in theft, and had been ejected from the monastery. Nepalese authorities issued an arrest warrant for Bomjon in January 2020. On 9 January 2024, based on that 2020 warrant, a team from the Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal police arrested Bomjon at his hideout in

Budhanilkantha Budhanilkantha is a city and municipality in Kathmandu district of Bagmati Province, Bagmati province of Nepal. It is the 3rd largest List of cities in Nepal, city in the Kathmandu Valley after Kathmandu and Lalitpur, Nepal, Lalitpur. As per 2021 ...

. Bomjon was arrested after jumping two floors from a window during his escape attempt. They also confiscated Nepalese currencies and foreign currencies of over 17 different nations equivalent to

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

33 million. In June 2024, Bomjon was convicted of

. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, but had until 10 September to

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

his conviction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bomjon, Ram Bahadur 1990s births 21st-century Buddhists Living people People from Bara District Nepalese Buddhists Tamang people Religious figures convicted of child sexual abuse Year of birth missing (living people)

Biography

Legal issues

Sexual abuse charges

See also

References