Ram Bahadur Bomjon () born , sometimes spelled Bomjan, Banjan, or Bamjan), previously known as Palden Dorje (his monastic name) is a controversial ascetic from Ratanapuri, Bara district, Nepal who gained widespread attention and media popularity because of perceived semblances to Gautama Buddha, leading to claims that he is a reincarnation of Gautama Buddha. Details 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. Bomjon has rejected any 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." 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". Then, on 11 March 2006 he went missing. On 19 March 2006 Bed Bahadur Lama of the Om Namo Buddha Tapaswi Sewa Samiti (ONBTSS) told reporters that they had seen him in Bara District 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 again seen in August 2007, preaching to crowds in Nepal’s Hallori jungle, around 100 miles south of Kathmandu. Controversies Bomjon's followers have claimed that Bomjon meditates for months without eating or sleeping. 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