NEPAL -- This is a documentary on Ram Bahadur Bomjon, "Buddha Boy," a teenager who has been meditating for three years without food or water. Also known as Tapaswi Palden Dorje, he is thought by many to be the rebirth of an exalted being. Who? He is a bodhisattva -- someone bent on full-enlightenment, a person aiming for buddhahood. It is a misnomer and a mistake to consider him the "reincarnation" of the historical "Buddha" (Shakyamuni). A buddha no longer undergoes rebirth, having overcome all defilements. The meaning of buddhahood is uprooting all delusion, aversion, and greed. The practical upshot is that one will no longer undergo rebirth of any kind. It should also be noted that Buddha Boy does not fit the canonical profile of the future buddha, Maitreya.
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