Pink Mountain Travels and Tours is, the company says, “the first and only travel and tour agency for/by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in Nepal.” And as Sify News reports, Pink Mountain’s first group bookings “are not from bridal pairs or honeymooning couples but from gay Buddhists who want to follow in the Buddha’s footsteps and meditate in his birthplace.”
Many of Pink Mountain’s customers are members of Europe’s Gay Buddhist Sangh (GBS), whose charter reads that the organization seeks “to introduce the teachings of the Buddha to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) folk in such a way that we honour and respect all beings and where they are in their lives, and help them to preserve a healthy and positive self-image, particularly about their sexuality.”
For more on Pink Mountain, visit them online here.
Great headline, but say it ain’t so*, Ram Bomjan. (See here.) …And in case you didn’t know: Bomjan, the so-called “Buddha Boy” of Nepal, is considered a modern-day Buddha by some, and is eyed with supspicion by others. Either way, he makes for good copy.
From another account: “The victims said, Bamjan, with the help of a local, brought them to a local’s house and thrashed them saying they were trying to scuttle his meditation.”
Hm. Well, that’s disappointing. But I can’t say I don’t understand it!
* Update: turns out he can’t say it ain’t so….
A favorite Buddhism-and-pop-culture story continues. Via Nepal News:
Meditator Ram Bahadur Bomjon, dubbed by people as “Buddha boy”, has reappeared at the base of the Churia hills after six months, state-owned news agency RSS reported.
Buddha boy Ram Bahadur Bomjon Bomjon who left his meditation place at Halkhoriya Daha six months ago for Gadhimai Mela with a view to stop animal sacrifice in the Mela had disappeared from midway before reaching the Gadhimai Mela venue.
Bomjon was found at the foothills of Churia hills during a search carried by a team led by Chairman of Namobuddha Tapoban Conservation Committee Bed Bahadur Rama, the report said.
Lama quoted Bomjon as saying that he went to Churia foothills in search of a quiet place to complete his six-year meditation as he was disturbed by noise in Halkhoriya.
Lama said there was no difference in the physique of the mediator. According to Lama, Bomjon plans to return to the village next year and share his knowledge and teachings.
Bomjom who had been meditating in Halkhoria under the security arrangement of the committee used to disappear for a few days before reappearing in the past as well.
More on BB, including video, here.
Nation, Paul McCartney just had a chat with Stephen Colbert, touching on his new record, his favorite Beatle, the rights of sentient beings, and whether or not the Dalai Lama could resort to cannibalism.
(Wait… What?)
Yep. Click the screen-shot to watch the video, via Huffington Post.
And thanks to kin for the tip.
For some people, it is. So the Horse brings you two videos so that you can see for yourself. (Of course, watching a video doesn’t actually replicate seeing….) First: a recent report from AP News:
Next: A bit from the Discovery Channel, focusing on Buddha Boy’s “secret Sakya techniques”:
“NEW DELHI, India (CNN) — Tibetan exile leaders, meeting in northern India to debate a potential new approach to Tibet’s decades-long struggle for autonomy, have voted to stay with the Dalai Lama’s current “middle way approach,” according to a spokesman for the spiritual leader.” (More, here.)
Oh, and Ram Bamjan, the “Buddha Boy” has newly retreated into the jungle.
Via Huffington Post: “A teenage boy who many believe is the reincarnation of Buddha has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said Tuesday.
“After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, re-emerged Monday near Nijgadh town, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the capital, Katmandu.”
Read the rest here.
A team of explorer dudes from Japan, led by explorer dude Yoshiteru Takahashi, think so.
Via The Daily Mail:
“Footprints from the legendary Yeti have been found in the snow-covered slopes of the Himalayas, a Japanese team of explorers claimed today.
“The adventurers could hardly contain their excitement as they told of finding the 8in-long footprints which bore a close resemblance to those of humans…”
Read the rest here.
“Nepal looks for girl to serve as new ‘living goddess’”
KATHMANDU, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Religious authorities in Nepal have begun the search for a girl who could be as young as three or four to serve as the new Kumari, or the virgin “living goddess”, in a centuries-old tradition.
Astrologers were consulting horoscopes of candidates from Buddhist Shakya families to replace the current Kumari, Preeti Shakya, who is 11 and should retire during the annual Hindu festival of Dasain in October, temple officials said.
“If we don’t change her now, we’ll have to wait until next year which could be late,” said Deepak Bahadur Pandey, a senior official of the state-run Trust Corporation that oversees the country’s cultural matters.
“If the girl starts menstruating while serving as Kumari, it is considered inauspicious,” Pandey told Reuters on Tuesday. [Read more here.]
Just heard about a special report on CNN, airing this weekend:
“Go inside the world of Buddhism with Christiane Amanpour. In the fight for freedom and democracy, their weapon is peace. They are ‘Buddha’s Warriors,’ Saturday & Sunday, 8 p.m. ET.”
Mark yr calendars! (Here‘s the schedule, by the way.)
