Jalue Dorje grew up a typical American teen, loving video games and football. But he’s also an aspiring spiritual leader recognized from an early age by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnated lama. He’s now studying at monasteries in India and Nepal. (AP Video: Upendra Mansingh)
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — At a monastery in the Himalayan foothills, a teenage Buddhist lama blesses thousands. One by one, he taps bowed heads with a ritual vase and a peacock feather, sprinkling holy water for protection, purification, wisdom. He stops to smile at children who eye him with curiosity, reverence and awe. He tries to keep pace with others who, like him, are among the few chosen to give the final blessing.
Just six months earlier, thousands of miles away, this same young man was pulling all-nighters to play Madden NFL on his Xbox at his home near Minneapolis. Sometimes he’d pause to snack on pizza rolls and Diet Coke, or check his texts for the next hangout at TopGolf or Buffalo Wild Wings.
Two separate worlds. Both are home to Jalue Dorje.
A typical American teen, he grew up loving rap music, video games and football. He is also an aspiring spiritual leader who, from an early age, was recognized by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders as a reincarnated lama.
