Dharamshala, 2^nd August: Jalue Dorje is a typical American kid in most ways: he grew up in a Minneapolis suburb and enjoys football, Pokemon, and rap music. Yet, in a few years, he plans to leave his family and birthplace and join a monastery in the Himalayan foothills, where he has been recognized as a reincarnated Lama by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist authorities since he was a child. Since then, he’s spent much of his life studying to become a monk, memorizing sacred writings (often in exchange for Pokemon cards from his father), practicing calligraphy, and understanding Buddha’s teachings.

He is now 14 years old and in his first year of high school. He’ll travel to northern India to join the Mindrolling Monastery after graduation in 2025, a journey that will take him more than 7,200 kilometers from his home in Columbia Heights. Following a period of introspection and asceticism, he aspires to return to America to teach in the Minnesota Buddhist community. His goal? “To become a peace leader,” he stated. “Like the Dalai Lama or Gandhi or Nelson Mandela.”

Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, a revered master of Tibetan Buddhism and the chief of the Nyingma lineage, identified Jalue when he was about 4 months old. Several additional lamas eventually acknowledged him as the eighth Terchen Taksham Rinpoche, the first of whom was born in 1655 as Taksham Nūden Dorje.

He had a contract with his father when he was younger, in which he would get Pokemon cards in exchange for memorizing Buddhist scriptures. He gathered hundreds and would hide them in his robes during ceremonies. He gets up every morning to recite sacred scriptures. He then goes to school, then football practice, before returning home to tutor Tibetan history and Buddhism. He might practice calligraphy late at night or exercise on a treadmill in the basement while listening to Drake and Polo G.

Image Courtesy: AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski

Share this on