In the serene Himalayan foothills, a teenage Buddhist lama performs ancient blessings, tapping bowed heads with a ritual vase and peacock feather and sprinkling holy water for protection and wisdom. Yet, just six months prior and thousands of miles away, this same young man was immersed in all-night gaming sessions of Madden NFL on his Xbox, fuelled by pizza rolls and Diet Coke near Minneapolis.
The two separate worlds are both home to Jalue Dorje, a 19-year-old who embodies a unique blend of modern American youth and ancient spiritual leadership. Recognised from an early age by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist figures as a reincarnated lama, Dorje grew up with a love for rap music, video games, and American football.
Having graduated high school in 2025, he has since relocated to northern India, joining the Mindrolling Monastery, some 7,200 miles from his family home in Columbia Heights. He recently travelled to Nepal to reunite with his parents, who flew from Minneapolis, and participated in sacred rituals led by the abbot of Shechen Monastery.
While maroon and golden monastic robes have replaced his hoodies and sweatpants, Dorje still effortlessly quotes both rapper Drake and the 8th-century Indian monastic Shantideva. A subtle nod to his American roots can be found beneath his robes: white Crocs adorned with The Simpsons Jibbitz charms, often worn at Shechen Monastery, close to the ancient Boudhanath stupa, one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most revered sites.
Each morning, he would awake at dawn. After prayers, he walked from his hotel through crowded Kathmandu streets lined with fruits, incense and spices, dodging mopeds near the soaring white dome and spire of Boudhanath with its colourful Tibetan prayer flags and the painted, ever-watching eyes of the Buddha.
On a recent day, he strode to the monastery and took off his Crocs before entering a prayer hall reserved for monks with doctorates and lamas like himself. Incense wafted. The sound of ancient instruments — cymbals, bells and drums — punctuated the monastic chants. Standing before three huge gold statues of the Buddha, Dorje bowed to Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, the monastery’s spiritual head, and presented him with a golden plate that symbolises the entire universe, and a 'khata' — a white Tibetan ceremonial scarf.
