Jalue Dorje, a teenager from a Minneapolis suburb, is now studying at a monastery in the foothills of the Himalayas after being recognised as a reincarnated lama by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders.
Growing up, Dorje loved rap music, video games and football, but also spent much of his life training to become a monk. He memorised sacred scriptures, practised calligraphy and learned Buddhist teachings, graduating from high school last year before moving to northern India.
After completing the equivalent of a first semester of college, he flew to Nepal to meet his parents. There, he attended sacred rituals and teachings at monasteries in the Kathmandu Valley, followed by a 12-day period of rituals and prayers.
Dorje also joined his parents on a pilgrimage to the ancient Maratika or Halesi Mahadev Caves in eastern Nepal, a site sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists where pilgrims often decorate the walls with colourful powders and offer fruits and flowers.
After several years of contemplation and asceticism, Dorje hopes to return to the United States to teach in Minnesota's Buddhist community. He aspires to become a leader of peace, following the example of Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama.
