For US teen Buddhist lama, it’s faith, school, football

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. – In astir ways, Jalue Dorje is simply a emblematic American teen — helium grew up successful a suburb of Minneapolis, loving football, Pokémon and rap music.

Yet a fewer years from now, he’s expecting to accidental goodbye to his household and homeland and articulation a monastery successful the foothills of the Himalayas — from an aboriginal age, helium was recognized by the Dalai Lama and different Tibetan Buddhist leaders arsenic a reincarnated lama.

Since that recognition, he’s spent overmuch of his beingness grooming to go a monk, memorizing ineffable scriptures (often rewarded by his dada with Pokémon cards), practicing calligraphy and learning the teachings of Buddha.

Now he’s 14 and entering his archetypal twelvemonth of precocious school. After graduation successful 2025, he’ll caput to bluish India to articulation the Mindrolling Monastery, much than 7,200 miles (11,500 kilometers) from his location successful Columbia Heights.

Following a play of contemplation and ascetism, helium hopes to instrumentality to America to thatch successful the Minnesota Buddhist community. His goal? “To go a person of peace,” helium said. “Like the Dalai Lama oregon Gandhi oregon Nelson Mandela.”

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On a caller day, helium chanted past prayers for hours with his begetter and different monks who gathered successful a supplication country successful the family’s location to ringing bells, bang drums and stroke conch shells adjacent an altar decorated with offerings of fruits, flowers and Torma ritual cakes.

The yearly ceremony, which was suspended past twelvemonth due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic, pays homage to Guru Rinpoche, the Indian Buddhist maestro who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet. Over 2 days this year, the radical prayed for victims of earthy disasters, warfare and COVID-19, and for the bid and happiness of beings worldwide.

On a break, Jalue sat for luncheon successful the gait nether the summertime sun, the youngest by acold among the monks, and past walked upstairs successful his maroon and golden robes to play the NBA 2K video crippled against Delek Topgyal, his 13-year-old relative and champion friend.

The young lama would suffer with squad Kyrie Irving and aboriginal explicate that squad Lebron James “is practically unbeatable.”

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The process of identifying a lama is based connected spiritual signs and visions. Jalue was astir 4 months aged erstwhile helium was identified by Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, a venerated maestro of Tibetan Buddhism who was the person of the Nyingma lineage. He was aboriginal confirmed by respective different lamas arsenic the eighth Terchen Taksham Rinpoche — the archetypal 1 of whom was calved nether the sanction Taksham Nüden Dorje successful 1655.

After the Dalai Lama besides recognized him astatine property 2 arsenic the guru’s reincarnation, Jalue's parents took him to conscionable the spiritual person of Tibetan Buddhism erstwhile helium visited Wisconsin successful 2010. The Dalai Lama chopped a fastener of Jalue’s hairsbreadth successful a ceremony. He besides advised the parents to fto their lad enactment successful the U.S. truthful helium could cleanable his English and past nonstop him to a monastery astatine property 10.

Jalue is present fluent successful English and Tibetan and often gets A’s successful class. Although helium was officially enthroned successful a 2019 ceremonial successful India, he’s inactive surviving successful Columbia Heights, wherever his parents decided he’ll enactment until graduation.

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“Seeing him increasing up to a teen is simply a batch of things to instrumentality successful due to the fact that he’s a Buddhist master, and astatine the aforesaid time, he’s a mean idiosyncratic arsenic well," said his uncle, Tashi Lama. "We get to spot the 2 sides of it.”

In Jalue's room, a photograph of the Dalai Lama rests supra DVD collections of “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “South Park,” adjacent to volumes of ″Buddha." That’s a graphic caller bid by Osamu Tezuka, a maestro of the Japanese comic creation signifier known arsenic manga.

On his bedside table, Jalue keeps a diary wherever helium diagrams shot strategies that he’d similar to effort connected the tract playing arsenic a antiaircraft tackle and violative defender with his schoolhouse team.

He loves sports, particularly Atlanta teams.

“You’ll ever spot maine extracurricular wearing this hat” helium said astir his favourite Falcons cap. “Unless I’m wearing my robes.” Would it beryllium easier if helium was conscionable a regular teen? “Nothing similar that crosses my mind,” helium said, laughing. “It’s ever been religion first.”

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Growing up helium had a woody with his dad, who would springiness him the Pokémon cards successful instrumentality for committing Buddhist scriptures to memory. He collected hundreds and would sometimes sneak them successful his robes astatine ceremonies.

Every greeting helium wakes up to recite ineffable texts. He past attends school, followed by shot practice, and returns location for tutoring lessons connected Tibetan past and Buddhism. Late astatine nighttime helium mightiness signifier his calligraphy oregon tally connected a treadmill successful the basement portion listening to rappers similar Drake and Polo G.

“He’s people precise open-minded, and he’s besides precise genuinely funny successful the world. ... He doesn’t person these preconceived notions of who helium is,” said Kate Thomas, 1 of his tutors and the teachings coordinator astatine Minneapolis’ Bodhicitta Sangha Heart of Enlightenment Institute.

“He knows he’s Tibetan. He besides knows he’s American," Thomas said. "But similar the younker of today, helium is simply a planetary national arsenic well. And helium started retired that mode owed to his age, his generation.”

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Associated Press video writer Jessie Wardarski contributed to this report.

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Associated Press religion sum receives enactment from the Lilly Endowment done The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely liable for this content.

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