{"id":6607,"date":"2026-05-15T15:01:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6607"},"modified":"2026-05-15T15:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:01:45","slug":"journey-of-a-lifetime-a-us-teen-buddhist-lama-is-now-a-monk-studying-in-the-himalayan-foothills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6607","title":{"rendered":"Journey of a lifetime: A US teen Buddhist lama is now a monk studying in the Himalayan foothills"},"content":{"rendered":"

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO<\/strong><\/p>\n

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) \u2014 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.<\/p>

Read more As Trump looks to punish foes, Democratic states find ways to push back<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019d pause to snack on pizza rolls and Diet Coke, or check his texts for the next hangout at TopGolf or Buffalo Wild Wings.<\/p>\n

Two separate worlds. Both are home to Jalue Dorje.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s 19. He graduated from high school last year and moved to northern India to join the Mindrolling Monastery, about 7,200 miles (11,500 kilometers) from his home in Columbia Heights. Recently, he came to Nepal to meet his parents, who flew from Minneapolis, and attended sacred rituals and teachings conducted by the abbot of Shechen Monastery.<\/p>\n

Maroon and golden monastic robes had replaced his usual hoodies and sweatpants. But he still quoted from Drake (the rapper) and Shantideva (the 8th-century Indian monastic). And beneath his robes, he wore white Crocs decorated with Jibbitz charms of \u201cThe Simpsons.\u201d He wore them often at Shechen Monastery, near the 1,500-year-old Boudhanath stupa, one of Tibetan Buddhism\u2019s most sacred sites.<\/p>\n

Each morning, he\u2019d 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 colorful Tibetan prayer flags and the painted, ever-watching eyes of the Buddha.<\/p>

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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 \u2014 cymbals, bells and drums \u2014 punctuated the monastic chants.<\/p>\n

Standing before three huge gold statues of the Buddha, Dorje bowed to Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, the monastery\u2019s spiritual head, and presented him with a golden plate that symbolizes the entire universe, and a \u201ckhata\u201d \u2014 a white Tibetan ceremonial scarf.<\/p>\n

It was the first mandala, or offering, Dorje had made since his long journey to follow his predestined spiritual path. It was a moment, he says, when he realized how far he\u2019d come.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the real one, you know? We\u2019re here and this is really happening,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m doing what the prophecy fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>

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