Teenage Buddhist Lama

U.S.-born Buddhist lama Jalue Dorje smiles as he blesses people by tapping bowed heads with a ritual vase and a peacock feather at the end of 12 days of empowerments, or initiation rituals and teachings, bestowed by the abbot of Shechen Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sunday, April 12, 2026.

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Journey of a lifetime: A US teen Buddhist lama is now a monk studying in the Himalayan foothills

Journey of a lifetime: A US teen Buddhist lama is now a monk studying in the Himalayan foothills

A teenage Buddhist lama recently blessed thousands at a monastery in the Himalayan foothills. Just six months earlier and thousands of miles away, he was pulling all-nighters to play Madden NFL on his Xbox at his home in a Minneapolis suburb. Both world's are Jalue Dorje's. He grew up a typical American teen, loving rap music, video games and football. But he's also an aspiring spiritual leader — recognized from an early age by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnated lama. He graduated from high school last year and is now studying at monasteries in India and Nepal. His goal: become “a leader of peace,” like Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama.