Jalue Dorje’s path from the Minneapolis area to the Himalayan foothills has unfolded as a shift between two routines that he described as belonging to the same person. He is the U.S.-raised teenager whom Tibetan Buddhist leaders recognized early as a reincarnated lama, and he is now studying at monasteries in India and Nepal as he continues that education as a monk.
During a recent visit to Nepal, Dorje attended sacred rituals at Shechen Monastery, where he participated in a blessing line that drew crowds. He tapped people’s bowed heads with a ritual vase and a peacock feather, sprinkling holy water for protection, purification and wisdom, while also pausing to acknowledge children watching him with curiosity and reverence.
Dorje, 19, said he framed the experience as something that had come to life for him. “This is the real one, you know? We’re here and this is really happening,” he said, adding, “I’m doing what the prophecy fulfilled.” His account tied the rituals directly to what he believed had been guiding his long training to become a monk.
The religious identification process, according to Dorje’s description, began when he was a toddler. He said he was recognized at age 2 by Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, a venerated Tibetan Buddhist master, and later confirmed by several lamas as the eighth Terchen Taksham Rinpoche, with the earlier reincarnation said to have been born in 1655. Dorje’s parents brought him to meet the Dalai Lama in 2010, when the spiritual leader visited Wisconsin and cut a lock of Dorje’s hair as part of a ceremony.
Dorje said the Dalai Lama advised his parents to let him remain in the United States to perfect his English and then send him to a monastery. “From my parents’ end, educating me was a really big one,” Dorje said. He described his family’s decision as a gamble that depended on following the Dalai Lama’s guidance, and he said his parents continued working while raising him, including cleaning hotel rooms and doing laundry at hospitals.
Before he moved to India to join the Mindrolling Monastery, Dorje described life in the Twin Cities area as familiar in its own way, shaped by school and sports and by popular culture. He said he loved video games such as Madden NFL on an Xbox and also spent time playing football, while he continued studying Buddhist teachings. He said he kept references to the Dalai Lama close as a child and still drew from the broader world around him while training.
In Nepal, Dorje’s daily routine reflected both monastic practice and the environment around one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most sacred sites. Each morning in Kathmandu, he walked from his hotel to the monastery amid crowds and traffic near the 1,500-year-old Boudhanath stupa, with prayer flags and painted Buddha eyes visible in the surroundings. He removed his shoes before entering prayer halls reserved for monks with doctorates and for lamas like him, and he took part as incense and monastic instruments—cymbals, bells and drums—punctuated chants.
At Shechen Monastery, Dorje presented Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche with an offering that symbolized the universe and a khata, a white Tibetan ceremonial scarf. He described it as his first mandala, or offering, since beginning his long journey, and said the moment led him to realize “how far I’d come.” The visit included 12 days of rituals in which Dorje blessed thousands, including his parents.
After the blessing series ended, the family traveled before dawn to the ancient Maratika, also known as Halesi Mahadev Caves, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Mount Everest. Dorje described sitting cross-legged next to his father, Dorje Tsegyal, as they prayed together after exploring the caves, which are sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists.
Looking ahead, Dorje said he hoped to return to the United States to teach in Minnesota’s Buddhist community at the Nyingmapa Taksham Buddhist Center. He said his goal is to become “a leader of peace,” describing that aspiration with examples that included the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Gandhi, and telling the Associated Press that “This… is just the beginning.”