Teenage Buddhist Lama
Buddhist lamas, Trulshik Yangsi Rinpoche, left, and Jalue Dorje, who is recognized as the eighth Terchen Taksham Rinpoche, laugh while posing for a portrait at the Yak and Yeti hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
As featured on
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.