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

Yet a few years from now, he’s expecting to say goodbye to his family and homeland and join a monastery in the foothills of the Himalayas — from an early age, he was recognized by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders as a reincarnated lama.

The annual ceremony, which was suspended last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, pays homage to Guru Rinpoche, the Indian Buddhist master who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet.

Jalue was about 4 months old when he was identified by Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, a venerated master of Tibetan Buddhism who was the leader of the Nyingma lineage.

After the Dalai Lama also recognized him at age 2 as the guru’s reincarnation, Jalue’s parents took him to meet the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism when he visited Wisconsin in 2010.

The Dalai Lama cut a lock of Jalue’s hair in a ceremony.

“Seeing him growing up to a teenager is a lot of things to take in because he’s a Buddhist master, and at the same time, he’s a normal person as well,” said his uncle, Tashi Lama.

In Jalue’s room, a photo of the Dalai Lama rests above DVD collections of “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “South Park,” next to volumes of ″Buddha.” That’s a graphic novel series by Osamu Tezuka, a master of the Japanese comic art form known as manga.

He then attends school, followed by football practice, and returns home for tutoring lessons on Tibetan history and Buddhism.

“He knows he’s Tibetan.

He also knows he’s American,” Thomas said.