MINNEAPOLIS — It’s morning and a little boy with a shaved head and a face shaped like the moon chants a Tibetan prayer. His high-pitched voice echoes inside the Columbia Heights, Minn., bedroom that his father has transformed into a prayer room. In here, the 5-year-old forsakes cartoons and toys to study Scripture and learn to pray the Buddhist way.

Big for his age, he looks bigger still perched on an ornate chair draped in crimson and saffron robes. “Only for lamas,” explains his father, Dorje Tsegyal, sitting cross-legged at his son’s feet.

Jalue Dorjee, you see, is believed to be no ordinary boy.

According to the highest authorities of the Tibetan Buddhist order, he is the reincarnation of a lama, or spiritual guru, who died in Switzerland six years ago. Jalue is said to be the eighth appearance of the original lama, born in 1655.

His discovery in 2009 is considered an honor and a blessing for his working-class parents. But it comes with a hefty price. Jalue (pronounced JAH-loo) is their only child. In five years, he will leave his parents’ home to live and study in a monastery in India.

Jalue is believed to be one of a few American tulkus. The finding comes amid controversy over how tulkus are identified, as some Tibetan scholars question why their number has been increasing — to thousands worldwide.

But Jalue’s parents are faithful believers, and they look past any doubters to the work they must do to prepare their son for his destiny.

Dreams and signs

The thought of letting Jalue go pains his mother, but she consoles herself that when the time comes, she will probably be accustomed to the idea.

From the time a new life first began to stir inside her in 2006, Dechen Wangmo said she sensed there was something special about this child.

He was peaceful inside her body. She never felt sick, not even in the mornings.

And there were the dreams.

One night, an elephant appeared with several little ones around it, she said. They merged into the small prayer room in the family home. Once inside, they vanished.

Tsegyal, too, remembers having vivid, symbolic dreams at the time. In one, he said, he saw many lamas surrounded by tall sunflowers.

So when a highly respected lama from India came to visit the Twin Cities Tibetan community, Tsegyal told him about the dreams. That night, the lama had magical dreams of his own, according to Tsegyal, (pronounced Say-jull). The lama told him he saw huge tigers, one in each room of the family home. Tigers are a good omen and a sign of strength, according to Tibetan Buddhist custom.

On Jan. 6, 2009, a letter arrived bearing the seal of the greatest spiritual leader of the Tibetan diaspora. The Dalai Lama recognized Jalue as the reincarnation of the lama known as Taksham Nueden Dorjee. In a second letter, the Dalai Lama gave Jalue a formal lama name — Tenzin Gyurme Trinley Dorjee.

The boy was now 3. His life was about to change. The first thing to go was his hair.

Meeting the Dalai Lama

Buddhist monks must keep their hair no more than 2 inches long, a custom stemming from a story about Buddha snapping his fingers and instantly removing all the monks’ hair, beards and mustaches.

His parents timed his first haircut to the Dalai Lama’s visit to Madison, Wis., in May 2010. The family traveled there and the Dalai Lama did the honors, cutting a lock of the boy’s hair. Tsegyal keeps that strand of hair preserved at home.

Tsegyal had one more question for the Dalai Lama: How should he raise Jalue to ensure he will become a great lama?

The Dalai Lama told him to keep the boy in the United States until he reaches the age of 10 so he can go to school here and learn good English. When he turns 10, he should be sent to a monastery in India, where he can learn as much as he can before he is full-grown.

There is so much more Tsegyal must teach his son before they part. How to wear the monk robes properly. How to walk and how to sit. At times, Tsegyal feels overwhelmed by his duty.

Knowing their time together is short has made Wangmo value every minute with her son. It’s also made her realize that to be ready to separate from him, she must practice.

When it’s time for preschool, Jalue trots down the stairs dressed head to toe in maroon with a pair of Spider-Man sunglasses over his eyes and a backpack over his shoulders. He leans against his mother as she helps him put on his sneakers.

When the bus comes, Jalue lifts his face to receive a goodbye kiss. She bends down, cups his face and nuzzles him. The bus stops at the end of the driveway, and the whooshing sound of the doors opening tells her that it’s time to let go.

She follows Jalue with her eyes, watching as he climbs each step, cheerfully greets the bus driver and takes a seat. She waves until she can’t see him anymore. Then she walks up the driveway toward the house. Not once looking back.

About Buddhism

• “Lama” is the Tibetan translation for a Sanskrit word meaning “guru.”

• A “tulku” is the reincarnation of a known spiritual guru, Tibetan Buddhists believe.

• Although many Buddhists believe in reincarnation, this system of identifying religious figures is unique to Tibetan Buddhism, dating back to at least the 13th century.

• Lamas typically are identified in their youth.

• They often are placed in a monastery, where training stresses debate and ritual.

— Roger Jackson, a religion professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.