"This is where it all began for me." "My acting career." "When I was in the third grade, my mother agreed to let me be in the school play." "I was to play the title role; "little boy blue."" "It would be my first time on stage." "The moment came, I stepped up onto the stage, into the light." "And the words and the action flowed effortlessly." "I was only eight years old, but I knew this was my calling, this was my destiny." "People say the same thing about politicians, athletes." "It happens in religion too." "Almost every faith has a figure that they think was chosen by god." "Muslims have Muhammad." "Christians have Jesus." "Jews have Moses and Abraham." "Why do we rally around these chosen ones?" "And how do they guide our faith?" "I'm setting out to meet chosen people who walk the earth today." "An American boy who's the reincarnation of a Buddhist lama." "When I grow up I can teach a lot of people peace." "A man who heard god call him in his darkest hour." "This is when I felt that god spoke to me." "And a guru who is no longer human." "It cannot be corrupted." "I'll try to understand how chosen ones change us." "The memory of Imam Hussain it is a responsibility for the whole of humanity." "How they give us strength." "The deity possess the medium." "They are not themselves." "The medium becomes godlike." "To achieve what seems impossible." "They're not going to back down and we're not gonna back down either." "And perhaps even change the course of history." "Where do you find a chosen one?" "In the deserts of Arabia?" "In the holy land?" "Amid the temples of India?" "I found one in the suburbs of Minnesota." "I've come to the home of a Tibetan couple who moved to America in 1999." "How are you?" "I am very well indeed." "Thank you so much." "Very good." "Dorje Tsegyal and his wife Dechen Wangmo." "Hi, how are you?" "Very well." "Tibetan Buddhists believe this is the reincarnation of a lama, a Buddhist spiritual teacher." "His name is Jalue." "Thank you." "Nice to meet you sir." "Hi five." "Jalue." "Yes." "Who are you?" "I'm a monk and I'm a little boy." "But how do you come to be a monk at nine years old?" "Well, when I was two years old I got a paper from the Dalai Lama saying I was reincarnated." "When you were two?" "Yes." "That's you right there?" "Yes." "Where was this taken?" "This was in Madison, Wisconsin." "Madison, okay." "You went there to meet the Dalai Lama?" "Yes, yes, yes." "And when you were two years old that didn't mean anything to you." "But now you're nine, what does it mean?" "It means I'm a monk, I'm special." "You're special." "How do you feel about that right now?" "I feel, I feel great." "What is a, just a typical day, what is it like?" "On a school day, I wake up at six." "I go brush my teeth and then I have to go pray and then I eat breakfast and then school." "And then you come home?" "And then I have to hurry home because I also have a Chinese class." "And then I pray and write my homeworks." "Then I get a little bit of break time and then I have to do my nightly prayers and then when it's just 9:00 I have to go to sleep and do it again Monday to Friday." "You have a very organized life." "How do you manage that at nine years old?" "I would go crazy." "Let me see your teeth." "Nice and clean too." "You brush them every day, once a day?" "Twice." "When Jalue's mother was pregnant with him, she had what she believed was a prophetic dream." "She saw an elephant and her baby calf walk into the prayer room of their home." "So she asked a high lama to perform a divination." "He confirmed by his own dream that Jalue was the reincarnation of a Tibetan lama:" "Taksham Neuden Dorjee." "Tibetan Buddhists believe this guru's soul has been incarnating through a series of chosen ones for almost five centuries." "The spirit of the guru returned to Jalue's body to continue his teaching." "And that means this fourth grade boy must now juggle math and English with Tibetan, Chinese and memorizing volumes of Buddhist scripture." "So what are you reading?" "It's called Yudensu." "It has about 400 pages." "Listening to it," "I'm reminded of when I was in like first grade and we were readying you know, so see spot, see spot run, run sport run." "is it kinda like that, just doing kind of a rote?" "Yeah, yeah, kind of." "So let just ask you now Jalue." "Do you ever feel like, yeah, I don't want to do this?" "Really?" "I have to learn a lot so when I grow up I can teach a lot of people how to be kind and show peace." "But to fulfill the destiny that has been chosen for him, Jalue must soon leave his American life" "Behind, to spend his adolescence in a monastery in India." "He'll be away from his parents for ten years." "I've asked Thinly Woser, one of Jalue's teachers, to help me talk to his parents about his impending separation." "Okay, so when do you think you will send him off to school, to monastery?" "yes, actually according to his holiness' wishes he has to go to the monastery at the age of ten." "That's next year." "Yes." "It's not like you have 2 or 3 children, this is it, you got this one." "And now it turns out that he is super special, he's not just your son, he's a child that apparently belongs to the world now." "How do you feel?" "It is difficult to send him out in the monastery." "But, at the same time he is beneficial for the community." "Then they can do a little bit of sacrifice of their love and care." "As the date of his move to" "India draws closer, Jalue must prepare for his role as a spiritual leader." "Today, Jalue's going to give one of his first public speeches to the local Tibetan community." "He has invited me to come along." "Jalue Dorjee." "Yes." "What does that mean?" "Indestructible, rainbow body." "If you say it backwards." "Ah, say it backwards." "Indestructible!" "I don't want to get you into any trouble, cause it's just us, alright..." "What else would you like to be doing?" "Excuse me?" "What else would you like to be doing?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "Well, average nine old is thinking about YouTube and" "Facebook and stuff like that." "Not in your, not in your..." "Sometimes." "Sometimes." "Thank you for coming today." "I am very happy to be here with the venerable Abar Rinpoche." "I would also like to thank everyone here for making this auspicious gathering possible." "See you later." "Alright." "Are we buddies?" "Yeah." "Alright, later." "You look at Jalue and you see an ordinary American boy." "He plays soccer, he likes video games." "But you sense something more." "Something much deeper." "He's been graced by a power, some energy that traces back through centuries of Tibetan Buddhist tradition." "It gives him a maturity that is far beyond his years." "He's only nine years old." "He didn't ask for this, but he's willingly carrying that energy into his future." "Jalue's path was set for him before he could even speak." "But other "chosen ones" don't receive their calling until later in life, and they chose to follow it even in the face of grave danger." "Like this man, who sacrificed his freedom to spread god's word inside one of the world's most repressive countries." "In North Korea, religion is Controlled by the state and" "Christianity is outlawed." "I'm here to meet missionary Kenneth Bae, who was held prisoner in North Korea for two years." "His crime?" "Leading Christian prayer groups." "I have heard quite a lot about you, my friend." "Well, thank you." "Where are you from?" "I was born in South Korea in Seoul and my family moved to the United States, to California, when I was 16." "So, you were arrested in North Korea." "Why?" "They charged me with attempting to overthrow the government." "And, I asked them how, how did I do that and then they said," ""through the prayer and through worship."" "So, were you, in fact, praying and worshiping In North Korea?" "Yes." "I actually organized Tours into North Korea, and I brought in about 300 people, you know, in a one year period of time and pray and worship." "And I felt the calling to help all those people." "The lord said you're gonna be a shepherd." "You feel certain you were chosen by god." "To go into harm's way and spread his word?" "I knew the risk." "I knew that, they cannot tolerate anything but their own religious system." "But I feel very certain that I was chosen by god." "So, they arrest me and they put me in the very remote hotel and I was actually there for about a month, being interrogated from Eerly morning until midnight, every day." "Can you talk about it?" "Was extremely difficult." "They actually put me in the middle of the room and they say," ""Stand still."" "And so I had to stand Still for, maybe," "Five or six hours without moving." "If I move they will come in and yell at me and say, don't move, stand still." "But something happened that I couldn't explain." "Suddenly my hand was getting warm, my left hand." "So, I slowly opened my palm and I saw something sparkling like gold dust." "And then this is when I felt that god spoke to me and say," "Kenneth, holy spirit is holding your hand." "He's standing next to you." "And, do not fear because I am with you." "And I feel so peaceful." "I was smiling, I guess, and I can hear some of the people from other rooms saying, wait a minute, he is smiling." "This is not working." "And then one of the guards came in and said," "Just go to bed." "You don't have to stand anymore." "Okay." "Now, you have been caught, so to speak, and you've been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor." "What are you praying for?" "I realized I wasn't going home any time soon." "And then I said this prayer, Lord you know my heart." "I want to go home but I give up my right to go home." "Use me here as a missionary." "And, he did." "And, god did, quite a bit after that." "I started having more conversations with the guards." "I started to become their friends and more like, became a shepherd to them." "On the guards, ask me this question, you say god is for real then how come you're still here?" "And I said, because god may have a different plan." "That plan may include you because without me how are you going to hear about god?" "And he said, it's true, I never heard anything like this before in my life." "After two grueling years," "U.S. Officials finally arranged Kenneth's release." "His mother was there to welcome him home to America." "You know you have gone through this horrific experience, literally, in the name of god." "A lot of saints, prophets, even Jesus, have gone through like circumstances." "Do you ever think about that and wonder what your future looks like?" "One person told me," "Jesus is a hope to live my life for." "I just want to be the channel of the blessing, and become a bridge to those people who are in need." "It's quite an amazing story." "Why thank you." "I'm glad you're back." "Lord bless you." "Kenneth knew the risk he was taking by" "Going to North Korea to do missionary work but, he was willing to take that risk because he felt chosen by God." "He heard God." "God spoke to him." "And, that gave him the strength to endure extreme physical and mental anguish." "Now, I'm not saying that he's a prophet or anything like that but, his story echoes the men and women, over the centuries, who were willing to sacrifice themselves for their faith, because they believe that God chose them." "One of those people was named Hussain Ibn Ali." "And his sacrifice to keep his religion on the right path is remembered every year by millions around the world." "I've always tried to stay on the straight and narrow." "But you know, the world is full of distractions and temptations." "One day, you look around and you find you've wandered way off track." "Every now and then you need someone to help you find the way forward." "That's what the chosen ones do." "They help the faithful get back on track." "Get back to the path." "Or find them a new way." "Christians believe Jesus was chosen by God to show the new way forward at a time when Judaism was suffering under roman occupation." "The Shia denomination in Islam has a similar origin." "It stems from the life and death of a man called" "Hussain Ibn Ali." "I've come to London, one of the world's great cultural crossroads," "To meet with members of the Shia community, and to learn the story of their chosen one." "I'm here to witness the holiest night in" "Shia Islam, Ashura." "The night that commemorates Hussain's violent death almost 14 centuries ago." "So, here we are at the mosque." "It's kind of exciting sounding." "Well, it's the busiest night in many ways." "With me is historian of Islam," "Sajjad Rizvi." "It doesn't matter how irreligious you are, you always turn up on Ashura night." "You do?" "Yeah." "So, tonight we are commemorating the day on which" "Hussain, the grandson of the prophet," "Was martyred in Karbala." "And it's his sacrifice in martyrdom that we're commemorating tonight." "Alright, what are we hearing right now?" "Now, you are hearing the salutation on" "Hussain and his companions who were martyred with him." "You often say that, you know," "If only we were there with you Hussain, we wouldn't have sacrificed ourselves with you as well." "We are commemorating the martyrdom of imam Hussain, which took place some 14 centuries ago." "It was the confrontation between truth and falsehood." "It was the challenge between justice and injustice." "it was a challenge between light and darkness." "As the evening builds, the mosque becomes more and more crowded." "Thousands of people cram in." "So I ask Sajjad to take me somewhere quieter to explain why Hussain is their chosen one, and why his death means so much to them." "So, on this particular day in 680 there was a conflict, in which there was Hussain, the grandson of the prophet Muhammed and the forces of the person who had declared himself as caliph, Yazid." "When Yazid took power, he was not really pretending to be a moral figure who was standing in the place of the prophet." "Whereas Hussain is trying to adhere to the values of his grandfather, of Islam as an equalizer in which no person of a particular race or tribe has precedence over another." "What happened to Hussain?" "Was it..." "An uneven fight?" "It was a much greater force from 5,000 to 30,000 men, against a band of men who had traditionally held to be 72." "It's not a fair fight." "After they were killed they were beheaded." "In most cases the bodies were dismembered." "In Hussain's own case, at the end he's full of arrows." "He falls from the horse but it takes him a while to fall because the arrows are standing between him and the ground." "Hussain's sisters, his wives, after their tents are burned, they're taken as prisoner, and taken to walk all the way to Damascus, To the court of Yazid." "This tragic event was one of the reasons for the split in Islam between the Sunnis who remained aligned with the caliphate that followed from Yazid, and the Shia, who swore their allegiance to Hussain." "And on the night of Ashura, they mourn his death." "People will stand up with swords and with bugles, and the whole idea is it's supposed to evoke in the mind the battle scene." "You have the beating of the chest, to have a sort of a cathartic sense of feeling what Hussain felt." "Sharing in his passion." "Much like Christians turn the sadness and suffering of Jesus' death into a celebration that brings their community together, Shia Muslims come together with" "Ashura to celebrate the values of justice, truth and peace that they believe Hussain died for." "In fact, Shia around the world are spreading the message of Hussain beyond their community." "Organizing peaceful marches." "Hoping to bring the world together in a time that is as fractured as Hussain's was." "War's are everywhere and if we listen carefully to imam Hussain and Jesus Christ and Moses and all the prophets in history... we should be ashamed of ourselves that we let wars tear apart societies and communities as human beings." "These are these people who we'd say are chosen to explain what god sees, because they get a glimpse of it." "And, in fact, I think there's a word in" "Arabic which describes people like Hussain." "The word is wall." "Wali literally means a friend or an intimate." "Friends of god." "Christians remember the sacrifice of" "Christ once a week in holy communion." "For the Shia, their remembrance of the death of" "Hussain climaxes once a year on Ashura." "Their emotional mourning and physical suffering is an echo of what he experienced for them some 1500 years ago." "He is their chosen one, the one who stood up for their beliefs, no matter what the cost." "Remembering Hussain and sharing his suffering is how they stay true to his vision of Islam." "Chosen ones like Hussain and Jesus led their followers down a righteous path." "But sometimes the chosen one's mission goes off course." "For catholics, the pope is god's chosen representative on earth." "Some modern popes, like John Paul II and Francis have inspired millions to live true to their faith." "But back in the Middle Ages some popes lost their way." "They persecuted non-believers, sold absolutions from sin." "And today, there are phony gurus and money grabbing preachers everywhere you look." "Is there a way to stop these so called "chosen ones" from leading the faithful astray?" "In Amritsar, India, the Sikh faith believes it has found the answer." "They follow a chosen one, Guru Granth Sahib, who they see as incorruptible." "Kamya Arora has come here from the U.S. to reconnect with the faith of her Sikh family and to meet her faith's chosen one for the first time." "Mandeep Kaur Samra Is a Sikh historian." "Hi Mandeep." "Hello Kamya." "Welcome to Harmandir Sahib golden temple." "This is the holiest shrine of the Sikhs and all the Sikhs have to come to this place once, at least, in their life." "Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded in the 16th century by its first chosen one, guru Nanak." "Today, it has around 25 million followers, making it the world's 5th largest religion." "Guru Nanak has a vision of a single, unifying god who didn't discriminate based on ethnicity, caste, or gender." "The golden temple welcomes everyone, regardless of their race or religion." "Tell me why are people walking around and where are they going?" "They walk around the main shrine, from there then they go into the temple where the guru sahib," "Which is the guru of the Sikhs right now, the 11th guru of the Sikhs is sitting there." "That is what everyone comes to see?" "They come for an audience with the guru and listen to what he is saying." "The word guru in Sanskrit means someone who takes you away from darkness towards knowledge." "So he is the one who shows you a way." "One of the best times to hear the guru is early in the morning, so Kamya and Mandeep have returned to the Golden Temple to try and get a glimpse of the Sikh's sacred chosen one." "I notice it's quieter now, is that because of the time?" "It's because the guru is asleep right now." "They are cleaning the Sanctum to make it ready for him to come." "And why does the cleaning take place for the guru?" "The guru is the highest person of the community." "So the place has to be cleaned for his presence." "When the room is ready, the guru's assistant awakens him." "So what Is going on in that room?" "I see someone holding something." "That's the guru they are bringing" "To the Golden Temple." "The guru of the silks isn't a person." "It's a holy book." "They're holding it on his head." "On their head because the guru is not supposed to be touching ground ever." "It's in reverence and respect to the guru." "The Guru Granth Sahib is a collection of hymns from past gurus, saints and bards." "It was composed to be recited, and to be sung." "When you come here and you listen to the singing of the hymns of the gurus..." "The very purpose is to make you connect with the divine, the almighty." "The single god." "Wow, that was a surreal experience." "It was incredible to see I guess so many people wanting to touch it and be close to it and follow it into the temple." "When did the guru become a book?" "Guru Govind Singh, the tenth guru of the Sikhs, he designated that the scripture as the next guru." "And he after that did away with the personal" "Guruship in Sikhism." "The scripture has a personality in the literal sense of the word." "It's a person, not a book, because this was eternal word of his predecessors." "It's revealed to them therefore it cannot be corrupted." "It might seem strange to follow a chosen one that's made of ink and paper, not flesh and blood." "But for the Sikhs, the 11th and eternal guru has one great advantage." "It has no earthly desires, no carnal distractions." "It is the incorruptible word of god." "It illuminates, unwavering, the path to righteousness." "Around the world, chosen ones keep the faithful close to god, close to his will." "But chosen ones also drive them to transcend human limitations." "To become god-like." "churches are designed to be awe-inspiring, towering towards the heavens, reminding us of the man upstairs." "And just as they reach for new heights, so they encourage us to do the same." "I think chosen ones serve much the same purpose." "Their lives offer us a glimpse of god's power." "Encouraging us to attempt things that we at first thought were impossible." "Every year, in Thailand, men who believe they have been chosen by Taoist gods perform superhuman rituals." "They endure what look to outsiders like horrific body piercings." "They do it to cleanse and reinvigorate their entire communities." "Sociologist Dr. Andreas Schneider has come to" "Phuket, Thailand, to study these chosen few, known as the ma song, as they take part in the nine emperor gods festival." "Welcome to one of the oldest" "Shrines in Phuket." "One of the oldest?" "Yes, it's over a century." "Wow." "Karuee Chotithamaporn is a representative from the Bang Liao Dou Mu Gong shrine, a center for Taoist worship." "They are many figures here." "Are they all different gods?" "Yes, they are all different gods." "How do they relate to the processions" "In the street?" "The purpose for street procession is actually to bless the general public by the gods through the mediums." "The mMedium is of course a mediator between the gods and the people." "Could we speak to one of these mediums?" "This is the mediums and his name is Kot." "Kot." "One of the big questions for everyone watching this festival is of course, the Ma Song are piercing their cheeks." "Why are people doing that?" "It is ordered by the deity or the gods." "What kind of weapon he has to use and where to pierce from the gods, all from the gods." "So what I would like to ask him is why he was chosen to become a Ma Song?" "He say it's not his choice," "But it's the gods will." "Kot has Invited Andreas and Karudee to come see him in the shrine's procession the following morning." "This year, we are going to have around 800 mediums." "Yes." "People are yelling, and they bang the table that means they're entering trance." "Yes." "So actually the drum helps the mediums to enter trance." "Makes perfect sense." "Rhythm is a central part for entering the trance, and you feel the vibration as well." "He cannot wait." "Oh, it's Kot?" "Yes, it's happening." "Oh my goodness." "It just happened." "Yes, oh yeah, He's shaking his head." "Yeah, that's right." "When Ma Song violently shake their heads, like Kot is doing, it's a sign they are in trance and possessed by the gods." "And it means they are ready to be pierced." "Some use spears, others needles." "Kot's piercing is more unusual." "Oh my goodness." "Oh wow, yeah, his piercing..." "Oh, so he's taking the umbrella through the tongue?" "Yes, as you can see there's no bleeding." "And we believe that the deity..." "Yes." "Possess the medium." "They are not themselves." "So, the medium becomes godlike..." "Yeah, that's right." "And for that reason doesn't bleed." "That's right, it's the possessing." "After the 800 chosen Ma Song from the shrine are pierced, they march through the streets of Phuket displaying the power of the gods." "The locals believe the mediums save the public from sin by piercing through all this." "Receiving all the sin." "And of course, mediums cannot exist without the public because they are the link to the gods." "Okay, yeah, that's right." "The mediums they give hopes to the locals to have a better life after the festival." "I'm amazed at what the" "Ma Song endure physically." "I've heard that when they remove their piercings they don't feel pain." "They say their wounds heal incredibly quickly." "That sounds miraculous, but the Ma Song believe that being chosen by the gods gives them superhuman powers." "They become an inspiration for the rest of us to be more like god." "I'm on my way to meet a man who has been chosen to lead his people in an epic struggle." "One that also requires superhuman endurance." "He's asked me to come to Devils Tower in Wyoming." "This is chief Arvol Looking Horse, the chosen one of the Nakota, Lakota and Dakota tribes." "I've brought him a gift of tobacco for his sacred ceremonies." "Thank you." "So, chief, tell me, why did you want me to meet you here at Devils Tower?" "We all it Mato Tipila." "Mato Tipila." "Ah, that's one of our power points of prayer, of worship." "It's like a church." "This is where the white buffalo calf woman brought the sacred pipe to our people." "So the story is that 19 generations ago, our people were camped here." "At the time there was no more food, because people were abusing life." "From a distance they saw a cloud." "And then from that cloud there's a woman." "She brought the sacred pipe." "She said, I'm bringing this sacred bundle to you." "That you shall live in peace and harmony." "The white buffalo calf woman taught chief Arvo's people how to respect mother earth and worship the great spirit with the sacred pipe she gave them." "Does it still exist?" "Yes." "Since the age of 12 years old, I've been the keeper of the sacred white buffalo calf bundle or pipe." "They call me canupa a wayanka." "Chanupa a wayanka." "Yes." "The white buffalo calf pipe is so sacred that chief Arvol cannot let anyone outside his tribes see it." "So your grandmother was the keeper of the pipe." "Yes." "She said that you were to be next in line." "Yes." "My grandmother on her death bed, she told my family we are at the crossroads." "Earth changes, climate changes and that if the people don't straighten up, then he shall be the last bundle keeper." "And it was very shortly after that she crossed over into the spirit world." "At 12 you were now a chosen one." "How did you feel?" "I was pretty overwhelmed." "I was ashamed because our ways were still outlawed and we couldn't talk about this openly." "So I became a professional "bronc" rider." "You went off the beaten path." "You went and did something you had no business really doing, 'cause you left your responsibilities." "Yes and in 1983 this horse jumped out of the bucking shoot, took about two jumps and went straight up in the air, took a flip and... all I remember is that horse came right on top of me." "Next thing I remember I was in the hospital." "They told me that I was paralyzed neck on down." "At first I was thinking about this, how can I live?" "Then I got a telephone call." "And said, this is your grandmother." "I thought your grandmother died?" "Oh it was a spirit grandmother." "Oh, oh, oh." "Now she really chewed me out." "You're supposed to be taking care of the sacred bundle, but you are laying here like this." "And we're going to give your life back." "Right after that my legs start like tingling and within days I walked out of the hospital." "You come out of the hospital." "You embraced your role as the chosen one." "Am I right?" "Yes." "You've been walking the straight and narrow." "Yeah, up to this day." "What is your job now?" "My job today is maintaining this way of life." "To take care of Wo Chima-ka, mother earth, like the white buffalo calf woman told us." "Because we are at the crossroads, either be faced with a lot of chaos, disasters or we could unite spiritually in this global community, because mother earth is our source of live, not a resource." "Say that again." "Mother earth is a source of life, not a resource." "Yes." "I love it." "Chief Arvol has made it his mission to protect his people and their sacred land against all threats, to ensure he won't be the last keeper of the sacred pipe." "His latest battle is in South Dakota, protesting an oil pipeline being built under the Missouri river." "They're not going to back down and we're not going to back down either." "Because water is life." "Dakota standing rock, you having that fight?" "They're trying to lay that pipeline and it's going to ruin all that water." "Yes." "All the way down to the delta where" "New Orleans is." "Then it goes into the big water." "Through my home." "I want to send a message we are here still maintaining the cycle of life." "We take care of the O Chimaka, mother earth." "Okay, thank you." "I will light this." "And then when we leave here, you know, we don't say goodbye, we say toksha." "From here on we leave it the way it is." "That way we leave here in a good way." "Sitting talking with chief Arvol I can feel the weight he's carrying on his shoulders." "And knowing him makes me realize how important it is to have people like him among us." "I certainly hope he's not the last of his kind." "His energy and passion for the land, our world, the planet, is infectious." "And I think he'll do what other great leaders have always done, inspire others to follow in his footsteps." "Most of us are too busy holding down jobs to see the really big picture of what we're doing as a people, as a species." "Religion allows some people to step forward." "Chosen people." "People who feel they are chosen to sacrifice themselves." "People who risk grave danger to show us the right path." "Their goal is to get a glimpse of god's view of the world so they can teach the rest of us what that means."