Source: St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/News/030301/NorthPinellas/A_season_of_spiritual.shtml
On February 25, 2001, the St. Petersburg Times reported on Jack Churchward, a Clearwater, Florida youth who has been identified "as the reincarnation of a lama, or high-ranking monk, who died sometime around the first World War." After he demonstrated compassion for ants as a 4-year-old, his parents' "meditation teacher, a monk from Tibet...told them the boy was indeed special, possibly a tulku, a highly realized being who chose to reincarnate himself in their child...More than 200 tulkus have been identified in Tibet...a handful have been found in the West...To Tibetan Buddhists, the tulku is a sacred being, a treasured part of their tradition." Jack grew up as a troublemaker, but decided to accept his enthronement when he was 17. While making preparations to go to India and lead a spiritual life, he is continuing his American teenager lifestyle.