Today marked the highlight of our journey – we hiked up to the famous Tiger’s Nest which is perched high up on a cliff at almost 10,000 feet. The hike is strenuous but every once in a while we catch a glimpse of the famed monastery.  Next to Mt. Kailash in Tibet, Taksang is the most sacred pilgrimage site in the entire Himalayan world. To visit Taksang is the dream of every devout Buddhist. It is said that in the 9th century Guru Rinpoche arrived  here on the back of a pregnant tigress and sat and meditated in a cave for three months.

This is also the site where Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche received a transmission and subsequently wrote the Sadhana Mahamudra. We were granted access to one of the shrine rooms, overlooking a 3,000 foot steep drop into the valley.

Together with our monk Jigme and Judy who led the practice, we recited the Sadhana Mahamudra just a feet away from the famous cave. We sat in silence for a while before we headed back down to mountain. Dark clouds started to come into the valley and it began to rain and storm. Judy said it was an auspicious sign.

Now we are off to our farewell dinner at Ms. Sonam Trophel’s restaurant in Paro. She will serve her famous tomato soup and ginger potatoes. Everyone will sleep well tonight!