Bhutan: Tiger's Nest Temple

The Tiger's Nest temple is the epitome of Buddhist temples for me. The story goes that a monk flew from the valley on the back of a tiger to the cliffs above the Paro Valley in Bhutan. There he meditated in a cave for years. Ellen and I rode horses up through the valley until even they were stopped due to the steepness of the cliffs. The monestary is at an elevation of 10,000 feet and the valley floor is at 7,000. Once we arrived at the top we were greeted by the head monk and given a ceremony that celebrated our love and offered blessings to my ailing mother. While walking though the temple I came across a door that lead to a cave!! Yes - I was able to do some caving in the middle of this 3,000 foot cliff.

Get Thee to a Nunnery

Today, we visited the oldest Nunnery in Tibet. Nuns don't have it as easy as monks do, who are receive more money in donations and from the government too. Nuns have to earn their keep and these nuns run a clinic and a teahouse and a store to accomplish that.

The nuns were very hospitable to us, and most likely would have been even if it were not for Rand's very generous donation.

Although they were on break in their morning meditation and having their snacks, they chanted a lovely prayer for us. We also were invited to visit the workroom where they assemble the scrolls that go inside prayer wheels and also their dormatories. Two nuns share a room and we were happy to see that they had a poster of the current Dalai Lama on the wall.

Siep Monastery Monks Debate

At the Monastery, we witnessed the most fascinating debates going on between young monks and their master teachers. This was an exercise the monks engaged in to test the young monk's knowledge in a question and answer, spirited interrogation format.