Tigernest Monastery after the fire disaster April 1998

Tigernest Monastery after the fire disaster April 1998

One of the most sacrednyes in the Buddhist world, Taktshang was established in the eighth century by Guru Rinpoche. The guru in the wrathful form of Guru Dorji Droley subdued the evil spirits and then meditated in the Pelphug in Taktshang. Other saints who meditated in the cave include Milarepa, Phadampa Sangye, Machi Labdoenma, Thangthong Gyalpo and Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. The main monastery around the Pelphug in Taktshang was constructed in 1692 by the great fourth Desi, Tenzin Rabgye. Between 1961 and 1965 it was renovated by Je Sheldrup Yoezer. The latest additions were made in 1982. The Taktshang monastery was severely damaged by fire on April 19, 1998, but the Dubkhang, the most sacred sanctum of the monastery, was found to be safe. Restoration work on the lhakhang began two years later after the fire because of the lona and the danger of loosened rocks from the cliffs overhead.

Dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava, this incredible monastery clings to the edge of a sheer rock cliff that plunges 900 meters into the valley below. The history states that Guru Padmasambhava, the tantrum mystic who brought Buddhism to Bhutan, had taken the wrathful form of Guru Dorje Droloe to subdue the evil and demon that were obstructing the spread of Buddhism in the Himalayas.

A fire destroyed a value part of the monastery in April1998, just one week after my second visit in Bhutan 1998 with my son Oliver. It was in restruction when we visited the Tiger's Nest the third time.

(The photo I captured with a KODACHROME slide film in April 1998 during my second tour in Bhutan. Scanned with NIKON CoolScan V ED.)