Epilogue
– Footsteps of the Mahasiddhas Ladakh Tour 2025 –
The Footsteps of the Mahasiddhas Ladakh Tour was truly a once in a lifetime adventure that may never happen again for many reasons. First, it was one of the hardest to organize due to Ladakh’s proximity and the weather, but in saying that, it was still one of the most rewarding tours. The second obstacle with the Ladakh tour was getting people to commit to the tour due to concerns over the high altitude. These concerns aren’t invalid but can be a concern one overthinks about because the possibility of being severely impacted by the altitude is very low. So, as a result, we initially had a good number of people interested, but eventually most of them pulled out. Thankfully, we had two past participants who wanted to come, Ross and Srinivasan. Ordinarily, with only two participants, the tour wouldn’t happen, but both gentlemen came to the Nepal tour last year, and they have become great friends, and so we really just wanted to introduce Ladakh to anyone, so we went ahead with the tour.
Amazingly, Srinivasan and Ross were not impacted by the altitude. They were both straight off the plane and into action. Gayoung and I were so excited to show both the beauty and magic of the Himalayas in Ladakh. The ancient Vajrayana Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh are some of the most picturesque in the world. So, it was an absolute pleasure to meditate as a group in some of the most remote monasteries in the world. The chance to trace the footsteps of the great Mahasiddhas, such as Padmasambhava, is something you can’t quite quantify, but it means something beyond words and builds a meaning in one’s soul that we take with us beyond this life.
We visited the monasteries of Spituk, Alchi, Likir, Thiksey, Hemis, Chemrey, Takthok, and Diskit. All of these monasteries are significant in the evolution of Vajrayana Buddhism. For example, the cave monastery of Takthok is especially important because it was the very cave that Padmasambhava meditated and lived in for three years on his way from Oddiyana to Tibet, where he established Buddhism in its Himalayan form. There is a stillness in this cave that is hard to replicate. These sorts of experiences on a pilgrimage have a resonance that reverberates in the heart of the pilgrims that we take with us into the future but also connects us on a deeper level for life. This is only one of many reasons why pilgrimage is an important spiritual practice. Unfortunately, pilgrimage is a lost spiritual practice in an increasingly disconnected world. But for those with their perception cleansed of such divisive distortions, then the pilgrimage is a metaphysical glue that bounds the participants and, as a result, becomes a microcosm of what the world could and should be. Ladakh, like all of our pilgrimages, is just that, a microcosm of what the world could and should be, and that is why we are dedicated to showing people the true essence of oneness in all of our hearts through a journey of discovery together as one moving organism. No words can describe the feeling and power of a pilgrimage with people who are pure of heart and dedicated to the spiritual path.
Gayoung and I are just so thankful that Srinivasan and Ross were brave enough to join us on a heartfelt journey together where we strengthened our bond even more from our Nepal adventure in 2024. We love you both and look forward to deepening our connection in our ongoing pilgrimage through life.
