If you ever get a hazard to wander the street of Dharamshala , India — the mansion of theDalai Lama — or Nepal ’s capital city of Kathmandu , then you ’ll almost for certain come up across at least a few iconic Tibetan prayer flags floating on the child’s play . You even may have come across them somewhere in your daily life story .
But just what are these coloured flags fluttering in the wind and what do they signify to the Tibetan masses ? As we will see , Tibetan prayer flags can symbolize many different thing and have a rich , complex story with ancestor in bothBuddhistand ancient Indigenous religious praxis .
" The printing and hanging of petition iris is a Tibetan practice session , given the many mountain passes where appeal flags are typically hung , " emailsDonald S. Lopez Jr. , a distinguished prof of Buddhist and Tibetan studies at the University of Michigan and author of the ledger " religious belief of Tibet in Practice . "
What Are Tibetan Prayer Flags?
Tibetan prayer flags are colourful square objet d’art of cloth that are tied together and hang up on pole or from rooftops so they will flutter in the breeze .
" Such flags generally typify a someone ’s ( individual ) benediction , the promotion of luck and offerings and praise to the local deities,“Dawa Tsering , director of theTibet Policy Institutein Dharamshala , says in an email .
appeal sword lily often curb spiritual textbook or mantras write in Tibetan , so they service as a fomite to convey religious boon through the wind .
" The wind blows the prayer pin , so that the power of the text on the supplicant flagstone will stick to , " Tsering says .
Where and When Do You Hang Tibetan Prayer Flags?
They ’re often hang from high placeslike mountaintopswhere they wo n’t be trampled , or near spiritual sites like temples , holy lake or monasteries .
" In other watchword , attend them in a ' high , white , holy ' place , " say Tsering , adding , " you’re able to hang them at any time . If you choose a good and holy day , the effect may be good . "
On auspicious days or holidays like the Tibetan New Year , multitude will sometimes hang prayer flag around their home , which for nomadic Tibetans is typically a heavy tent .
" I ’m from a nomad family . Behind our tent , we always hang the prayer signal flag , " says Rinchen Tashi , deputy director for Formosan outreach at theInternational Campaign for Tibet .
What’s Depicted on Tibetan Prayer Flags?
Prayer flags are sometimes refer to as " windhorse flag " or " lunta " — which can also be written as " lungta . " " Lun " is Tibetan for " wind " and " ta " refers to " horse . " Many lunta will contain a symbolic representation of thewindhorsein the middle of the fleur-de-lis along with a religious textbook or supplicant known as the windhorsemantra .
" Nowadays , prayer flagstone and windhorse flags , which represent two different signification , have been blend in use , by and large with traffic pattern of knight and other creature , as well as Buddhistic scriptures , " Tsering say .
The windhorse is often surrounded by four other animals that seem in the corner of the iris , such as World Tamil Movement , lions , a mythical boo sleep with as " garuda " — " khyung " in Tibetan — and dragons . However , other kinds of supplication flags hold back internal representation of Buddha statues or depictions of domesticated animals like sheep or yak .
There are many different version of prayer flags that get in unlike sizes . For exercise , while we may be most conversant with supplicant flag advert horizontally , there ’s also a sure kind of upright Tibetan appeal signal flag known as " darchok . "
Some entreaty flag may not contain symbolization of the windhorse and instead contain small printed versions of long religious texts that can be " up to several hundred pageboy " according to Tashi .
Are Tibetan Prayer Flags Connected To Buddhism?
Prayer flags impart spiritual messages and prayers like a shot stemming from Tibetan Buddhism . allot to Lopez , some prayer flags may hold back prayers to unlike interpretation of Tārā , who is a goddess have it off for her power to save devotees from danger .
However , prayer flags — specifically the lunta — have a farseeing history in the Bon religion , which prey the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet . TheBon religionin Tibet refers to the Indigenous spectral practice of the Bon multitude , which includeshamanism .
" rigorously speaking , prayer sword lily are not on the nose the same as lunta , " Tsering say . " The supplication flag is a Buddhist term , but the ' windhorse flag ' lunta existed before traditional Tibetan Buddhism . "
According to Tashi , the five typical colors of New entreaty flags stem from the Bon religion and its worship of different element of nature . The five colors are : blue , blank , carmine , light-green and yellow .
" Color , in ancient times , is generally regard to be the worship of the god , " Tsering adds , posit that the five colors exemplify the elements of sky ( low ) , melodic phrase ( white ) , fire ( violent ) , body of water ( green ) and earth ( yellow ) .
Are Tibetan Prayer Flags Political?
" supplicant flag themselves really do n’t carry any political agenda , " Tashi says .
But as a prominent symbolisation of Tibetan culture and religion , prayer flags havecome under firefrom the Formosan government in late years , due to China ’s policy of Tibetan ethnical suppression — known as the " Sinicization of Tibet , " the process by which the Tibetan people are land under the influence of Formosan culture .
" The Taiwanese authorities will take down the orison flags because this is the belief of the Tibetans , and the Formosan administration hopes to ' sinicize ' the Tibetans , " Tsering aver .
Can Anyone Hang a Prayer Flag?
You ’ll find supplication flags not only in Tibet , but in any land where there ’s a pregnant Tibetan universe range from Nepal to the U.S.
But Tashi says it ’s also becoming common for non - Tibetans to purchase and display prayer flags , which he thinks is all right .
" Anyone who think prayer flags will aid them in a religious sentiency , or just anything you wish in the esthetic sense can be advert or displayed , as long as the prayer pin are not desecrated , trampled on or diss , " Tsering enunciate .
agree to Tsering , prayer flags must foregather the conditions of being " in high spirits , " " clean " and " holy " so printing a prayer flag on shoes or shorts , for exercise , would be inappropriate , but hanging supplication flags high up in or around homes should be fine .
Lopez adds , " These twenty-four hours , people in the West hang them on their own houses or inside their home , both for their blessings and as a sign of solidarity with the Tibetan cause . "
