Many places in Nepal, Tibet, and the Himalaya region, wherever prayers can meet the wind, are decorated with colorful flags. These flags are fluttering on temples, holy sites, roof-tops of houses, mountain summits. Tibetans believe that the wind that blows through them brings blessings to all sentient beings. The prayer flags tradition originates in India where the Indian Buddhist Sutras, written on cloth, were transmitted to other parts of the world. According to a legend, the first prayer flags were battle flags where Shakyamuni Buddha had written his prayers. The idea of this type of prayer flags was brought to Tibet by buddhist monks from India. Although, the Tibetan Bon Shamans already used similar flags even before the arrival of Buddhism. The sets of five colored flags, with each color responding to a certain element of nature, are set up in following order: blue (symbolizing sky/space), white (symbolizing air/wind), red (symbolizing fire), green (symbolizing water), yellow (symbolizing earth) from left to right. The early Tibetan prayer flags also depicted the four auspicious animals (the Four Dignities) - the Dragon (symbolizing "Water"), the Garuda (also known as Khyung, a wise eagle-like bird-deity symbolizing "Fire"), the Tiger (representing "Air"), and the Snowlion (stands for "Earth"). These animals represent sacred qualities such as confidence (Tiger), clear awareness (Snowlion), fearlessness (Garuda), and gentle power (Dragon). The Bonpos used primary-colored plain flags in healing ceremonies, since the traditional Tibetan medicine considered the balance of the five elements to be essential to health and harmony. After Buddhism arrived in Tibet, the shaman's colored flags were integrated into Tibetan Buddhist practice. The prayer flags kept their shaman uses to bring benefits, protection, good health and blessings in special occasions. Bon shaman, Nepal. Photo: Bruno Baumann Different symbols and types of prayer flags There are many symbols that frequently adorn different types of prayer flags used for various purposes. For instance, a Lungta (Windhorse) prayer flag has in the middle a horse (Ta) with three jewels (jewels symbolize the three pillars of Tibetan buddhism, the teaching - Dharma, the buddhist community - Sangha, and Buddha) on its back. The Ta symbolizes quick movement of bringing benefits, fulfilling aspirations and hopes, and transforming negative into positive. There are different versions of about twenty traditional mantras surrounding the Ta, each dedicated to a particular deity such as Avalokiteśvara (boddhisatva of compassion), Manjushri (bodhisattva of wisdom) or others. Corners of the flag have pictures or names of four powerful animals - the Dragon, the Garuda, the Tiger, and the Snowlion. Medicine Buddha is considered to have extremely powerful form of enlightened energy, and therefore the Medicine Buddha prayer flags are used to promote healing and helping one to achieve one's goals successfully. It is also beneficial for someone who is ill or even someone who has died to offer such prayer flags for the purpose of helping that person to overcome their illness or for a good rebirth in the next life. The prayer flags are also often decorated with the eight Buddhist auspicious symbols, also known as Ashtamangala. Each of these symbols (Conch Shell, Lotus, Dharma wheel, Parasole, Endless Knot, Pair of Golden Fishes, Vicotry Banner, Treasure Vase) represents a certain aspect of buddhist philosophy promoting the spreading and protection of buddhist teaching. Just as life is dynamic and constantly changing, Tibetans renew their prayers for the world by placing new flags next to the old ones. This is a way to respect the changing nature of our lives and viewing all beings as part of the one great cycle of life. Since the symbols and mantras on prayer flags are sacred, they should be treated respectfully. They should not be placed on the ground or used in clothing. Old prayer flags should be burned. It is often thought that the prayer flags carry prayers to deities. This is not so, for instead the Tibetan belief is that the wind blows the prayers and mantras to spread the compassion and good will to everywhere in space, so that all beings will benefit from them. Generally, it is believed that placing prayer flags brings good karma and benefits to the one who places them as well as to all beings. However, the most honorable way of using prayer flags, with all their auspicious religious symbols and mantras, is the idea that they are not to benefit the one who placed them, but rather it is done for the sake of others. Sources:
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Prayer_flag http://westwindcollection.com/home/ww1/history_main.html http://www.education.com/activity/article/tibetan-prayer-flag/ http://www.happyflagproject.com/large-grid-c1bh8 https://www.tibetanprayerflag.com/history.html
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Besides being beautiful, the Himalayan jewellery could also reveal its owner´s regional origins, their sex, societal position, religious beliefs and values. Tibetans believed most jewellery of precious metal to be luck bringing, and many pieces were also considered to have a strong protective attributes. In southern Tibet it was bad luck if a woman did not at any time wear their big and heavy hair ornaments (patruk in Tibetan). Because of this superstition, up until the middle of last century, women used to sleep on the floor as their extravagant hair decorations made it impossible to sleep in bed. Tibetans also had a superstition that not piercing ears could cause one to be born as an animal, such as a donkey, in next life. In order to minimize the risks of this happening, men, who usually just wore one earring in their left ear, began piercing the other ear to adorn it with a small polished turqouise earring. One of the most popular pieces of jewellery in Tibet is the decorative ga´us, i.e. a case or container for relics and amulets. The ga´us containing amulets (i.e. ten in Tibetan) are worn by all even nowadays – by rich and poor, men, women, children, and on occasion even by animals. The ga´us were worn by Buddhists as well as the Bon religion followers, and they were used as a protection from the nature spirits of water, mountains, and land. In order to protect against a possible attack from an unknown side, one person could wear several ga´us, in the front, back, and side. Even though, these spirits were considered to be peaceful, they could become angered as a result of pollution or disturbances of their habitat. The amulets used were Buddhist deities, rolls of prayers or something that had been in contact or worn by a revered religious figure. In order for an amulet to be active, it had to be blessed and activated by a lama. The style of the ga´us differs depending on its origin. Compared to the pieces worn by men, the ga´us of women were more decorative and serving as a piece of jewellery. Ga´us were often decorated with deities and various auspicious symbols, and protective figures. The shape of, and the way the symbols are used on jewellery as well as how they are detailed, provide hints as to where a particular ga´u originates from. For instance, the auspicious symbols on eastern Tibetan ga´us are more detailed, three dimensional, and can even be different in form, compared to similar pieces from other areas. For example, the rectangular type of ga´u sutumba was popular in the border areas of south and west Tibet and Indian Himalayan districts. The oval shaped ga´u kerima was popular in southern border areas of Tibet, and also in Sikkim and Bhutan. On all ga´us the stylized dorje-vajra ornament hangs at the bottom.
Shrine type ga´us with auspicious symbols, protecting monsters, and deities Examples of ga´us available in Silkroad Treasures e-shop:
It was about 7 or 8 in the morning when we stepped into the courtyard of a gompa somewhere in Kathmandu Valley. A group of monks in red robes stood at the corner of the courtyard, having a lively discussion. We were questioning a shy young monk about what was going on at their monastery. More and more holy men were coming out from the red and white buildings, some mumbling something as their fingers slid over prayer beads, some talking to each other. I noticed a tall guy who was already sitting down, and he seemed a little worried. Finally, the courtyard was full of monks, and they had positioned themselves – about half of them sitting, and the other half standing. What now unfolded was quite interesting as I had not witnessed a buddhist debate before. After a slow start, the shy young monk, standing next to a sitting monk, was clapping his hands together and yelling something. There was nothing left of his shyness anymore. Quite the opposite – as a questioner he was suddenly very confident. Despite of his youth he must have been quite advanced in his studies, for the defender is usually a novice, and the questioner is a more experienced debater. The courtyard had become alive with loud claps, stomping feet, yelling, arguing, and occasional laughter. The Tibetan monastic debate has a long history. According to Buddhist belief all suffering in life is due to our faulty perception of the reality. The main purpose of debating is to remove misconceptions related to the true nature of reality, and thus eliminate suffering. But even when eliminating suffering is at hand, the debates can sometimes become intimidating or even personal. Though, the ultimate goal of the questioner is not to get glory from his victory, but rather help his opponent to overcome his wrong view. Perhaps the monk who had seemed a little worried to me, was thinking about the intensity of these discussions. The debate begins with a ritual invocation of Manjushri who is the bodhisattva of ultimate truth and wisdom. Manjushri is often represented as a young and good looking prince. His youth and good looks point to the way an enlightened mind sees the world. In his right hand he holds a sword representing wisdom that cuts through all delusions that bind beings to the world of suffering. In his left hand he holds a lotus on which is a book „Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom.“ He is seated on a lotus flower that refers to the purity of wisdom, existing in the midst of delusion yet being unaffected by it. The mantra of Manjushri Om a ra pa cha na dhi is to be chanted if one wants to become the beholder of the liberating knowledge. The actors of this philosophical challenge are the questioner (riklampa), who is standing up, and after proposing the subject of discussion, keeps asking questions. The defender (damchawa), who is sitting down, has to defend the claims he presents to his challenger. The questioner is responsible only for his questions that have to be clear, and follow logically the already made statements, and it also must be relevant to defeating the defender. All the gestures used in debate have significance. For instance, the right hand relates to method and the practice of compassion. The left hand stands for wisdom. The clap – bringing the two hands together – represents blending the method with wisdom. The left foot stomping on the ground means shutting the door to rebirth in the lower levels. By holding up the left arm of wisdom, the questioner keeps the door to all rebirth closed. And, using his right hand to raise his prayer beads around his left arm refers to compassion, and lifting out all suffering beings from the circle of rebirth. Sources: Perdue, Daniel. Tibetan Buddhist Debate. |