The problem I have is that I live in a city that does not permit burning as it is very dry here and sunny. If you dont hang prayer flags on the new year how do you determine the most auspicious days to hang them? Surely there can be no harm in adding prayer flags to compost where they will be consumed by living beings instead of fire and in turn become the raw material for new life. I recently purchased some new 100% cotton prayer flags to hang on my balcony, but Im not sure how to most respectfully dispose of the old ones. I use mixed media to create paintings of a spiritual nature. is there such thing as moving them too often? These colors also represent directions - North, South, East, West, and Centre. First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we The order of the flags (blue-white, etc. Tibetan Buddhism is important to Tibetans as it affects every aspect of their lives. In the mountains of Nepal and Tibet, the tradition dates back to at least the 11th century. The flags contain sacred texts and symbols and should be treated respectfully. Hes currently consulting on bamboo projects in Thailand, India, Kenya, and beyond. Handmade art has been an indispensable part of the lives of the Tibetan people. A Vision for Renewal and Accessibility: Michigan's . Fortunately, mine are all cotton, because Ive ordered them from the Tibetan Nuns Project store. Hi. This way the prayers on the Tibetan prayer flags will be fully free to blow in the breeze and spread prayers and good wishes to all sentient beings. Color fading from the flags is considered auspicious. As they blow in the wind, they confer blessings and peace. Winds have dispersed some to the ground which I left as part of that original idea. They were cut, retied, flags cut from the strand then thrown on the ground, in my yard. Thank you for your time and consideration, I really appreciate all the information in this blog post. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'bambubatu_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_2',119,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-bambubatu_com-medrectangle-3-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'bambubatu_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_3',119,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-bambubatu_com-medrectangle-3-0_1');.medrectangle-3-multi-119{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. Dear Wendy, The prayer flags could be doubled back or looped if need be. I dont even know how to do this responsibly. But its always better to know the rules before you break the rules. Were putting together our 2019 Tibetan Nuns Project calendar which will have the important Tibetan Buddhist days marked. Learn how your comment data is processed. Is it possible that the rope is twisted or the prayer flags are curled up? Dear Alana, Yes you can hang them on your wall. Help. For hundreds of years of history, hanging prayer flags has become a traditional custom in Tibetan regions, which is a self-cultivation way. Go off the beaten path (and onto a dhoni boat) to best explore this island paradise, Our Roamie-ing Reporter, Claire Scott, shares highlights from her big Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia adventure, Our Roamie-ing Reporter, Claire Scott, shares highlights from her fun-filled Costa Rican adventure, As part of her two year solo trek, Dina Carter gives you the lowdown on hiking hubs in Patagonia, Where to travel this year based on your zodiac sign. It is so wonderful that you have put such thought and care into the respectful disposal of your old prayer flags. The colorful fabric squares, hanging side by side, each contain a Buddhist Sutra, prayer or mantra. Does this have any symbolic meaning? Dear Michelle, You can double back your prayer flags or tie it to something else. This was finally done today after pondering the best way to do that, eliminating the options of discarding them in the sea or the river. To be clear, the reason behind hanging Tibetan prayer flags is to spread blessings not only for us but also for other beings and people all over the world, up to the place, the spirit of the Lungta settles and reaches. Each hue signifies an element and the flags are always arranged in a specific order, from left to right: blue, white, red, green, yellow. Khata scarves are the most common Tibetan gifts. It is said that if you recite the mantra during meditation, it can cure pride, jealousy, ignorance, greed, and aggression. Prayer flags have a long history dating back to ancient times. But do you even know that these are not just some fancy accessories? Meaning when the wind blows through the flags are the flags facing the wind or facing where the wind blows? Ideally, people hang their flags on sunny, windy days. The Auspicious Time to Put up a Flag is During the Tibetan New Year. We should perhaps all just buy prayer flags that are made of 100% natural fibres. When disposing of old prayer flags one should burn them so that the smoke may carry their blessings to the heavens. You can always hang new ones along with the old ones. I am interested in your thoughts on this. Prayer flags are the unique spiritual sustenance of the Tibetan people and a religious token for praying for well-being. What was left of them, in the tree, I brought inside. Originated from Bon culture, the prayer flags, namely Longda in the Tibetan language, primarily carry our prayers via the wind to get them answered. Normally prayer flags are hung outdoors so the wind can carry the prayers, but intention is key and it is OK to hang them indoors also. Presenting Khata expresses good wishes and respect. Are you sure you want to delete this blog post? I have painted prayer flags in my work, but have never actually added a physical one to the canvas. It's a Tibetan indigenous religion. Around the frame of the doorway is regarded as the right place to put the flags. Your email address will not be published. That way we will not have a problem if disposal. Tibetan tradition considers prayer flags to be holy. These prayer flags are often tied to willow branches and can be seen everywhere on the roofs of buildings in Lhasa's old town. You can string the prayer flags either way because the wind moves around and changes direction. However, the way the organisation went out promoting it was in line with the broader trend to remove the religion and pacify the practice for a Western audience. This is because, unfortunately, plastic does not biodegrade, which is to say it does not break down into its atomic components (ie, carbon, water, etc). The first is a long rope hung with a five-color square cloth (blue, white, red, green and yellow) in accordance with the order, printed with the Buddha's teachings as well as patterns of birds and beasts, which are commonly seenon sparsely populated mountains. Dear Divya, Hanging prayer flags is respectful within itself. In Tibet, the tradition of hanging flags began more than 2,000 years ago. "Color, in ancient times, is generally considered to be the worship of the gods," Tsering adds, stating that the five colors represent the elements of sky (blue), air (white), fire (red), water (green) and earth (yellow). Well post updates on our Facebook page as soon as we hear more. Tibetan Clothing and Diverse Tibetan Dress Culture Dear Edwin, The prayer flags that we sell through the Tibetan Nuns Project online store are made and blessed by the Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute in India. Menu. All five colours together signify balance. The commercial use of Buddhist beliefs for advertising points to a broader society that doesn't respect or acknowledge them as genuine religions. It had been advised to make a wooden enclosure or something to protect the damaged holy objects and this could be placed in the forest as a sort of shrine house. The flags give strangers an opportunity to ask what they are about and learn of our son, who was a generous, kind, and fair-minded spirit. One should not have selfish or limiting thoughts. First came the Free Tibet t-shirts and bumper stickers, iconic symbols of grassroots organizing and international awareness, even before the era of MySpace and TedTalks. Songtsen Gampo Is it significant which direction you put it in. The prayer flags made by the nuns at Dolma Ling are strung on white cotton. These were some of the factors which set the stage for the 14th Dalai Lama, who by the end of the 20th century had risen to something like rock star status in the Western world. Blue symbolizes the sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. 1. This is all part of the natural process of time, and reinforces the Buddhist notion of impermanence. What if in the process of hanging the prayer flags, they accidentally touched the ground, should I respectably burn them and get new ones? Traditionally, prayer flags are hung outside so the wind can carry the prayers to the world for the benefit of all sentient beings. Traditionally, Tibetan prayer flags are hung left to right in this specific order: blue, white, red, green, and yellow. The wind horse is a symbol of the human soul in the shamanistic tradition of East Asia and Central Asia.In Tibetan Buddhism, it was included as the pivotal element in the center of the four animals symbolizing the cardinal directions and a symbol of the idea of well-being or good fortune.It has also given the name to a type of prayer flag that has the five animals printed on it. At the end of the day Buddhism is a religious tradition that dates back more than 2500 years and not a fad or something you "discovered" on your holiday to Thailand. There are auspicious and inauspicious days to hang prayer flags, based on the Tibetan calendar. Where can I hang it? If youd like to receive our monthly e-updates with news, you can sign up here: https://tnp.org/mailinglist/ Warmest wishes. You can buy Tibetan prayer flags through the Tibetan Nuns Project online store. In Tibetan folk traditions, mountain passes and river bridges are often guarded by the gods of heaven, so people praying in these places are easily heard by the gods. Any symbolism to pray upon? Should I remove the flag and respectfully burn it or simply reattach it? Your Consumption of Buddhism Is Self-Serving I'm not going to knock mindfulness. I got it to hang in our car but its too long, and want to put in my home but our home is in such a way that there is no wind coming either from patio or from window. Believers engrave scriptures and spiritual prayers on the colorful prayer flags and then hang them in series on cliffs, representative snow-capped mountain passes and bridges connecting the two sides. I recently had vandalism to my prayer flags. THEY ARE ALL PLASTIC NOWADAYS. In the morning, all the family people would put on festive costumes, gather on the roof, and hold a solemn and joyful ceremony of inserting prayer flags. I have read that there are mantras to be said while hanging up the flags, what are they? Check the top 10 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. The UN's top human rights body reviewed China for the third time on . Many different founding texts are used by the different schools and the Suttas (the earliest recordings of the Buddha's life) alone compiled together are enough to fill a small book-shelf. You don't have to be a Bhuddist to hang prayer flags, but there is a right way to hang them. Thank you. Bon(Bonismo), originated from the "Gangdise Mountains" and "Manasarovar Lake" in ancient Xiangxiong, Tibet. I had an idea but was not sure if it was appropriate. But how much of the Tibetan religion do Westerners really understand, and how much of it is just a case of cultural appropriation? if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'bambubatu_com-leader-1','ezslot_11',122,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-bambubatu_com-leader-1-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'bambubatu_com-leader-1','ezslot_12',122,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-bambubatu_com-leader-1-0_1');.leader-1-multi-122{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. The issue of burning synthetic prayer flags doesnt not really come up for them because their prayer flags, like the ones we sell in our online store, are made of cotton. The native people, however, made their own flags to honor the nature gods of Bon, their shamanistic . This all comes with a general disinterest in learning any of the actual teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gotama Sakyamuni. Red for fire. Blue, white, red, green and yellow, the colors also signify the five elements: sky, air, fire, water and earth, respectively. Each color on these flags is not just for good looks, but these colors symbolize an element. I would like to know, since other bereaved parents have inquired how we did it, and if it would be better to use blank flags made in a different way (ie not blessed prayer flags) we would tell them that in future. Smoke may carry their blessings to the world for the third time on of Buddhist beliefs for advertising to... Cut, retied, flags cut from the strand then thrown on the ground, in yard! I use mixed media to create paintings of a spiritual nature as we hear more and.! 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