MUSING # 15: PRAYER FLAGS

Prayer flags are ubiquitous in Bhutan...I mean they are everywhere!  Most of this country is inaccessible anyway---but just when you think NO one could possibly get to that particular ridge, you see a stand of prayer flags.  If you ask your Bhutanese friend how did anyone ever get up there, the answer is as likely to be "on the wings of a tiger" ..or "people live on that ridge, a three day walk from here." Duh.  In Tibet, the tradition of hanging prayer flags began more than 2000 years ago.  While banners were originally made for battles, the native people began making them to represent their native shamanistic religion Bon.  Buddhism came to Tibet in the 7th century and brought with it ideals of compassion and peace.  Early flags contained both Buddhist prayers and pictures of the fierce Bon gods that were believed to protect the Buddha.  In the next 200 years, Buddhist monks began to print mantras and symbols on the flags as blessings to be sent out to the world with each breeze.  They use the 5 colors of the elements:
Blue: sky/peace, White:air/clouds, Red: fire, Green: water and Yellow: earth.

So, how does this work?  According to Tibetan tradition, prayer flags imprinted with sacred images and mantras transmit healing energy into the world through the power of the wind.  They believe that prayer flags empowered by mantras affect the natural elemental forces on a subtle level, beyond ordinary human perception.  As they fly in the wind, the flags exert a protective, balancing influence on the environment and generate benefits for all sentient beings.  That, and it makes every picture you take of them absolutely beautiful.

We've all seen them and wondered...what is all this writing? and the figures?
In most prayer flags the central character is called The Wind Horse, who carries the blessings on the wind.
In Bhutan, the people recently elected a brand new government whose symbol is the Wind Horse (the opposition had black necked cranes as their symbol, another party had a rhododendron flower)  Makes me wonder, what if the republicans or democrats had selected a teddy bear---or a tulip as their symbol--or maybe a turkey?  The world might be a different place!  But I digress...again.

 On the four corners of the flag are the four sacred animals: the garuda, dragon, tiger and snow lion, representing the four virtues of wisdom, strength, confidence and joy.  I have personally adopted the snow lion as my protective animal, and I must admit, he brings me great joy!  These 4 animals are painted on most of the buildings here--always in the same way, using the same colors.  They are beautiful and fierce.

Like everything else here, there are protocols for hanging prayer flags...can't just do it willy nilly, silly!  First, don't let it touch the ground.  Second, you do not remove the old flags, even though they are faded and shredded---the idea being that the threads eventually go out into the world. Third, you must pick an auspicious day, like say months one, four, six and nine; months which commemorate the Buddha's miracles. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the full moon and the new moon are particularly auspicious days to hang the flags.  Eclipses are even better--in fact, karma increases by 100 million if you hang your flags during a solar eclipse and 7 million if during a lunar eclipse.  So, do some planning!

I remind you that Tibetan Buddhism differs from the Buddhism as practiced in the West.  I don't think it matters a whole lot when you hang your flags in the West --the idea is that you do it with good intent---and really, that's the bottom line for living anyway, isn't it?

But enough words....let me show you some pictures of prayer flags I have taken here.  I am just SURE that their good wishes do travel virtually---and so imagine yourself in fresh air, surrounding by mountains and let that snow lion into your heart...

I found this shrine on a small dirt road, on the way to who knows where.  I learned later that the shrine was built here because yak herders used to kill their yaks here.  The Buddha and the prayer flags are here to cleanse this site.

To the right is the other kind of prayer flag--the vertical one.  They are usually quite long and are often white. These are the ones you see very high on the
mountain ridge and wonder how in the hell did anyone get there??

All bridges are covered in flags---and goodness knows, bridges here need all the help they can get!  This one is called the iron bridge--the actual links were forged hundreds of years ago.  There is a parallel bridge for those faint of heart.  Guess which one we used...

 This is one of the first pictures I took in Bhutan, from our trip here last fall.  This is a small border town (Samdrup Jongkhar) which is low and tropical.  We crossed from the chaos of India into the relative peacefulness of Bhutan.  Our sighs were audible.
The sun is rising on our first day in Bhutan...

Almost looks like laundry, hum?

View of where I live: Royal Thimphu College!

Can you feel the blessings in the wind?











I want to end with one of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen---taken by my friend and photographer extraordinaire:  Deb Hall.  I'd be thrilled if I took just one picture this good!