Raising Prayer Flags

Raven Cypress-Wood Shares a Brief Description

Prayer flags at Serenity RidgePrayer flags are often raised on Losar, the beginning of the Tibetan New Year. Raven Cypress Wood, who maintains a website of ancient wisdom from the Yungdrung Bon tradition called Nine Ways, shares a brief description of raising prayer flags.

Prayer flags are familiar to spiritual practitioners and nonpractitioners alike, but their meaning and benefit are less well known. Prayer flags originated with the Yungdrung Bon religions tradition and the teachings of Buddha Tonpa Shenrap Miwoche. According to the eminent scholar Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, in ancient times the Bonpo would blow mantras and prayers onto strips of colored wool. These strips of wool were then draped over the branches of bushes and trees. This practice eventually evolved into the kind of prayer flags that we are familiar with today.

Prayer flags are made of cloth, using the five colors of the five elements, upon which is written prayers and mantras of aspiration and good luck. The correspondence of colors to elements is yellow: earth, blue: water, red: fire, green: wood or air, and white: metal or space. These five elements are the foundation of our health, vitality, life-force, personal power, lungta and soul. Activating these colors develops the corresponding elements.

The prayers and mantras written on the prayer flag are activated when the flag is moved by the wind. For this reason, they are usually placed outside in areas exposed to the wind, especially in areas that are holy, on mountaintops, or at spiritual retreat or pilgrimage places. Once they are raised, traditionally they are left to dissolve back into the elements. The best time to raise prayer flags is in the morning before noon on auspicious days such as during the Tibetan New Year, during the four monthly auspicious days of the full moon, new moon and two quarter moons, or on other auspicious days.

There are many types of prayer flags with a variety of prayers and mantras, but one of the most common types is a lungta prayer flag. "Lungta" literally translates as "windhorse, and this image is imprinted in the very center of the prayer flag. The windhorse symbolizes something that moves very fast and without any hindrance. Using this image symbolizes the swiftness of the prayers and mantras being fulfilled. These prayers and mantras are commonly related to the development of the five elements, longevity, prosperity, health, good luck and harmonious circumstances.

Prayer flags are consecrated and then raised while taking refuge and feeling sincere compassion and a wish that they bring benefit and happiness to all suffering beings. Raising them in this way, their power to bring benefit is unimaginable. According to Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche, any sentient being who merely sees a prayer flag with their eyes will obtain a state of happiness. Even very harmful or negative actions can be purified by raising prayer flags. They increase positive forces and qualities and remove obstacles. Again, according to Shardza Rinpoche, "Raising 1,008 prayer flags is better than a shen of magical power erecting a statue of the Buddha made of pure gold."

For more details about prayer flags, see the article in Nine Ways.

Prayer flags are available in the Ligmincha Store.