Theos-Talk Archives (January 2006 Message tt00108)

Thank you both for your responses. I found them to be quite helpful.

Regards,
-Mark H.

On 1/5/06, samblo@cs.com <samblo@cs.com> wrote:
> Frank,
>    The 5 colored flag preceded Olcutt in Tibet by some thousands of years:
>
> From:www.prayerflags.com/download/article/pdf+tibet+5+colors&hl=en
>
> >>The Elements
> Vajrayana Buddhism divides the phenomenal and psycho-cosmic world into five
> basic energies. In our physical world these manifest as earth, water, fire,
> air and
> space. Our own bodies and everything else in the physical world is composed
> of
> these five basic elements. On a spiritual level these basic energies
> correspond
> to the 5 Buddha Families and the 5 Wisdoms. Prayer flags reflect this
> comprehensive system through color; each of the 5 colors relates to an
> element
> and an aspect of enlightened mind. It should be noted that there are two
> systems used so there is sometimes confusion about which color corresponds to
> which element. The order of the colors in prayer flag displays remains the
> same
>
> in both the systems. The color order is always: yellow, green, red, white and
>
> blue. In a vertical displays the yellow goes at the bottom and the blue at
> the top.
>
> For a horizontal display the order can go either from right to left or from
> left to
>
> right.
>
> According to the Nyingma School (Ancient Ones) the color element
>
> correspondence is:
>
> Blue – space
>
> White – air (sometimes referred to wind or cloud)
>
> Red – fire
>
> Green – water
>
> Yellow – earth
>
> The New Translation Schools switch the colors for air and water but keep the
> order of the colors the same.
> Categories of Prayer Flags
> Prayer flag types can be divided into about two-dozen categories; half a
> dozen of
> which comprise a large majority of the flags we see today.
> Page 6
>
> Wind Horse (Lung- ta) flags are by far the most common prayer flag, so much
> so
> that many people think that the word lung-ta means prayer flag. Their purpose
> is
>
> to raise the good fortune energy of the beings in the vicinity of the prayer
> flag.
>
> The wind horse, usually in pictorial form, always occupies the center of this
> flag.
>
> The outside corners of the flag is always guarded by the four great animals –
> the
>
> garuda, dragon, tiger and snow lion – either in pictorial form or in written
> word.
>
> The texts on the flags differ; usually a collection of various mantras or a
> short
>
> sutra. The Victory Banner Sutra (Gyaltsen Semo) is the most popular.
> Victorious Banners are used to overcome obstacles and disturbances.
> Shakyamuni Buddha gave the Victory Banner Sutra to Indra, king of the god
> realm. Indra was instructed to repeat this sutra when going into battle in
> order to
> protect his troops and to assure victory over the demigods. The sutra has
> many
> protective dharanis to overcome obstacles, enemies, malicious forces,
> diseases
> and disturbances. Victory Banner flags display this sutra along with symbols
> such as the wind horse, the Eight Auspicious Symbols, the Seven Possessions
> of a Monarch and the Union of Opposites. Often there are special mantras
> added to increase harmony, health, wealth and good fortune.
> Health and Longevity Flags usually have a short version of the Buddha's Long
>
> Life Sutra along with prayers and mantras for health and long life. Amitayus,
> the
>
> Buddha of Limitless Life is often in the center of the flag. Two other long
> life
>
> Deities, White Tara (peace and health) and Vijaya (victorious protection) are
>
> sometimes included.
>
> The Wish Fulfilling Prayer (Sampa Lhundrup) is a powerful protection prayer
>
> written by Guru Padmasambhava. It is said to be especially relevant to our
>
> modern age and is good for raising one's fortune, protecting against war,
> famine,
>
> and natural disasters, as well as overcoming obstacles and quickly attaining
> ones
>
> wishes. These flags often have Guru Rinpoche in the center and repetitions of
>
> his powerful mantra OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG.
>
> Praise to the 21 Taras was composed by the primordial Buddha Akshobhya. It
> was written into Sanskrit and Urdu by Vajrabushan Archarya and translated
> into
> Tibetan by Atisha in the 11
> th
> century. The first 21 Tara prayer flags are attributed
>
> to him. Tara was born from the compassionate tears of Avalokiteshvara. As he
>
> shed tears for the countless suffering beings one tear transformed into the
>
> Savioress Green Tara who then manifested her twenty other forms. The prayer
>
> to the 21 Taras praises all her manifestations. The flags with this prayer
> usually
>
> depict Green Tara in the center and often conclude with her root mantra OM
>
> TARE TUTARE TURE SOHA. The purpose of this flag is to spread
>
> compassionate blessings.
>
> Other prayer flag categories are too numerous to describe in this article but
> a few
>
> of the more popular designs are listed as follows: Avalokiteshvara –
> Bodhisattva
>
> of Compassion, The Warrior-King Gesar, The White Umbrella for Protection, the
>
> Page 7
>
>
>
> Kurukulle Power Flag, Manjushri- Embodiment of Wisdom, Milarepa – the Yogi-
>
> saint, and the Vast Luck Flag.
>
> Raising Prayer Flags
> Prayer flags typically come on ropes to be hung in horizontal displays or
> printed
> on long narrow strips of cloth that are tied on vertical poles. Prayer flags
> on
> ropes are printed on 5 different colors of cloth (yellow, green, red, white
> and blue)
> so sets are always in multiples of 5. Pole flags are either a single solid
> color or
> the 5 colors sewn together into one flag. They range in height from about 3ft
> to
>
> 40 ft or more. Pole flags often have colored streamers or "tongues"that are
>
> imprinted with special increasing mantras meant to increase the power of the
>
> prayers written on the body of the flag. It is also common to see displays of
> many
>
> plain white prayer flags on poles erected around monasteries and pilgrimage
>
> sites.
>
> Most of the imported prayer flags are printed on polyester or nylon blends.
>
> Surprisingly, good quality cotton is hard to find in Nepal and India.
> Wholesale
>
> price differences for prayer flags are often due to the different qualities
> of cloth.
>
> Tibetans don't mind the gauzy low thread count cloth (the wind passes through
> it
>
> easily) but Americans tend to prefer finer quality materials. Synthetics vs.
> cotton
>
> is a matter of opinion. Some feel that polyester and nylon are more durable,
>
> some say they fade faster. Cotton colors tend to be richer and cotton threads
> are
>
> better for the environment (I frequently see pieces of prayer flags in birds
> nests
>
> around my studio). Radiant Heart Studios print only on high quality cotton or
>
> high cotton count polyester. Oddly enough it's difficult to find good quality
> cotton
>
> in Nepal and India and what is called 100% cotton often has something else
>
> mixed in.
>
> Placing prayer flags in and around one's home or business imparts a feeling
> of
>
> harmony, increases the spiritual atmosphere and brings to mind the teachings
> of
>
> enlightenment. By placing prayer flags outdoors their sacred mantras are
>
> imprinted on the wind, generating peace and good wishes.
>
> Ropes of prayer flags can be strung horizontally between two trees (the
> higher
>
> the better), between house columns or along the eaves of roofs. Sometimes
>
> they are strung at angle (be sure that the wind horse points uphill).
> Vertical Pole
>
> Flags look wonderful in a garden, try a prayer flag "grove"in a breezy area.
>
> Bamboo works the best for flagpoles but any wood, metal or plastic pole will
>
> work.
>
> When raising prayer flags proper motivation is important. If they are put up
> with
>
> the attitude "I will benefit from doing this"– that is an ego-centered
> motivation
>
> and the benefits will be small and narrow. If the attitude is "May all beings
>
> Page 8
>
>
>
> everywhere receive benefit and find happiness,"the virtue generated by such
>
> motivation greatly increases the power of the prayers.
>
> Tibetan tradition considers prayer flags to be holy. Because of they contain
>
> sacred texts and symbols they should be treated respectfully. They should not
> be
>
> placed on the ground or put in the trash. When disposing of old prayer flags
> the
>
> traditional way is to burn them so that the smoke may carry their blessings
> to the
>
> heavens.
>
> If you have any information or stories to share about prayer flags we at
> Radiant
>
> Heart Studios would love to hear from you. We collect images of prayer flags
> if
>
> you have any you'd like to donate to our archives. Our collection of
> traditional
>
> Tibetan prayer flags from Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and India is growing and we
> are
> always interested in obtaining especially nice woodblock prints from people
> traveling to those places.
> Written by Timothy Clark in the 8
> th
> month of the Water Horse year at Redway, CA
> Copyright Radiant Heart Studio. If you would like to reproduce <<
>
> John
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


--
Mark Hamilton Jr.
waking.adept@gmail.com