Traditionally, prayer flags are colorful rectangular pieces of cloth that are used to give blessings to the countryside, as well as in many forms of Tibetan Buddhist prayers. A common misconception among non-Buddhists is that prayer flags carry the prayers of the people to the gods. This is not true. Tibetan people believe that the wind will blow their prayers and mantras out into the surrounding countryside, to spread their goodwill and compassion to all things.
History of the Prayer Flag
While most legends attribute the use of prayer flags to the Gautama Buddha, in Tibet, prayer flags originate in the pre-Buddhist religion of the region, now known as Bön, which can still be found in small groups in parts of western Tibet. The actual roots of prayer flags are believed to have been influenced by the Indian Hindu tradition of writing sutras on clothes and brought to Tibet long before the practice of Buddhism was introduced to the region. In ancient Bön, the shamanistic Bönpo used prayer flags in the primary colors in Tibet to honor their gods of nature. These traditional prayer flags often included text and images printed using primitive woodblock carved with the words and pictures.
This has given rise to the colors used in Tibetan Buddhism today, and prayer flags come in sets of five colors. Each of the five colors represents one of the five elements in Tibetan Buddhism, and hanging the prayer flags should be done in a specific order: blue, white, red, green, and yellow. In traditional Tibetan medicine, these five elements are balanced to produce health and harmony in the body and mind.
The meaning of each of the colors used to represent the different elements are:
Blue – for the sky or space
White – for the air and the clouds
Red – for fire
Green – for water
Yellow – for the earth
“Blue in color with mudra of Granding the sumprem;
who accomplished twelve prayers;
Majestic with the glory of two accumulations;
Glorious one of the Buddha field lapis light;
I prostrate to Medicine Guru, King of Doctors;
Bhagawan with equal compassion for all;
Whose name when merely heard;
Dispels the suffering of lower realms;
Dispeller of diseases and the three poisons;
I prostrate to Medicine Buddha Lapis light.
OM NAMO BHAGAVATE BHEISHAJYE GURU BAIDURYA PRABHA JAJAYA TATHA GATAYA ARHATE SAMYAKSAM BUDHAYA TADYATHA OM BHAISHAJYE BHAISHAJYE MAHA BHAISHAJYE RAJA SAMUDGATE SVAHA.