Last modified: 2003-06-28 by rob raeside
Keywords: buddhism | prayer flags |
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In a visit to Ladakh and Zanskar, northern India, Ivan Sache observed the use of prayer flags by Buddhists. He wrote:
A good description of prayer 'tools' in Tibetan Buddhism can be found in
Alexandra David-Neel's famous book 'Voyage d'une Parisienne
à Lhassa' (1972). David-Neel was the first
Western woman to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa in 1924 and spent several
years in Himalayan areas. She died in 1970, aged 101. Her books, and especially
her interpretation of Buddhism, are controversial and she was accused of forgery
and exaggeration in the description of her travels. Anyway, her descriptions of
the Tibetan peoples and villages are still a lively and accurate description of
what I have seen in Ladakh.
'The Tibetans enjoy decorating bridges, roads and other noticeable areas of
their country with poetical, religious or philosophical writings. Some
travellers deemed this tradition ridiculous: I cannot understand them. A few
lines of subtle poetry, a wise thought carved on a picturesque rock, the picture
of a meditating Buddha, painted in a cave or even waving in the wind at a
crossroad, a simple paper ribbon charged with the ancient sanskrit mandala 'Sarva
mangalan' (Joy for all), seem
to me infinitely better than poster advertising for ham or wines which
'decorate' the roads of the Western countries.'
In Zanskar, prayer flags are the most common of these religious decorations.
They are usually made of small rectangles of coloured fabrics strung like pearls
on a long string, which is horizontally attached between two rocks, two poles...
The flags are usually charged with Buddhist mantras written in Tibetan
characters, the most famous in Tibetan areas being 'Om Mani Padme Hum', litt. 'O
Jewel born from the pollen-heart of lotus flower' (The deep interpretation of
the mantra, as given for example by the current Dalai-Lama is much more
complicated). Prayer flags are traditionally placed on the tops of the high
passes of the areas, and pilgrims used to add a new string of them when
successfully reaching the pass. Trekkers have maintained the tradition, as well
as shouting 'Lha gyalo! Da thamtche pam' (The gods won, the demons were
defeated) when reaching the pass, and we followed it when crossing the Shingo-La
pass (c. 5,000 m a.s.l.), marking the exit of Zanskar. Prayer flags are also
placed on any kind of place of interest, such as chortens (or stupa), those
beautiful small 'towers' which should always be walked round clockwise (remember
what happened to Captain Haddock in Tibet for having forgotten the rule :-),
bridges, roofs of houses or even bare ground. Prayer flags seem not to be
removed when getting old and torn, and probably 'dissolve' during the harsh
winters. The wind shall act as the carrier of the prayers written on the flags
and releases them by flapping the flags. Such a string of flags is placed
between two high poles in important places, such as the entrance of a monastery
or a pass with a road. Ladakhis and Zanskarpas remove their hat or cap when
walking or riding under such a flag string.
Very beautiful colour pictures of Zanskar and Ladakh can be seen on Per and
Elisabeth's Löwdin's website, on which they present pic