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Culture Smart: How Far Can Good Wishes Spread?

by Sheron Long on October 27, 2013

Tibetan prayer flags illustrating the cultural tradition of sending good wishes to others

Sending good wishes into the wind.

Blessings on Tibetan Prayer Flags Travel with the Wind

Around the world, people hope for a long life full of health and happiness, prosperity and peace. And others find a multitude of ways to wish them well. One colorful well-wishing tradition is the Tibetan Buddhists’ use of prayer flags. Hung outside of homes, along roads and trails, and throughout the countryside, the rows of prayer flags contain ancient Buddhist prayers, symbols, and mantras with positive messages for a good life. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the wind propels these messages through the air, blessing those touched by the wind and increasing their fortune and happiness.

Origins and the Tradition Today

The tradition has its roots in India and, in its current practice, dates to about 1000 CE in Tibet. The flags are printed from wood blocks in five colors, representing earth, water, fire, air, and space. When displayed, the order of the colors follows a set pattern.

Closeup of Tibetan prayer flags, a cultural tradition for sending blessings of good fortune

The most common prayer flag offers blessings of good fortune.

The prayer flags speak to about 24 different aspects of life, such as compassion, wisdom, health, and protection. The most common prayer flag, offering blessings of good fortune, presents Wind Horse at the center and four animals in the corners—a dragon, a garuda (large mythical bird), a tiger, and a snow lion—along with the message. In Tibetan tradition:

The prayer flags are sacred and cannot touch the ground, be used for clothing, or placed in the trash.
When they are worn out, they must be burned. The smoke will continue to carry their blessings.
Most important, people who put up prayer flags will increase their happiness and bring harmony to their surroundings. However, the prayer flags must be raised with the idea of spreading blessings to others. If they are raised with selfish gains in mind, the personal benefits will be limited.

The prayer flag tradition has spread in modern times to western cultures. You may see prayer flags strung between trees, along rooflines, on vertical poles in gardens. If you see them, stop a minute, catch the breeze, and feel the blessings. Learn more at Tibetan Prayer Flags. Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

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Culture Smart: How Far Can Good Wishes Spread?

Blessings on Tibetan Prayer Flags Travel with the Wind

Origins and the Tradition Today

Images © iStockphoto

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