Prayer flags hanging around my gazebo
because the world needs all the help it can get.
Prayer flags are colorful rectangular cloths, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside, and to send prayers and mantras out into the universe.
Traditionally, prayer flags are created in a series of five colors. They are arranged from left to right in a specific order: blue, white, red, green and yellow, with the five colors representing the five elements. Blue symbolizes the sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. According to traditional Tibetan medicine, health and harmony are produced when the five elements are in balance.
Prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength and wisdom. The flags to not carry prayers to gods, which is a common misconception. Rather, it is believed that the prayers and mantras embodied by the flags will be blown by the wind to spread good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all.
When the flags are hung in high places, the wind can pass over their surfaces, which are sensitive to the slightest breezes. The air as it passes is purified and sanctified, and the blessings represented by the flags are carried onward to all beings.
The prayers become a permanent part of the universe, although the images on the flags fade from exposure to the elements -- just as life moves onward and is replaced by new life. Hopes for the world are renewed when new flags are hung alongside the old ones. This act symbolizes a welcoming of life's changes and an acknowledgement that all beings are part of the same greater ongoing cycle.
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