prayer flags
Wind-blessed cloth banners
Prayer flags are rectangular cloths, traditionally in five colors, strung on lines outdoors in Tibetan Buddhist practice.
The flags bear printed prayers and mantras that the wind is believed to carry into the surrounding environment, spreading blessings and good fortune.
They appear at temples, mountain passes, and homes: Prayer flags fluttered from the rooftop.
Repeated sacred utterances
- blessingsFavors from the divine
- meritDeserved praise-worthiness
- dharmaCosmic moral order
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
enlightenment · compassion · wisdom · Buddha · bodhisattva · sacred · devotion · mindfulness
Tibet's administrative center
- DharamsalaIndian hill station, Buddhist center
- Tibetan BuddhismHimalayan tantric spiritual tradition
- thangkaTibetan religious fabric painting
- koraAfrican bridge-harp with twenty-one strings
Himalaya · Nepal · Bhutan · Kathmandu · yak · mountain pass · high altitude
Rapid light movement
- breezeLight, gentle air movement
- billowSwell outward with air
- flapOne-sided attached cover
- waftDrift on air
drift · gust · airflow · blowing · ripple · streaming · tattered · worn
Primary color; also sad
- whiteAbsence of pigment
- redPrimary color, warm
- greenColor of vegetation
- yellowHue between green and orange
sky · cloud · fire · water · earth · elements · vibrant · rainbow
Passing through sequentially
- hangingExecution by noose
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- offeringsThings presented or given
- incenseAnger greatly, or aromatic resin
lama · monk · consecration · renewal · replacement · auspicious · festival · shrine
mantras
Repeated sacred utterances
karma · enlightenment · compassion · wisdom · Buddha · bodhisattva · sacred · devotion · mindfulness · impermanence
Lhasa
Tibet's administrative center
- DharamsalaIndian hill station, Buddhist center
- Tibetan BuddhismHimalayan tantric spiritual tradition
- thangkaTibetan religious fabric painting
kora · Himalaya · Nepal · Bhutan · Kathmandu · yak · mountain pass · high altitude
flutter
Rapid light movement
waft · drift · gust · airflow · blowing · ripple · streaming · tattered · worn · weathering
blue
Primary color; also sad
yellow · sky · cloud · fire · water · earth · elements · vibrant · rainbow · spectrum
stringing
Passing through sequentially
incense · lama · monk · consecration · renewal · replacement · auspicious · festival · shrine · stupa
- TibetTibet, Lhasa, Dalai Lama, Tibetan Plateau, Tibetan Buddhism
- Tibetan PlateauTibet, Lhasa, Tibetan Plateau, yak, snow leopard
- Annapurna RegionAnnapurna, Mustang, teahouse, teahouses, trekking
- flagscolors, bunting, banner, standard, ensign
- decorationsornament, ornaments, embellishment, trim, wreaths
- decorative craftswreath, garland, lace, tapestry, embroidery
prayer flagswarning signs
Indicators of impending danger
biohazard symbols · skull and crossbones · barbed wire · tombstones
flag, prayer, pray, prayers, flags, prayed, flagging, praying, flagged