TIBETAN PRAYER FLAGS

According to Tibetan tradition, prayer flags imprinted with sacred images and mantras transmit healing energy into the world through the power of the wind. Prayer flags empowered by mantras affect natural, elemental forces on a subtle level, beyond ordinary human perception. As they fly in the wind, the flags exert a protective, balancing influence on the environment and generate benefit for all sentient beings.

Colors and Symbols of the Prayer Flags

Symbolic images and colors represent the Buddha families and their qualities. Each image and color relates meaningfully to the whole.

Prayer Flag Production

The Tibetan Aid Project makes prayer flags to generate healing energy and to help support our mission.

• Prayer flags are silk-screened on nylon sailcloth and sewn by skilled volunteers to a finished size of 42 inches x 56 inches.
• Empowerments are mixed with the inks as a special blessing.
• Special attention is paid to the time of printing; flags are often printed during times of high energy, such as a lunar or solar eclipse.
• Chevron "tongues" in the five colors of the Tibetan mandala direct the flow of the prayers outward into the universe.

Handling and Hanging Prayer Flags
Because of the sacred nature of prayer flags, they should be treated with special care and respect. Do not let flags touch the ground or use them as articles of clothing.

Auspicious days to hang prayer flags:

• The tenth day following a new moon
• The first day of a full moon
• The tenth day of the lunar month
• The twenty-fifth day of the lunar month.

Flags should be flown from a 12-foot pole or from atop a building with the "tongues" in line with the horizon. In normal wind conditions a flag lasts two to three years. Flags beyond repair are buried or burned.

Prayer Flags Available for Sale

Click to learn about the different flags that benefit the Tibetan Aid Project.