Tag Archives: prayer flag

Prayer Wheels

Prayer Wheel – Series 1

Bhutanese prayer wheels from a set of mystical videos.

Format: DV 720×576

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The earliest recorded prayer wheels was written by a Chinese pilgrim around 400 CE.The prayer wheel is a cylindrical ‘wheel’ on a spindle made from metal, wood, stone,leather, or even coarse cotton. Traditionally, the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is written in Sanskrit externally on the wheel. The six symbols roughly translate to:

Om         Generosity

Ma         Ethics

Ni            Patience

Pad        Diligence

Me         Renunciation

Hum      Wisdom

It is said that prayer wheels are used to purify negativities such as bad karma and to accumulate wisdom and merit or good karma. The idea of spinning mantras comes from practices where the practitioner visualizes mantras revolving around the nadis and especially around the meridian chakras such as the heart and crown.

Prayer Flags

Prayer Flags – Series 7

Bhutanese prayer flags from a set of mystical videos.

Format: DV 720×576

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A prayer flag is a colourful panel or rectangular cloth often found along mountain ridges and peaks high in the Himalayas to bless the surrounding countryside or for other purposes.

Traditionally, prayer flags come in sets of five, one in each of five colours. The five colours represent the elements  and the Five Pure Lights.

Blue (symbolizing sky/space)

White (symbolizing air/wind)

Red (symbolizing fire)

Green (symbolizing water)

Yellow (symbolizing earth)

Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to ‘gods,’ a common misconception; rather the prayers will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space to bring benefit to all.