5200 x 3457 px | 44 x 29,3 cm | 17,3 x 11,5 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
2004
Ubicazione:
Tidrum Nunnery, Tibet Autonomous Region. People’s Republic of China.
Altre informazioni:
Prayer flags are colourful squares of cloth strung up between mountain peaks in the Himalayas. Some are believed to have originated from Bön a religion predating Tibetan religion. They are commonly printed with woodblocks using various scriptures and images. There are two types of flags, the horizontal or Lung Ta (Wind Horse) and the vertical known as Darchor (increase life fortune of all sentient beings). Lung Ta are rectangular or square, connected at their tops by a long string, commonly hung diagonally between two objects. Darchor are usually large square rectangles attached to poles and often planted in the ground. Generally prayer flags come in sets of five, one in each of five colours representing different elements, from left to right in a specific order; Blue (sky and space), White (air and wind), Red (fire) Green (water) and Yellow (earth). Prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion strength and wisdom and are not prayers to the gods. Tibetans believe that by hanging flags in high places prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind or carried by the Wind Horse to spread good and compassion to all. Prayers are etched permanently into the universe as images fade away through exposure to the elements. New flags are continually hung up alongside the old as life moves on and hopes are renewed in the cycle of life.
