Uniting women with Blessings in the wind : PRAYER FLAG PROJECT

LETS DO IT! PROJECT NAME : Uniting the world with blessings in the wind I want to start a project and I am calling on all the women of South Africa to join: If you have travelled to places such as Tibet, you should have noticed their prayer flags hanging high in the wind. Wherever you go in Tibet you will see these prayer flags. If you read the history and where it originated from, you will understand it better First read the story below and then follow the instructions below: The Peace Flag Project is based on the Prayer Flags of Tibet. In Tibet, the tradition of hanging flags began more than 2000 years ago. At that time the country was ruled by war lords who carried their banners into battles. The native people, however, made their own flags to honor the nature gods of Bon, their shamanistic religion. They used colors of the five elements: blue for sky or space; white for air or clouds; red for fire; green for water and yellow for earth. They hung the flags over mountain passes and rivers to benefit all who would pass underneath. When Buddhism was introduced to Tibet in the 7th century, it brought the ideals of peace and compassion Within the next century Buddhism largely took the place of Bon, while absorbing many of its characteristics including the flags The early flags contained both Buddhist prayers and pictures of the fierce Bon gods who they believed protected Buddha.. Over the next 200 years Buddhist monks began to print mantras and symbols on the flags as blessings to be sent out to the world with each breeze. Thus they became known Prayer Flags. In the ensuing years, Tibet was ruled peacefully by a succession of spiritual leaders, the Dalai Lamas. Millions of men and women entered the thousands of monasteries to dedicate their lives to the practice of Buddhism, and the people of Tibet were thoughtful, daily practitioners of this compassionate, loving religion. All this came to an abrupt halt when the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1959. Since that invasion, Chinese soldiers have killed and tortured more than a million Tibetans, mostly monks and nuns, and destroyed six thousand monasteries. People around the world who had become acquainted with the Prayer Flags of Tibet were horrified to see the soldiers burning strings of these sacred flags. Thousands of Tibetans, including the 14th Dalai Lama, have had to flee from their country and live in exile around the world Their Prayer Flags continue to represent the tradition of sending out prayers, but they also remind us of a nation of gentle people who have been robbed of their home. Prayer flags are still stamped with prayers and hung to let the wind carry their messages in Tibetan refugee villages. Most of the Tibetan Prayer Flags we see today are made in those communities. And so, people around the world have adopted the custom of hanging Prayer Flags to commemorate special events and to transmit their blessings. It has been suggested by contemporary Tibetans that we create our own prayer flags by imprinting them with poems, prayers and symbols from the great faiths of the world in hopes of uniting them in a spirit of peace and harmony. The Peace Flag Project provides the opportunity for people to make flags that express their wishes for the world. The flags may be hung indoors, but they are intended to be strung up outside where the wind will disperse their messages. After some time the prayer flags will fade and fray (they purposely are not hemmed) symbolizing the natural passing of all things. When that happens, the flags are to be burned to release the last of their prayers and then replaced by new flags that contain our renewed wishes. Or you may simply put new ones over the old ones.. Every time you look at the flags, let them remind you to continue to send out your own prayers for world peace, kindness and generosity. As you do so, you will also benefit from their blessings. Now isn’t that a great idea? Okay, let’s get it rolling then, lets get our prayer flags up in the wind to send our wishes and blessings out into the world. Certainly this world of ours needs all the positive energy we can create! I am herewith calling on all women all over the world to either make or buy a Prayer Flag, and hang it where everybody can see it. So there certainly is a challenge to it as well. With this I would also like to put our South African women in the lead, to make our rainbow nation more visible to the rest of the world. After reading the history of the prayer flag, it is up to you to decide wether you would like to create your own prayer flag, make your own prayer flag or buy your own prayer flag. If you want to buy one and don’t know where to get it from I will gladly supply you with details where to get it from. Please see e-mail address below: If you do decide to make your own prayer flag, you can also e-send me message to the given e-mail address and I will forward you the exact instructions on how to make your own. Then, for the last part of the instructions: After you have bought your prayer flag or made your own, and hanged it up in the wind for everybody to see, there is one final request: Let someone take a close-up picture where you are standing nex to your prayer flag. In short, write you prayer flag messages in print, the date, your name, city where you live and forward to the given e-mail address below. All Prayer Flag photos will be published on this blog. Come on ladies, lets see who’s gonna be first to have their prayer flags up in the wind for the world to see. E-Mail address to forward your request of details and photos with details to: theprayerflag [at] gmail [dot] com