Tibetan Wind Horse Prayer Flags

Fluttering in the wind,
the prayer flags whisper
our most heartfelt wishes.

Prayer flags are one of the most iconic and unique sights on the Tibetan Plateau. As you travel through the region, you’ll see colorful strips of cloth fluttering in the wind—these are known as Lungta, or Wind Horse flags. In Tibetan, "Lung" means wind and "Ta" means horse. The Wind Horse (Lungta) is said to carry prayers on the wind—wind being the invisible steed that sends the printed mantras across the vast world.

Historically, these Wind Horse flags—also called Wind Horse Sutras—are believed to have first appeared on prayer flag ropes in monasteries of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. In this tradition, chanting mantras repeatedly—especially the six-syllable mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum”—is considered a way to accumulate merit and purify karma. When these syllables are printed on prayer flags and stirred by the wind, they are believed to be "chanted" by the wind itself. That’s why you'll often see towering poles in monasteries and villages, flying rows of Wind Horse flags high into the sky.

Among them, the most famous is the 24-meter-high flagpole at the foot of Mount Kailash (Gang Rinpoche) in the sacred valley of Sershong. Every year on the 15th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, locals gather to replace the old flags. As the faded ones are taken down, crowds rush forward to grab a piece—many Tibetans believe that flags exposed to a year of mountain wind can ward off misfortune and bring peace.

There are many beautiful legends about the origin of prayer flags. One tells of the Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree, holding sacred scriptures, when a strong gust of wind blew the texts from his hands. The pages scattered across the earth, carried by the wind to people suffering in hardship. Those who received a piece of the scriptures found peace and happiness. To honor the Buddha’s blessing, people began printing prayers and images on colorful cloth, hanging them where the wind could touch them—to pray for peace and protection.

Another tale speaks of a Tibetan monk who obtained sacred scriptures in India. While crossing a river on his return, the texts got soaked. He laid them out to dry and meditated under a tree. Suddenly, celestial trumpets sounded, divine chants echoed, and a gentle breeze swept through. As the monk opened his eyes, he saw the sacred pages flying through the air and across the river. People later began printing scriptures on fabric and hanging them in the open as a tribute to the monk’s enlightenment and the power of the Dharma. These became the prayer flags we know today—colorful banners that dance in the wind, expressing devotion and reverence to the heavens.

Prayer flags are traditionally made from silk or cotton and printed in five symbolic colors—blue, white, red, green, and yellow. Each color represents an element: blue for sky, white for clouds, red for fire, green for water, and yellow for earth. The flags are always arranged in this fixed order from top to bottom, reflecting the natural order of the universe—just as the blue sky is always above and the earth below.

Tibetan culture has a long and profound history, and prayer flags are but a small part of it. Yet within their fluttering fabric lies a powerful expression of faith. They record the spiritual hopes of the Tibetan people, their longing for a better future, and their prayers for peace and well-being in this life and the next.

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