Tibetian Buddhist Om Mani Padme Hum Prayer Flags The Tibetan Prayer Flags have a long history in the Tibetan culture. Since time immemorial, it has been associated with the peace of the spiritual mind and has been used by Tibetan monks and priests. If one has visited Nepal, one would know the extensive use of these colourful prayer flags at various Tibetan monasteries. One of the most common mantras that can be seen on these flags is ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’.
The tradition of hanging prayer flags in Tibet began more than 2000 years ago. The war lords carried their banners in the form of flags during wars. However, the native people chose to make their own spiritual version of prayer flags. They used five colours for five elements of the earth; blue for sky, white for air, red for fire, green for water and yellow for earth. They had the ancient mantra ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ written on that and hung it all around for the security of the local people. The six syllable mantra means ‘Hail the jewel in the lotus’. When the Chinese invaded Tibet and destroyed mankind, Tibetan people had to