Saturday, January 23, 2016

Bhutan Prayer Flags

The structure on my left in the image below are prayer flags called "Lungta" in Dzongkha meaning "wind horse". ("Lung" means "wind" and "ta" means "horse"). There are Buddhist prayers printed on the flags. They are called Lungta because Buddhist believe that the wind will spread the prayers to the world at the speed of horse. Lungta consists of 5 colors: blue, white, red, green and yellow in order. 
The five colors represent the elements: blue symbolizes sky, white cloud, red fire, green water, and yellow earth. Lungta is one of the most common sights in Bhutan. You can see them on the mountains, near the temples, monasteries, and even across the river and on the bridges. Wangdiphodrang (probably the most windy place in Bhutan) is the best place for lungta because it feeds the windhorse with its strong wind.

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