I clatter dry leaves along dusty footpaths
And bear burdens far greater
Than mere birds and clouds.
On high, cold, moors I blow
In the hollow eyes of sheep, inert and prone,
And ruffle the hissing grass over barrows
Of long-dead chieftains.
From the fading fires of the sick and the dying
I blow prayers in the smarting eyes
Of disinterested and uncaring gods.
I steal your thoughts.
Prayer flags are found wherever Tibetan Buddhism is found. As they flutter in the breeze, they use this wind to send blessings out into the world. Through many parts of the Himalaya they adorn monasteries and humble homes, chortens and bamboo flagpoles. They are tied in their hundreds and thousands to bridges, above mountain peaks, and in the courtyards of every conceivable building.
Elsewhere, they are to be found wherever exiled Tibetans live, and wherever their school of Buddhism flourishes.
The makers of the flags intend the prayers and blessings that adorn them not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of all beings.
Prayer flags in the Yumtang Valley, Sikkim, India.
Prayer flags, Observatory Hill, Darjeeling, India.
Prayer flags outside a monastery in Sikkim, India.
Prayer flags adorn a pair of chortens and walls of prayer wheels in Khumjung, Nepal.
Prayer flags at Tengboche, Nepal.
And adorning a bridge of the Dudh Khosi, again in Nepal.
Mick Canning 