Tibetan Buddhist Prayer Flags: "Lung Ta"

These are Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags, called "lung ta" in Tibetan. Lung Ta prayer flags are connected along their top edges to a long string or thread. They are commonly hung on a diagonal line from high to low between two objects in high places such as the tops of temples, monasteries, stupas, and mountain passes.

Traditionally, prayer flags come in sets of five, one in each of five colors that are arranged in order from left to right. The five colors represent the elements: blue symbolizes the sky and space; white symbolizes air and wind; red symbolizes fire; green symbolizes water and yellow symbolizes the earth.

The center of a prayer flag traditionally features a powerful horse bearing three flaming jewels on its back. The jewels symbolize the Buddha, the Dharma (Buddhist teachings), and the Sangha (Buddhist community), the three cornerstones of Tibetan philosophical tradition.

Surrounding the center are various versions of approximately 400 traditional mantras (powerful ritual utterances), each dedicated to a particular deity or aspects of the divine. These writings include mantras from three of the great Buddhist Bodhisattvas.

Buddhism is a religion in which people follow the teachings of the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) who lived and taught about 2500 years ago. Buddhists do not believe in a personal creator god. Buddhists believe in the Four Noble Truths, including that life is suffering because we are attached to our desires, but that suffering and attachment can be ended by living according to the Noble Eight-fold Path (ex. right thinking, right working, right speaking). The holy book is called the Tripitaka. It contains the teachings of the Buddha. Buddhists believe in rebirth after death (reincarnation). Their goal is to become Enlightened, to achieve Nirvana, and break the cycle of birth and death.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_flag