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Buddhist flag

There are various Buddhist flags used to represent Buddhism as a whole or specific schools of Buddhism.

One popular flag with six bands of colour was designed in late 19th century Sri Lanka as a universal symbol of Buddhism. This flag became popular throughout South East Asia, and was adopted by the World Fellowship of Buddhists as an official flag. The flag's five vertical bands represent the five colors of the aura which Buddhists believe emanated from the body of the Buddha when he attained enlightenment.

However, alternative versions of this flag and other different Buddhist flags are also flown in other countries, with different Buddhist groups having their own preferences.

There are also various types of Buddhist prayer flags, which serve a different function.

The International Buddhist Flag

The International six stripe Buddhist flag was originally designed in 1885 by the Colombo Committee, in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The committee consisted of Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera (chairman), Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera, Don Carolis Hewavitharana (father of Anagarika Dharmapala), Andiris Perera Dharmagunawardhana (maternal grandfather of Anagarika Dharmapala), Charles A. de Silva, Peter De Abrew, William De Abrew (father of Peter), H. William Fernando, N. S. Fernando and Carolis Pujitha Gunawardena (secretary).

It was first publicly hoisted on Vesak day, 28 May 1885 at the Dipaduttamarama, Kotahena, by Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera. This was the first Vesak public holiday under British rule.

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, an American journalist, founder and first president of the Theosophical Society, felt that its long streaming shape made it inconvenient for general use. He therefore suggested modifying it so that it was the size and shape of national flags.

In 1889, the modified flag was introduced to Japan by Anagarika Dharmapala and Olcott—who presented it to Emperor Meiji—and subsequently to Myanmar.

At the 1950 World Fellowship of Buddhists, the flag of Buddhists was adopted as the International Buddhist Flag.

Colours

The flag's five vertical bands represent the five colors of the aura which Buddhists believe emanated from the body of the Buddha when he attained Enlightenment:

  • Blue (Pāli and Sanskrit: nÄ«la): The Spirit of Universal Compassion
  • Yellow (Pāli and Sanskrit: pÄ«ta): The Middle Way
  • Red (Pāli and Sanskrit: lohitaka): The Blessings of Practice – achievement, wisdom, virtue, fortune and dignity
  • White (; ): The Purity of Dhamma – leading to liberation, timeless
  • Orange (; ), alternatively scarlet: The Wisdom of the Buddha's teachings

The sixth vertical band, on the fly, is made up of a combination of the five other colors' rectangular bands, and represents a compound of said colors in the aura's spectrum. This new, compound color is referred to as the Truth of the Buddha's teaching or Pabbhassara ().

Variant Six Band flags

There are numerous variations of the six stripe Buddhist flags, most commonly achieved by changing the color of one of the stripes. For example:

  • Sometimes, Buddhist symbols are placed in front of the stripes. The common one is the Dharmawheel.
  • The colour mañjeá¹­á¹­ha is interpreted as pink in Myanmar, a Theravāda Buddhist country and Vietnam, a Mahayana Buddhist country.
  • In Japan, there is a traditional Buddhist flag ( — goshikimaku) which has different colors but is sometimes merged with the design of the international flag to represent international cooperation.
  • In Tibet, the stripes' colors represent the different colors of Buddhist robes comprehensively united in one banner. Tibetan monastic robes are maroon, so the orange stripes in the original design are often replaced with maroon.
  • Tibetan Buddhists in Nepal replace the orange stripes with plum stripes.

Other Buddhist flags

In various Buddhist nations and among different Buddhist groups alternative Buddhist flags may be more popular than the six stripe flag. Some of these flags are meant to represent Buddhism as a whole, while others represent specific Buddhist traditions or organizations.

Flags representing Buddhism as a whole

One example of alternative universalist Buddhist flags is that used by Theravāda Buddhists in Thailand, who opt for the usage of a yellow flag with a red Dhammacakka (ธงธรรมจักร – thong thammajak). This flag is sometimes flown alongside the international Buddhist flag. It was officially adopted in 1958 by Buddhist monks, and flown outside temples alongside the national flag and on important events.

Flags representing specific Buddhist traditions or people

One example of this is class of Buddhist flags is the flag of Tibet, which is unofficially used to represent Tibetan Buddhism. The flag contains various Buddhist symbols representing the spread of Buddhism.

Japanese Buddhist sects often depict their sect emblems (宗紋) in flags that are often hung on or near Buddhist temples. These sect flags (宗旗) usually contain the crest or emblem of the school (known as mon or monshō 紋章 in Japanese).

The new religion of Soka Gakkai flies a tricolour of blue, yellow, and red. It is often mistaken for the flags of Chad and Romania.

Bans

In 1963, the Catholic President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem invoked a law prohibiting flags other than that of the nation, to ban the Buddhist flag from being flown on Vesak, when Vatican flags had habitually flown at government events. This led to protests, which were ended by lethal firing of weapons, starting the Buddhist crisis.

See also

References

External links