How to Dispose of Buddhist Prayer Flags

Make or purchase Buddhist prayer flags made of cotton to facilitate the disposal process. Cotton prayer flags are made of purer material than synthetic polyester, so they burn and disintegrate more quickly. As cotton flags age, they serve as reminders of the central Buddhist teaching of impermanence (anicca). Cotton Buddhist prayer flags disintegrate quickly enough to remind Buddhists of impermanence.

Allow Buddhist prayer flags to whip in the wind, exposed to the elements and the seasons. Pay attention as the flags fade with the prayers with which the flags were made. Sacred Buddhist reminders of the impermanence of all reality, prayer flags invite renewal and replacement with new flags. They invite final disposal as well.

Burn Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags to dispose of them. Do not let prayer flags touch the ground as they are burned. Remember the compassionate intentions for all beings with which the flags were made. Just as sacred Buddhist mantras, prayers and symbols lifted on the winds reach every part of the globe, so do the ashes from burned flags float and fly on the air currents and return to the earth in a final release of blessings.

Hang new prayer flags beside fading flags. Allow old Buddhist prayer flags to organically disintegrate. The disintegration process contrasts with new flags with renewed prayers and mantras releasing new blessings to the world. Prayer flags illustrate the continuing cycle of birth and death.