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Vast Luck Flag
Blue ink on 100% cotton fabric
Size: 9"x9" (unhemmed)
Sale Price this month: $6
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I copied this 9"x 9" design from a 19th century woodblock print 50 years ago and have been printing it in our California studios ever since. The Vast Luck Flag can be flown as a prayer flag, hung on the wall of a house or folded up and worn around the neck as a charm for good luck.
The design has a Double-Dorje in the center surrounded by a Garuda, a Peacock, an Elephant, and a Windhorse, each bearing an eight-petaled lotus yantra on which are inscribed the following Tibetan prayers and ancient Sanskrit mantras:
The upper left-hand yantra says “May the life of this charm holder be raised sublimely like the flight of the Garuda . Om! Sal sal hobana sal sal swaha! Om! Om! sarva kata kata sata kata sala ya nata sah wa ye swaha! Om! Kili kili mili mili Kuru kuru hum hum ye swaha! Oh! May the life of this charm-holder be raised on high!”
The upper right-hand yantra says, “May the body of this charm holder be raised sublimely, like the flight of the peacock. Om! Yer yer hobana yer yer ye svaha! Om! Sarva tathagata bhiri bhiri bata bata miri miri mili mili ae bata sarva gata gata shramana sarva gata gata shramana sarva! Oh! May the body of this charm-holder to be raised on high!”
The lower left-hand yantra says, “May the power this charm holder be raised sublimely like the precious elephant. Om! Mer mer hobana mer mer ye swaha! Om sarva dhara dhara bara dhara ghi kha ye swaha! Sarva kili kili na hah kang li sarva bhara bhara sambhera sambhara! Oh, may the power and wealth of this charm holder be increased, and may all injuries be guarded against.”
In the lower right hand circle “May the Windhorse of this charm holder be raised sublimely with the swift movement of the precious horse. Om! Lam lam hobana lam lam lam swaha! Om! Sarva kara kara phat! Sarva dhuru dhuru na phat! Sarva kata kata kata na phat! Sarva kili kili na phat! Sarva mala mala swaha! Oh! May the windhorse of this charm holder be raised on high and protected from all injuries.”
The dorje (Sanskrit: dorje) is a diamond scepter representing that which can’t be destroyed. The double-dorje, crossed in the center, is a symbol for immortality. In its center is written: “Om! Neh ya rani jiwanti ye swaha! Oh! May this charm holder be given the undying gift of soul everlasting!”
The Eight Auspicious Symbols are pictured in between the yantra discs. Around the perimeter is written The Four Noble Truths , the letters of the alphabet, and the words “May the life, body, power, and windhorse of the holder this charm prosper his body, speech, and good wishes and cause them to increase like the growing new moon. May they be possessed of all wealth and riches and be guarded against all kinds of injuries. “
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Lama Dawa Chhodak
1951 - 2017
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On Thanksgiving Day I was pondering the things in my life for which I am most thankful. Like most most people, I am thankful for my family and friends, but I am particularly thankful for the years I was able to spend with my spiritual friend, Lama Dawa Chhodak. I'd like to share a little of our story with you.
After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1969, I traveled overland on a spiritual quest to India and it was there that I became interested in Buddhism. When I returned to California, I visited Tharthang Tulku's Nyingma Buddhist Center in Berkeley. I happened to see an ad on their bulletin board for theirTibetan pen-friend program. The program created as a way to help support young lamas attending Sanskrit University in Varanasi, India. Seemingly at random, I picked the name of Lama Dawa Chhodak and began writing to him. It's interesting how such a seemingly insignificant event as a name on a bulletin board could have so profoundly changed my life.
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The young student lamas were very poor, economically. I would send Lama Dawa a little money, when I could afford it, and he was very appreciative. Even $10 went a long way in India in those days. We wrote back and forth almost every month before we finally met in person, 17 years later.
During that time, I got married, started a family, moved to the the country (Humboldt County in Northern California), divorced, became a single father, and continued to study and practice Tibetan Buddhism.
In his letters, Lama Dawa would recommend Vajrayana Buddhist teachers for me to study with in the U.S. I spent 10 years studying with Ven. Chogyam Trungpa and then 6 years with Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. In 1987 I went to India to meet Lama Dawa in person. We went on a pilgrimage around Northern India and Nepal, visiting monasteries, caves and holy places. Lama Dawa introduced me to many lineage holders, meditation masters, and yogis.
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For the next 10 years, we traveled back and forth between Asia and California. For a few months each year we'd hang out together in my off-the-grid homestead in the Pacific Coast Range and then a few months traveling in India and Nepal. Lama Dawa was a fascinating character and an often trying traveling companion. He was good natured and funny but, being prone to drink and bound by few social norms, he was often unpredictable and outrageous. Tibetan Buddhism has a tradition of "Crazy Wisdom" yogis who are known for their unconventional behavior.
Besides his exceptional knowledge of the traditional Vajrayana Buddhist Path, Lama Dawa pocessed a great deal of knowledge about the shamanistic traditions of Tibet. He was familiar with the elemental forces and how to appease, control and manipulate them. He was well known for his mastery of the "Dorje Yudrönma mélong divination." Through ritual and meditation he had the power to look into a melong (brass mirror) and predict the future, see the past, find lost objects and access knowledge that few of us can even imagine. I know this is hard to believe, but I experienced it first-hand many times.
Besides instructing me in the philosophy and ceremonies of the Buddhist Path, we were constantly performing offering pujas for the nagas and other elementals. Lama Dawa would perform divinations for people which would often lead to hours of preparation for and performing particular complex rituals. Through him, I got glimpses of a fascinating world beyond our ordinary senses.
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Lama Dawa's was raised in his father's monastery in Dolpo, a remote region on the border of Tibet and Nepal. His father was an accomplished tsa-lung yogi. From the age of thirteen, Lama Dawa began his studies, training and practices in the Dudjom Tersar lineage under Dudjom Rinpoche and entered Sanskrit University at age 17. He recieved an Acharya Degree (equivalent to an M.A.) in Sanskrit and Buddhist studies), and then went to the Himalaya to receive the empowerments in the Rinchen Terdzö, the Nyingma Gyübum, Nyingma Kama, as well as the Dudjom Tersar. He completed many retreats under the guidance of Dudjom Rinpoche and became one of Dudjom Rinpoche’s heart disciples, receiving all the outer, inner and sacred transmissions and oral instructions. Like his father, he became a mantra master and householder-yogi (ngakpa). | |
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Lama Dawa taught me about the Tibetan prayer flag tradition. He sent me my first prayer flag in 1971. On our travels in India, Nepal and Bhutan, we collected prayer flags from lamas and pilgrimage sites. We searched through old woodblocks in monastery storerooms and then printed the ones we did not yet have. We redrew, created, translated and printed many prayer flags designs. | |
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For several years, Lama Dawa led retreats for a few of us in Southern Humboldt County. We had a Dharma Center in Garberville, but Lama Dawa had little interest in gathering a lot of students. After increasing pressure, due to his fame as "The Mirror Lama," his unique and profound body of knowledge, and his colorful personality, pressure to teach more students grew and Lama Dawa finally relented to start teaching more widely. I arranged a divination and teaching tour around the United States. He attracted several very good students (much better than I) and we began having more intensive retreats. At first, we had retreats on my land, rented retreat facilities, farms, or we camped in the mountains. Eventually, his sangha purchased property overlooking the Mississippi River in Iowa.
Lama Dawa's teaching style was little chaotic at first. His English was difficult for many people to understand and he preferred a loose, freelow of ideas to a prepared lectures. Over the years, he got more and more organized. He became an an advocate for doing rituals "exactly right," according to traditional texts and to how he had been taught.
Lama Dawa went from being my pen friend, to being my spiritual friend, to being my Guru. He passed away in 2017. I lacked the capacity to fully benefit from so much of the knowledge he possessed, but as I continue my study and practice, I more and more realize the profundity of what he was attempting to teach me.
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Timothy Clark (me) and Acharya Lama Dawa Chhodak Rinpoche | | |
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Scorpion Charm
10 in. x 15 in.
Tibetans use symbols, mantras, spells and prayers to attract positivity and repel negativity in life. Prayer flags work under this principle. The Elephant Yantra for Good Luck and the Yantra for Wealth are examples of positive charms.
The design at the left was printed from a woodblock in Tibet. The scorpion’s fierce and venomous nature symbolizes a powerful defense against external and internal threats. Displayed on a wall in a house, the Scorpion charm is used to repel negative energy; in this case, injuries caused by malicious spirits, and harmful influences.
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f you'd like a chance to win this banner, email us your name and address to prayerflags2@gmail.com.
Please don't forget to include your mailing address.
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Congratulations to Michelle Moram of Bellingham, WA
Winner of November's Drawing for the Avalokiteshvara Long Prayer Banner
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According to the Kalachakra Tantra and the Vedas, this month, the 10th month of the Tibetan Lunar calendar, is the Naga’s sleeping time. Making offerings will bring no benefit. However, in some Chinese astrological texts, it says that there is some benefit if you make offerings on December 20 & 21. | |
Prayer Flag Photos from Friends | |
Customers sent us very nice photos last month. I really appreciate being able to share them with you. | |
Ronald McEwan, a volunteer at Massapequa Preserve, Long Island, New York, sent us several great photos of prayer flags blessing the animals in the park. | |
A wall-mount flag pole bracket with a 2 print "Wish Fulfilling Prayer Flag | |  |
I'd title this one "Impermanence" | | |
Thank you so much for sending us photos of your prayer flag displays! | |
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If you have any questions, comments, or ideas for my newsletter, please write.
I will try to answer your emails.
Email me at: prayerflags2@gmail.com
Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter.
Timothy Clark
Owner of Radiant Heart Studios
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