THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE BUDDHIST FLAG.Buddhism is a religion of humility, focusing on spirituality and wisdom, aim for the purpose of freeing people from the world turmoil and suffering. Buddhism doesn't advocate scramble for supremacy, strengthened or expansion of influence in the world of impermanence . Buddhism also don't see colored form and heavy symbolism, so then the Buddhist flag was what role and how to position it within the context of Buddhism today. Throughout more than two thousand five hundred years of history of French Leaders, Buddhist flags appeared from time to time and where, what is its significance?
The origin of the Buddhist flag
The Buddhist flag we see today was born in 1880 in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The comments brought to a Buddhist flag is a former Colonel in the US Army: Mr. Henry Steel Olcoott.
He went to Olcoott area of Lan first in 1879, and shortly afterwards he became downright enthusiastic about Buddhism. In 1880 he returned to Ceylon and submitted to the Commission on Buddhism Colombo recommended for Buddhism a flag. The form and colour of the flag comes from the creative mind of he Olcoot, based on the six round of the Buddha glory and the colors of the Rainbow. The flag also represents the continental leader, six regeneration or six lines can form all of them born in the realms of reincarnation.
The flag was officially accepted on the land area of Milan on the occasion of Buddha's birthday lanterns on April 28, in 1885. However it was not until May 25, 1950, during the International Buddhist Conference in the capital Colombo (Ceylon), with 26 countries attending, flag of new bands were officially and unanimously accepted, talking up the unity of Buddhism in the world.
Today, a common flag for the whole of Buddhism-the symbol of peace, compassion and wisdom, regardless of skin color and race, cannot distinguish between humans and all other life was waving on the territory of more than 50 countries around the world. On February 24, 1951, stilts, Union representative Bowl Bhikkhu Committee world Buddhism in Vietnam, attended the meeting in Colombo have brought this precious about the flag for his native us.
The flag forms

The flag rectangle, divided into six parts vertically. Colors include the color of the Rainbow, but only in the selected color: blue, pale yellow, white, red, Orange (or yellow) stripe of the flag Friday, represents the synthesis of the color respectively. Thus, the sixth stripe repeat all five colors, but lined up horizontally.
Documents related to primitive c a proposal he H.S. Olcoott explanation of the flag because he suggested is indeed hard to find. This material can still be kept in the archives of Ceylon (?). This article is based on a number of recent data; In the documents, the interpretation of color seems less coherent or used the words don't fit with the French Leaders. The following is a summary of the symbolic meanings of colors:
1) Blue represents «meditation».
2) pale yellow symbolizes the «true», thoughts can be « thinking Itself » (?) in the main Bowl Scouts.
3) color red symbolize spiritual vigor «» (?).
4) white symbolizes «faith» (?).
5 orange or color technology) stands for «intelligence» (?), also can this is «wisdom» (?).
6) color Friday, General of the medium color, symbolizing «» stigma not behavior.
The material on it may also have been based on the suggestions of Mr. Olcoott (?). Anyway, the flag is a symbol, and the meaning that we attribute to it is because of where we are. The meaning of the flag will be discussions and more broadly in the second part of the article.
Henry Steel Olcoott, who are you?
At least H.S. Olcoott is also not a completely anonymous. He was born on 2 - 8, 1832 in New Jersey (USA) in a Protestant family of very discipline and godly. Right from the day was young his parents encouraged his interest in spiritual matters. His father was a merchant, but in 1951, the family went bankrupt, and he had to leave the University. After a hiatus to study and living off relatives in Ohio, he returned to the University and became an agricultural specialist. He wrote for newspapers and scientific research. Get married in 1860, born four children, but the couple later divorced again in 1874.
When the American civil war occurred, he joined the Federal Army, holding the important administrative positions. In 1865, he was demobilized and please turns out to law school and become lawyers. He continued to write newspaper.

 

Ms. Helene Petrovna BLAVATSKY (1831-1891) Mr. Henry Steel OLCOOTT (1832-1907)

In 1874 a joint major in his life. That year was 42 years old, he met a woman of very strange and special and you together. It is Mrs. Helene Petrovna Blavatsky, a Russian woman in a family of elite true-perhaps longer than all the noble families of the Russian Empire at the time. She is very interested in mystical matters, there has been travel to many parts of the world, including India and Tibet and wrote quite a lot of books. Mrs. Blavatsky and he Olcoott along with a friend was William Quan Judge founded the society Through natural learning, a tradition that includes all the religions. Mr Olcoott was elected President of this society.
In 1878, the headquarters of the celestial Information learned from the U.S. transfer of Adyar, a suburb of Madras province in India. This headquarters is still active to this day. But something worth raised above all he Olcoott and Mrs. Blavatsky to Ceylon on May 16, 1880, and was the capital of Colombo welcomed very solemnly because they have known him or have heard him before. On May 25, he Olcoott and Mrs. Blavatsky came to kneel in front of a giant Buddha at the Temple of Wijananda and chorus up in Pa-li pledged that the vow of Tam rules (rules of Medicine Buddha, y France, qui y Increase) and the five precepts (no kill, not to steal, not to commit, not to say xằng, not drunk) , to ask for refuge.
Public opinion of the day often assign to him the nickname as «white» Buddhist people. Indeed he was one of the first American Medical rules. Thereafter, although he came to Italy several times, and each time only save in a short time, he had established many Buddhist universities such as the University of Ananda and Nalanda, Dharmaraja College of Buddhist studies and Visakha Vidyalaya ... a total of nearly 400 school of Buddhist studies. He help the Ceylon Buddhist tradition recovery, against foreign influence by the British colonists introduced into Ceylon. In addition, he also tours both the movement against British colonialism on the part of this land. In July of that year, in 1880, he left Colombo as a hero of the peoples of Ceylon. He then returned in the year 1881, 1882 and 1884. In 1884, when leaving the area of Milan he straight to London and demanded the British Government must execute the six terms he introduced in the the purpose of Buddhist who defended Ceylon suffered bullying and Buddhas activity is restricted to the right on their homeland. The British Government only accepted two terms only. The work recounts the details on here just to have the sole purpose of presenting his Olcoott enthusiasm for Buddhism in General and for the Buddhist area of Finland in particular. He has not defended and help recover the Buddhist background area of lan but also open the way to Buddhism on American soil again.

Mr. h. s. Olcoott and Mr. Sumangala, a high increase of Ceylon in Colombo Buddhist Committee 

He died on February 17, 1907 at Adyar. It was up up his American flag and a flag of Buddhism and then take away cremated. Since then, 17, has become a feast of Ceylon. Students, students with the monks, the Buddhist flag paraded away, put a wreath of flowers and plants at the foot of a monument to remember his merit. Today, a street in Colombo is named after him.
The meaning of the Buddhist flag
How to interpret the colors of the flag as presented in the section on here based on a few documents with French language. In a number of documents in English, then had another explanation, but still lack the slightly more coherent and inconsistency. The following are common explanations:
1) Blue symbolizes compassion.
2) yellow represents Middle.
3) color red symbolize ethics.
4) white symbolizes the French Leaders beyond space and time.
5 orange) color represents wisdom.
6) synthetic Color (color Friday) represents the truth .
Because there are many differences in the symbolic meaning of the color as presented, so we should not be too focused and nệ questions on interpretation of each color. We see the Buddhist flag symbolizes the glory of Buddha is enough. Books that when the Buddha achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, then his body becomes shining, wide sheds light on the Buddha's head, forming a six-colour radiant aura.
The flag is divided into six sections or six vertical stripes, representing the six possible forms of sentient beings, the Veterinary Record or the continental leader (hell, hungry daemons demon, beast, who, A-tu-la and natural). Stripes Friday, synthesis of five colors, representing the Council, does not differentiate between all of them. The Buddhist flag is no stigma about nationality, skin color and race between people, but also advocates respect and harmony all forms and form of life.
We can also see Buddhist flag is a rainbow of light. The colours on the flag are the colors of the Rainbow. For Tibetan Buddhism, the Rainbow represents the Report body (Sambhogakaya), the embodiment of Buddha, Buddha's general image.
After all, all people found a little bit of his national flag on flag of iridescence of Buddhism. The Buddhist flag does not pull up to delineate or mark a territory at all, it can only pull up in a real place, a large jiangshan without borders, beyond all the struggle. Jiang Shan that is compassionate and generous, of love and hope. Jiangshan that large and vast as space.
The Buddhist flag nor represents a doctrine or a pride. The Buddhist flag was the sign of peace, not tinged with a drop of blood, is a creature of blood drops short and trivial. The Buddhist flag was pulled up to remind us all of the sacrifices and the happiness of humanity and all beings.
He also did not flag calling and not provoke us to exhale to confront an enemy at all. For the Buddhist, then the enemy is dangerous and difficult to tame for the enemy is in our minds, are hiding in the body. Enemies in consciousness is ignorance, hatred, greed and clinging; the enemy lurks in the body is the animal instinct of my computer.
The conclusion
General, a flag is just a symbol and we can assign it any sense I want. For the Buddhist flag, so we can see it bring more cheerful colors that look like an ornament in temple gate, door or on the altar.
However know that, at any time, when we look at the Buddhist flag, our mind will suddenly flashes up the glory of Buddha, radiant and colourful.
When seeing the flag, we suddenly get all number-six possible forms of sentient: from hungry daemons, demons of hunger to the beast, from human to human and Holy, regardless, no hate, no hatred or jealousy. All together we are quờ quạng in the night, like walk in a dream of you. Then the conscious mind gets fierce agitator by boundless compassion and we wanted our love spread across the six corners of the reincarnation.
Also when looking at the Buddhist flag, the consciousness we suddenly found a whole Rainbow in plenty of light and consciousness, the conscious mind of the Buddha.
Just as would be done like this, then maybe at that time we expect to have enough power to understand the true meaning of the Buddhist flag.END=NAM MO AMITABHA BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH GIAC TAM.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST AMITABHA PURELAND MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.18/9/2016.