Importance of the Buddhist Flag

The Buddhist flag, primarily hoisted in 1885 in Sri Lanka, is a symbol of confidence and calm used throughout the world to represent the Buddhist faith. The six colours of the flag symbolize the colors of the aura that originated from the body of the Buddha when He achieved Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. The horizontal band of colors represent the races of the world living in accord and the vertical band of color represent everlasting world peace. The colours represent the perfection of Buddhahood and the Dharma.

• The Blue light that emitted from the Buddha's hair represents the strength of Universal Concern for all beings.

• The Yellow light that give out from the Buddha's epidermis represents the Middle Way which keep away from all extremes and brings balance and liberation.

• The Red light that gives out from the Buddha's flesh represents the blessings that the practice of the Buddha's Teaching brings.

• The White light that emitted from the Buddha's bones and teeth indicates the purity of the Buddha's Teaching and the freedom it brings.

• The Orange light that glow with from the Buddha's palms, heels and lips represents the constant Wisdom of the Buddha's Teaching.

• The Combination of Colour represents the universality of the Truth of the Buddha's Teaching.

Therefore, the overall flag represents that regardless of race, nationality, division or colour, all sentient beings acquire the latent of Buddhahood.

The six colors are better understandable as :

1. Blue: suggesting the thought of loving kindness and peace in Buddhism

2. Yellow: it signifies the Middle Path, that is, an entire absence of form and emptiness

3. Red: signifying success, knowledge, asset, destiny and self-respect.

4. White: signifying purity, liberation that the Dharma will always survive regardless of time or space.
5. *Orange: The spirit of Buddhism which is full of knowledge, strength and pride.

6. The grouping of these five colors represents that it is the one and only Truth.

The horizontal bars indicate peace and concord among all races through out the world whereas the vertical bars symbolize everlasting peace within the world. In straightforward terms, the Buddhist Flag involves that there is no inequity of competition, nationality, areas or skin color; that every living being own the Buddha Nature and all have the possible to become a Buddha.