Buddhist Ideas & Gardens – Good Wishes
In Buddhism, you are encouraged to build up heartfelt wishing for the good of others.
Things which prompt you to make good wishes
An example is the first meditation method in the section About Buddhist Meditation, the ‘Meditation for increasing goodwill’. Such positive wishing takes the place of prayer, since in Buddhism there is no god to pray to. In temple grounds and gardens there are sometimes objects which prompt people to make such wishes.
In the Meditation Park in Bodhgaya there are large bells which are rung to express wishes for world peace and for everyone to progress further towards Enlightenment. In the grounds of some Buddhist Temples in Thailand are rows of bells or gongs which people go round ringing in the same spirit. In Buddhist countries near the Himalaya mountains, outside holy places there are often rows of drums with Buddhist messages inscribed on them. People walk along turning them for the same reason.
In the Himalayan Buddhist region, colourful ‘prayer flags’ with Buddhist
messages written on them are either hung on strings like bunting or else
placed on flagpoles. This is to give a sense of these messages going
out all the time as the wind makes these ‘prayer flags’ flutter.
Prayer flags are very common in places like Tibet, Sikkim or Bhutan and sometimes
completely cover gardens or countryside. Usually they are blue, white,
red, green and yellow.
There is a Wishing Tree at Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Scotland. There’s a box of colourful rags and a donation box for charity. You make a donation and then take one of the rags, tie it to the tree, and make some wish for the good of others. When a rag’s colour has faded, it is taken down.
Continue reading: Giving food to birds, fish or animals.