(Hang it… drape it… wear it… let it flow in the wind…

Offering a white scarf--called a khata--is an ancient Tibetan tradition. The color symbolizes purity of intention and aspiration. It is an ancient custom to bring an offering when visiting a temple, shrine, guru, or teacher.

An ancient Tibetan adage says that giving and receiving go hand in hand, like breathing in and breathing out--it is an a universal karmic principle that the more you give, the more you receive, which should not necessarily be understood in material terms only. The khata is given at the start of any enterprise or relationship and indicates the good intentions of the person’s offering it.


The 8 symbols etched in the cloth are:


1. The conch -- sound of the Dharma teachings, and given to disciples; it awakens them and urges them to accomplish their own and others' welfare.
2. The umbrella-- protection from illness & harmful forces, and from obstacles of sufferings
3. The victory banner-- the victory of the Buddhist Doctrine over all harmful and pernicious forces.
4. The golden fish-- the auspiciousness of all living beings in a state of fearlessness, without danger of drowning in the ocean of sufferings, and migrating from place to place freely and spontaneously, just as fish swim freely without fear through water.
5. The golden wheel-- the turning of the precious wheel of Buddha's doctrine, both in its teachings and realizations, in all realms and at all times, enabling beings to experience the joy of wholesome deeds and liberation.
6. The auspicious drawing-- the mutual dependence of religious doctrine and secular affairs; the union of wisdom and method, the inseparability of emptiness and dependence arising at the time of enlightenment, the complete union of wisdom and great compassion.
7. The lotus flower-- the complete purification of the defilements of the body, speech and mind, and the full blossoming of wholesome deeds in blissful liberation.
8. The treasure vase-- an endless reign of long life, wealth and prosperity and all the benefits of this world and liberation.

I have begun the tradition of offering a white khata to my personal spirit-teachers, though most likely none of them would consider themselves teachers. And yet all we do in life, we do in the form of either teaching, or learning… pupil.

This is the cycle of our relationships with one another.