Tibetan Khata
Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia is now 14 years old
Our Encyclopedia recently received a wonderful opportunity for a major renewal on its 14th birthday . After many years of growing our Encyclopedia had become bit slow and sometimes even decided not to answer when people knocked on the door.
A very big thank you and blessings to Dmytro Rudiy (rudiy.nl) for his great work in upgrading the server, website and all of the infrastructure and helping make TBE fast and reliable again for everyone!
We kindly ask our readers to help us cover the cost of this important upgrade and also help with the ongoing costs of keeping the Encyclopedia alive and freely available.
or card
Every little donation helps and every one is deeply appreciated. 🙏🙏🙏
OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM 🙏🙏🙏
May blessings shower down on all of yous 🙏🙏🙏
[[File:D350702 o.jpg|thumb|250px|Blue hadas (khadags) tied to a stone stele at Manzushir Monastery in Mongolia
A khata, khada, khadag, or hada (Tibetan: ཁ་བཏགས་; Mongolian: хадаг (xɑtk); is a traditional ceremonial scarf common in Tibetan and Mongolian culture. It originated in Tibet and spread to other Tibetan Buddhist countries such as Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal, and some parts of Russia and India. It symbolizes purity and compassion. It is usually made of silk. Tibetan khatas are usually whitesymbolising the pure heart of the giver, though it is quite common to find yellow gold khatas as well. Mongolian khadags are usually blue, symbolizing the sky.
Khatas can be presented at any festive occasions to a host or at weddings, funerals, births,graduations, arrivals and departure of guests etc. The Tibetans commonly give a kind acknowledgment of "Tashi Delek" (meaning good luck) at the time of presenting. The 14th Dalai Lama is known to offer khata as a gift to diplomats, visitors, or other monks, which symbolizes purity of intention and the beginning of the relationship.
In Mongolia, khadags are also often tied to ovoos, stupas or special trees and rocks.