It is common to see various religious symbols when traveling in Tibetan monasteries, villages. They are used as sacred adornments.

Prayer Flag
The fluttering prayer flags can often be found along with piles of mani stones on rooftops, mountain passes, river crossings, and other sacred places. Prayer flags are actually colorful cotton cloth squares in white, blue, yellow, green, and red. Woodblocks are used to decorate the prayer flags with images, mantras, and prayers. For centuries, Tibetan Buddhists have planted these flags outside their homes and the places of spiritual practice for the wind to carry the beneficent vibrations across the countryside. Prayer flags bring happiness, long life and prosperity to the flag planter and those in the vicinity.

Prayer Wheel
Prayer wheels, called Chokhor in Tibetan, are very common religious objects in Tibet. A hand held prayer wheel is a hollow wooden or metal cylinder attached to a handle. Om Mani Padme Hung mantras are printed or etched in relief on the cylinder. Attached to the cylinder is a lead weight with a chain, which facilitates the rotation. Tibetans use prayer wheels to spread spiritual blessings to all sentient beings and invoke good karma in their next life. They believe that every rotation of a prayer wheel equals one utterance of the mantra, thus the religious practice will in return help them accumulate merits, replace negative effects with positive ones, and hence bring them good karma. The religious exercise is part of Tibetan life. People turn the wheel day and night while walking or resting, whenever their right hands are free while murmuring the same mantra. Buddhists turn the wheel clockwise. Bon followers turn the wheel counter clockwise.

Om Mani Pedme Hum
Om Mani Pedme Hum (or Om Mani Pedme Hung), is the most common mantra in Tibet, recited by Buddhists, painted or carved on rocks, prayer wheels, or yak skulls and seen around most usually. Tibetan people, almost all Buddhists, do believe that it is very good to practice the mantra of Chenrezi, the Bodhisattva of Compassion (The protective deity of Tibet), which may, relieve negative karma, accumulate merit, help rescue them from the sea of suffering and achieve Buddhahood. Speaking the mantra loud or silently, spinning prayer wheels with the mantra, and carving mantra into stones are the usual practices.

White Umbrella
       A symbol of loyalty and faith and Dharma protection from all evil.


Golden Fish

Often appears in pairs and points to the mukti (deliverance) in Tibetan Buddhism. As their eyes could penetrate the dirty water, they also represent the clear-sighted eyes of Buddha. It is a symbol of happiness, soul emancipation, and salvation from the sea of suffering.



Vase

 Often filled with clean water (amrita) and gems in the temple, it can be found with a peacock  plume or a lucky tree stuck in it. This symbolizes good omen, cleanliness, good fortune and the perpetuation of souls. This is considered the throat of Buddha.



Lotus


   It lives in the silt but is not stained, symbolizes purity and spiritual enfoldment.




Conch Shell

Proclaims the teachings of the enlightened ones and symbolizes the spoken word.




Knot of Eternity


Symbolizes the unity of all things and the illusory character of time.




Victory Standard


  The cylinder symbolizes the victory of Buddhism over ignorance and death.




Dharma Wheel

Symbolizes the unity of all things, spiritual law and Sakyamuni himself. The wheel is usually flanked by two deer, which will arouse the kindness of mankind to carry out religious duties. The male deer symbolizes the realization of great bliss while the female deer symbolizes the realization of emptiness.

Swastika
Swastika is the second most representative pattern in rock paintings in Tibet, commonly seen on home walls or on monastery floors. Meaning good fortune, it symbolizes infinity, universe and sometimes sun and moon. Buddhists draw it clockwise while bon followers draw it anticlockwise.

Kalacakra Seal
An adorning motif in murals or on monastery walls, The group of pictures consist of seven Sanskrit characters and three graphics of sun, moon and a circle. The five colors in the picture represent water, fire, wind, earth and sky of the Universe. It symbolizes the highest initiations into occult knowledge which can only be possessed by a few high lamas.



Wheel of Life
Another adorning motif in murals or on monastery walls. The demon of impermanence holds a wheel, segmented into six sections, which mean all realms of existence respectively. These are: Heaven, demigods, humankind, hell, hungry ghosts and animals. The hub in the center symbolizes ignorance, hatred and greed, the three poisons.


In additional, some good omen animals, like lions, kylins, elephants, horses, tigers, peacocks and others are often used in the decoration of furniture, sculptures and paintings to pass on some good wishes. For example, the enshrined seat of the statues of Buddha is decorated with six of these animals - lion, elephant, horse, peacock, Jivajivaka (Co-fate Bird, a legendary animal with the head of human and body of bird in Buddhism) and Bodhisattva of Strength Vajradhara.