KALDEN LODOE (Tibetan Meditation Center, Frederick, Maryland): "Losar" means "new year." "Lo" is "year." "Sar" is "new."I wish that all Tibetans would actually keep on celebrating this Losar in a traditional way. Now that it's Losar -- my son's third Losar; he's three years old -- my biggest concern is, what happens when my son grows up into my age and the values, culture, and religion become even thinner?
Spiritually speaking, I think it is a time to reinforce the resolutions that you have made to become a better person.Prostration is a physical activity to accumulate positive energy, which would be restored in our consciousness. When there are more positives, automatically the negatives will be reduced and, finally, one can become a totally awakened buddha.
New prayer flags are put up on special occasions like New Year or when there's a new beginning.
Coming here, doing it all together provides an opportunity for the Tibetans to celebrate this in a spiritual way with their family and pass on the tradition to a new generation.
