Khata offerings

The offering of khatas, a white scarf, is a ceremonial gesture widely used in Tibetan culture.

Khatas are offered to sacred statues and to lamas as a gesture of offering goodwill and respect. To present a khata you first fold it in half length-wise; this represents interdependence. Then when you offer the scarf to the lama, you offer the open edges facing the person you are giving it to; the folded section will be towards you, which represents your open pure heart, with no negative thoughts or motives in the offering.

The scarf is given with folded hands near your forehead, with a humble bow before them, with head bent over and palms joined in respect. You never put the khata over the lama’s neck in this situation. The lama returns it by placing it over your head and around your neck with a blessing.

Khatas can be offered as a welcoming, leaving or thank you gesture – in fact for any celebration at all. It is used for celebrations not only during religious ceremonies, but also for births and weddings.

It is also a custom to put khatas over statues, thangka paintings, pictures of reincarnated rinpoche’s and altar spaces. A khata offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and received back by a Tibetan personally will be cherished and preciously kept as it is now a very special blessing, talisman and protector.

Khatas can be bought in the Tara Institute bookshop.