These Tibetan singing bowls are made so well even a novice can bring them to sing.
They are made of seven metals and each bowl comes with a hand-carved wooden striker.
Buddhist monks are often found with these bowls nearby. These black bowls collect the offerings of those who wish to give. In the heart of each offering bowl is a carved mantra, to echo in your mind long after you have left the monk.
About Singing Bowls
Singing bowls (also known as Tibetan Prayer Bowls, 'Himalayan bowls' or 'rin gongs' in Japan) are type of musical instrument classified as a standing bell. Rather than hanging inverted or attached to a handle, standing bells sit with the bottom surface resting. The sides and rim of the bell vibrate to produce sound. Singing bowls were traditionally used throughout Asia as part of Buddhist, Bön and shamanic meditation practice. Today they are used worldwide for meditation, relaxation, healthcare and religious practice.
Singing bowls were historically made in Tibet, Nepal, India, Bhutan, China, Japanand Korea. Today they are made in Nepal, India, Japan and Korea. The most common type are from the Himalayan region.
Origins, History and Usage
In Buddhist practice, singing bowls are used as a support for meditation and prayer. For example, Chinese Buddhists use the singing bowl to accompany the wooden fish during chanting, striking it when a particular phrase in a sutra or hymn is sung. In Japan and Vietnam, singing bowls are similarly used during chanting and may also mark the passage of time or signal a change in activity.
The use of singing bowls in Tibet is the subject of much debate and stories. Some people say singing bowls were not used in Tibet while others say they were extremely widespread. Some say they were simply used for meditation while others say they were magical tools for transformation of self and of matter.
As Perry (1996) and Jansen(1992) state, little is known in western scholarship regarding Himalayan singing bowls. It is likely they were used in rituals, having a specific function like other instruments, such as the ghanta, tingsha and shang. The oral and written traditions from the Himalayan region are vast and largely unknown in the west. To date, no specific texts have been found discussing the use of singing bowls in depth, but according to Joseph Feinstein (2006), paintings and statues dating from several centuries ago depict singing bowls in detail. Singing bowls from at least the 10th-12th century are found in private collections. The tradition may date significantly earlier since bronze has been used to construct musical instruments since ancient times. Bronze bells from Asia have been discovered since as early as the 8th-10th century BCE (Feinstein, 2006).
Singing bowls are played by striking with a soft mallet to produce a warm bell tone and (in the case of genuine antiques) harmonic overtones. They may also be played by the friction of rubbing a wooden, plastic, or leather wrapped mallet around the rim of the bowl to produce overtones and a continuous 'singing' sound.
Antique singing bowls are unique because they are multiphonic instruments, producing multiple harmonic overtones at the same time. They are widely used as an aid to meditation (see the "Meditation and the brain" section in Meditation). They are also used in yoga, music therapy, sound healing, religious services, performance and for personal enjoyment.
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