Pic: Healing Bowl (Hand Carved)
“One one singing bowl is a treasure. A set of bowls that sing together is a miracle.”
The singing bowls originated in the pre-Buddhist Born culture of the Himalayas often called “Tibetan” Singing bowls, are actually made in Bhutan, Nepal, India and Tibet. The bowl culture seems to date back to Bronze Age in China somewhat around 3000 yrs ago and at its perk extended geographically as far as Burma and Indo China.
Some sources state that the bowls are made of seven sacred metals. Corresponding to the known
Seven planets:
Gold= Sun, Silver=Moon, Mercury=Mercury, Copper=Venus, Iron=Mars, Tin=Jupiter, Lead=Saturn
Legend goes on to say that the iron was from meteorites found in the Himalayan Mountain tops often believed to be the metals from heaven. Unlike some of the Tibetan sound producing devices whose use is well documented in Tibetan Buddhist Canon, there is absolutely nothing written about singing bowls even though they have been found in both monasteries and private homes. The Tibetans when questioned about the use of bowls are evasive, saying that the bowls are simply vessel for food. (Hence, when women fell pregnant they would eat out of these bowls so as to get a homeopathic dose of these metals in order to sustain their mineral intake). It’s hard to imagine that a handmade object that can vibrate five individual and simultaneous tones, each at its own consistent frequency and can sustain a vibration for literally minutes was intended as a container of grain.
One has to understand the deeper underlying meaning because in Tibetan culture not only were they used to eat out of but they were used as ritual offerings to their Gods and Deities hence the sound had to be pure and Universal for it to be worthy as an offering to the highest order. Some accounts say that if is forbidden even within the monasteries to talk about the bowls and that the highest lamas used them in rituals to travel to other dimensions and other worlds.
The legend says the secrets of sound yield so much power that must be kept hidden. We do know that the act of listening to the sound of the singing bowls stop ones internal dialogue (the intellectual center is suspended and the feeling center is activated) making the bowls can be used to make music, music of different ethic than our western ears are used to. The bowls meditation purpose and other worldly sound challenge our very conceptions of totality.
“Body Therapist, Yoga Teacher, Music Therapists from University Music Departments, Musicians, and those who use Meditation regularly, have been exploring and working with these wonderful celestial sounds.”
Enjoy the experience.
Pic: Sprinkling of water after moving the mallet around the edges of the bowl.
HISTORY
In the beginning wind (‘lung’) moved the great silence & created sound. Through its vibration, sound produced both subtle & gross forms. In Myths worldwide, sound is recognized as the womb from which the visible and invisible emerged.
The bronze Age in china dates from 1600 BC. Small metal bowls’. By the 6th century BC the Chinese, being advanced in manufacture of metal alloys, made perfectly tuned bells. During the time of Confucius in 5th century BC, the ancient kings were very careful about the thing which affect the heart. It place where harmony arises. In those days it was through tones & music in rituals, which brought people inner feeling & external conduct into balance to establish peace in nation. The singing bowl is essential a heart-oriented experience.
Today in Japan. bowls are still used as temple bells without clappers. Small shiny golden bowls with thin walls are generally Japanese bowls. Fairly thin bowls with concave bottle bases are mainly made in India. In Tibetan Buddhism metal offertory dishes & chalices on attars in monasteries, are honored ritual objects. It makes sense that they are special sound, with the offering emanating from a harmonious cradle. The true Tibetan bowl is said to contain more silver and tin giving it a dull luster, whereas the Nepalese bowls have a golden glow.
According to tradition, the bowls are made out of seven different metals.
One metal for each of the planets:
1. GOLD = SUN 2. SILVER = MOON 3. MERCURY =MERCURY 4. COPPER =VENUS 5. IRON=JUPITER 7. LEAD=SATURN
Hot metal was poured onto a flat stone and when cooled, was beaten into the shape of bowls under maximum tension without cracking it. In modern times, the nomadic smiths seen to have disappeared and sadly the secret knowledge handed down is dying with them. Singing bowls produce as many different sounds as there are variations in their metallic content. Every metal manifests its individual sound and harmony – each offering its own exceptional medicine of sound relaxation. These are some of the thing that singing bowls can be used for:
Promotion of the energy balance.
.
Pic: Our Healing Center at Boudha
A MANTRA OF SOUND IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND
How to choose and commune with your bowl?
In ancient times, sound was used as a powerful tool for self-transformation. No less valuable to sound and its counterpart of silence, for who can appreciate light without darkness? They are merely creations of activity and stillness.