Singing bowls (also known as ‘Himalayan bowls’ or ‘rin’ or suzu gongs in Japan) are a type of bell, specifically 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 singing bowls vibrate to produce sound. Singing bowls were traditionally used throughout Asia as part of Bön and Tantric Buddhist sadhana. Today they are employed worldwide both within and without these spiritual traditions, for meditation, relaxation, healthcare, personal well-being and religious practice.

Singing bowls were historically made in Tibet, Nepal, India, Bhutan, China, Japan and Korea. Today they are made in Nepal, India, Japan and Korea. The best known types are from the Himalayan region and are often called “Tibetan singing bowls.”

Origins, history and usage

In Buddhist practice, singing bowls are used as a support for meditation, trance induction 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, mantra 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 many stories. Some people say they were used for meditation while others say they were magical tools for transformation of self and of matter.

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 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 as early as the 8th-10th century BCE.

Singing bowls are 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. High quality singing bowls produce a complex chord of harmonic overtones. Singing bowls may also be played by striking with a soft mallet to produce a warm bell tone.

Singing bowls are unique because they are multiphonic instruments, producing multiple harmonic overtones at the same time. The overtones are a result of using an alloy consisting of multiple metals, each producing its own overtone. New bowls can also produce multiple harmonic overtones if they are high quality bronze, but many are made from a simpler alloy and produce only a principal tone and one harmonic overtone.

While it is generally believed that the traditional manufacturing techniques are lost, there are new hand-hammered bowls being produced in the centuries old tradition. The difference is the quality of the alloy and the aging process itself. The tone improves as they age, so new bowls cannot sound as warm and mellow as a real antique.

Both Antique and New Bowls are widely used as an aid to meditation and as a tool for trance induction. They are also used in yoga, music therapy, sound healing, religious services, performance and for personal enjoyment.

Antique singing bowls

Traditionally, antique singing bowls were made of Panchaloha (literally meaning “five metals” in Sanskrit): a bronze alloy of copper, tin, zinc and iron and other metals. Antiques often include silver, gold and nickel.

Antique singing bowls produce multiphonic and polyharmonic overtones which are unique to the instruments. The subtle yet complex multiple harmonic frequencies are a special quality of the high quality bronze alloy. The art of making singing bowls in the traditional way is often called a lost art, but traditional craftsmen do still make singing bowls in the traditional manner in hidden corners of Nepal.

Antique singing bowls may display abstract decorations like lines, rings and circles engraved into the surface. Decoration may appear outside the rim, inside the bottom, around the top of the rim and sometimes on the outside bottom.

Antique singing bowls are highly prized and collected worldwide. Their popularity is due to their fine craftsmanship and remarkable sound. The aging process greatly improves the tone and centuries old antiques produce an incredibly rich and beautiful sound.

New singing bowls

Singing bowls are manufactured today and every year the quality improves. New bowls may be plain or decorated. They sometimes feature religious iconography and spiritual motifs and symbols, such as the Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hum, images of Buddhas, and Ashtamangala.

New singing bowls are made from bronze just as the antiques were. However, the bronze alloy is not as special and does not contain gold and silver as some of the antiques. New singing bowls are exported from Nepal and India. The best hand made examples are made in Nepal. High quality new singing bowls are made in Japan and Korea but are not widely exported.

Hand made new singing bowls produce multiple harmonic overtones and sound much like the antiques. They lack the warmth and mellowness that develops with centuries of use. Hand made bowls do capture the complex and musical quality of the antiques.

Machine made bowls produce only two harmonic overtones: the principal tone (1st harmonic) and an overtone of a perfect 5th (2nd harmonic). The more perfect pitch, due to the uniform manufacturing process, sounds nice but much less interesting to most listeners.

Source: Tibetan Singing Bowls

Tags: buddhism, crystal bowls, japanese gongs, singing bowls, tibet, tibetan bowls, tibetan singing bowls

Crystal Singing Bowls are basically a new twist of a very old idea.

The quartz crystal singing bowls are excellent tools for sounding, sound healing, meditation, chanting, musical accompaniment.

The modern Crystal Singing Bowls are made on a special process which makes them strong and incredibly resonant. They are made from the purest quartz ever available.

Crystal Singing Bowls are tuned up to the notes of the seven chakras, so by playing the bowls we can tune up and balance our chakras to promote health and emotional wellbeing.

A rich, resonant tone exudes from the crystal bowls by striking gently or rubbing them with the accompanying mallet.  Theses tones move through our body in vibrant waves, and then are calming, aligning and healing our energy centers.

Growing medical researches are validating the powerful use of the singing bowls in balancing and healing the human body, mind and spirit.

Source: Tibetan Singing Bowls

Tags: buddhism, crystal bowls, healing, health, singing bowls, tibet, tibetan bowls, tibetan singing bowls

Healing is the state of inheriting balance and harmony with our highest purpose.

Healers use a prayerful, meditative state of awareness, adopting a dispassionate, loving, and sympathetic attitude towards the person in need. They go beyond the individual self-feeling and get united with each other and with the All. They have an immense caring and empathy for the person being healed.

During this state the healer most often doesn’t consider himself to be a source of the healing, but only a conduit through which the “healing” flows from a higher power.

When an organ or body part is healthy, it produces a natural resonant frequency in harmony with the rest of the body. When the vibration of a part of the body is out of harmony, we have “dis-ease”. With “dis-ease”, a dissimilar sound pattern is established in the affected part of the body. When sound is projected into the “dis-eased” area, correct harmonic patterns are restored.
Modern medicine can now measure and hence confirm the practice of sound as a tool to promote healing. Thence, sound is a type of energy medicine that creates the sacred space in which people can get healed from stress disorders, depression, pain, the emotional rollercoaster and more.

There are many techniques of healing with sound. Mantras and chants have been used for thousands years. Many acoustical instruments are used in a diverseness of ways to effect change. The human voice is perhaps the most powerful musical instrument.

Ancient instruments, including Tibetan singing bowls, sound in specific rhythmic patterns to create vibrational sound harmonics at the frequency of AUM or OM. This sound is often known as that of Perfection impacts the sympathetic nervous system as brain waves synchronise to the vibrations of the bowls.
Sound Healing is an effective and proven modality that uses vibrational sound to help reduce stress, alter consciousness and create a deep feel of peace, well-being and better health. Sound has also known to be a vital part of the healing process for cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy and side effects, especially for pain relief management.

During our waking state, the normal frequence of our brainwaves is that of Beta. Sound tools entrain the brain to move into the deeper Alpha and Theta brainwave frequences. These are the frequences that induce deep meditative and peaceful states, clearness of mind and intuition.

Among the many effects of Sound healing - are relief from pain, stress-related conditions, the ability to alter ones consciousness. It is an integral part of curing the effects of chemotherapy, reducing pain and discomfort from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and depression. After sessions patients experience improved clarity, memory, vitality and the ability to take action. Many patients report of body experiences, a deep sense of tranquility, a good sleep.

The harmonical vibrations engage the relaxation reflex and slow up the respiratory, heart and brain rate and disrupt the pain reflex, creating a deep sense of well-being.

Source: Tibetan Singing Bowls

Tags: buddhism, crystal bowls, healing, health, singing bowls, tibet, tibetan bowls, tibetan singing bowls

Singing Bowls are wide used since the ancient times in Nepal and Tibet, mostly by buddhist practitioners for meditation, religious ceremonial music, for praying, as traditional melodic instruments; used for sound therapy, sound massage and as holistic healing tools.
The rich harmonic pacifying sound, tones and vibration they produce, harmonize energy and vibration and aid to get calm and relaxing. In this modern time, these singing bowls are found in meditation halls, are used for home, medical cures, relaxation; they are being used by doctors, sound therapists, sound massagists, healing specialists, yoga practitioners as curing tools and for activating higher brain function, calming the nervous system, clearising and purifying air, relaxing and soothing mind and balancing our entire being.
Singing Bowls, bells, gongs are handmade crafts, made from combination of various metals: gold, silver, mercury, copper, iron, tin and lead, which correspond to the seven planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, respectively).
Singing Bowls are also known as meditation bowls, chakra bowls, healing bowls or Himalayan singing bowls. They had been widely used since ancient times in Nepal and Tibet, mostly by the buddhist practitioners for meditation, ceremonial music, ritual offerings, for praying, as traditional musical instruments. The sound of a singing bowl can be used to mark the beginning or end of a meditation session, or during meditation to focus the mind.
These bowls were used as bowls for rice or food bowls as well, mostly in the Himalayan area.

Singing Bowls produces a wonderful sound when they are hit, struck, tapped or rubbed by wooden striker, mallet or dowel.
The pitch of the bowl depends on its thickness, size and weight. The pitch is fixed but may be controlled by tone and volume by the push of the tap, the hardness of the striking stick, and the pointing of percussion.
You can find various Nepalese singing bowls, Tibetan handmade singing bowls, Nepalese handhammered singing bowls, Himalayan meditation chakra bowls, crafted and handcarved singing bowls, praying bowls, sound therapy bowls, seven-metal bowls, ritual bowls, bowls for meditation, sound therapy, sound massage, healing and more.
Singing bowls are made in different sizes and shapes, colors, they are handcrafted and have carved designs and various ornaments with their own unique sound depended on the metal composition used.

Their designs can resemble traditional meaning, symbols and decoration, like Tibetan buddhist Om Mani Peme Hung Mantra, Asta Mangal (Eight Auspicious Symbols), Dharmachakra - wheel of life, Endless Knot, Dragon carved, Buddha face and eye, Bodhisattva Leafs, Asta mandala, lotus, Nepalese and Tibetan buddhist ritual quotes and modern designs and crafting as well.
It is believed that mantras chanted during the making of a singing bowl are released into the universe when the bowl is played.
Nowadays singing bowls are used for medical cures and treatment by the technique of sound therapy, sound massage as tools for holistic healing, calming the nervous system and revitalizing brain functions. The sound produced by a singing bowl is believed to evoke the Kundalini energy spiral.

To play a singing bowl, hold the bowl gently in the palm of your hand, allowing the body of the bowl to vibrate freely. With the wooden stick (puja), rub the outside rim with a circular motion, keeping a level pressure. Gently increase a speed, the bowl begins to vibrate, and the sound rises. You could also tap the bowl to start out the vibration.

Source: Tibetan Singing Bowls

Tags: buddhism, crystal bowls, singing bowls, tibet, tibetan bowls, tibetan singing bowls