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Singing Tibetan Bowls- History and Origin

Singing Tibetan Bowls- History and Origin:

Legend has it that the ancient Tibetan singing bowls were molded out of a meteorite that landed on the Tibetan plateau long ago. Those earliest bowls are believed to have produced a powerful sound waves when applied friction on it. These sound waves had magical healing properties, such as relieving stress, energizing the chakras on the body among others. Thus the tradition of crafting more of these bowls began to take root thereafter.

Ancient Tibetan folklore denotes the presence of singing tibetan bowls during the era of Shakyamuni Buddha, twenty six centuries ago. It is believed to have been originated in Tibet and later adopted in Nepal with the advent of Buddhism. The famous Tantric guru, Padmasambahava of the eighth century popularized the usage of singing tibetan bowls. According to Lama Lobsang Molam, the previous Buddha used this relic to naturally assist meditative trance and avoid negative karma from distracting his concentration, ultimately leading him to Enlightenment i.e Nirvana.  Little is known in the west about the original usage of singing bowls. Perry (1996) and Jansen (1992) conducted a research on Himalayan singing bowls stating that  they were likely used in rituals, holding a definite function similar with other instruments (such as the ghanta ,tingsha and shang.The oral and scriptural traditions of the Himalayan communities are vast and undiscovered until recently in the west. Till today, there are no specific documents focusing on the use of singing bowls in detail, but referring to research of Joseph Feinstein, paintings and statues dating from several centuries ago portray singing bowls from at least the 10th-12th century in private collections. The tradition may date much earlier than that because bronze has been used to manufacture musical instruments since ancient times. Bronze bells from Asia dating back three thousand years have already been discovered (Feinstein, 2006).

In countries like China, Japan and Vietnam singing bowls evolved into various shapes and were associated with chanting of hymns to signal passage of time or change of activities. A metallurgical research, conducted  by the British Museum of London, discovered  that the oldest instruments are made of a 12-metal alloy consisting of silver, nickel, copper, zinc, antimony, tin, lead, cobalt, bismuth, arsenic, cadmium and iron. Creating such a rare metal is now a lost art, it is apparent that those kinds of special singing bowl cannot be reproduced today. Singing tibetan bowls generate sound waves that invoke a profound sense of trance which naturally relaxes a person, making him ready to enter meditative state of mind. Buddhist monks throughout the ages have been assisted by this classic instrument to aid in meditation. Altars of temples and monasteries around Asia keep singing bowls. It has become an ideal choice for Buddhist monks and novices alike. In Tibetan culture, there is a belief that the type of sound resonated from a healing bowl reveals your level of karma (one’s spiritual status). If you have bad karma, the healing bowl would give a short and unpleasant sound. On the contrary, if you possess good karma from your past lives, the sound will be long reverberating and soothing to hear. Singing bowls also have been referred to as ‘magic bowls’ in the past because these bowls allegedly had the alchemical power to transform ordinary metal into gold.

Ancient Himalayan bowls of antiquity were composed of seven sacred metals found in Tibetan plateau. Gold, Mercury, Venus, Silver, Iron, Tin, and Lead are the key components that form the metal bronze by which traditional singing bowls used to be made in ancient times. These metals are key alloys of bronze. Each of them represents a celestial planet and zodiac signs.

The following table displays the seven sacred metals and their interrelation with celestial planets and zodiac signs:

1.       Gold – Sun – Leo

2.       Mercury- Mercury – Virgo/Gemini

3.       Silver – Moon – Cancer

4.       Iron – Mars – Scorpio/Aries

5.       Lead – Saturn -  Capricorn/ Aquarius

6.       Tin – Jupiter – Sagittarius/ Pieces

7.       Copper- Venus- Taurus / Libra

Related Websites:

Living Buddha

Buddha Canvas Art

Old Buddha

Tibetan Singing Bowls for Sale


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