Singing Bowls in Buddhism

As a religion, Buddhism employs a large volume of icons and various items. Singing bowls are among the most unique and original of the items included in Tibetan Buddhism. Singing bowls aid the Buddhist practice by putting the mind at ease and bringing you into a calm and relaxed state. This alleviates stress and improves the potential for meditation. In some instances, the sounds of the singing bowl are designed to help you fall into an almost trance-like state for your meditation.

Singing bowls are not really used as bowls, and can instead be viewed as upside-down bells designed to resonate tones and sounds. These tones are designed to be used in both quiet meditation and during mantra recitation as a guide. Singing bowls come in a variety of sizes, but the are usually small enough to fit in your hand. Only very large singing bowls, such as 10-12 inches, cannot fit in the palm of your hand and should instead be placed on a large singing bowl pillow or even the floor to be played. Regardless of the size of your singing bowl, the sound of the bell is derived from vibrations and resonations that come from the sides of the bell. The unique vibration that comes from a singing bowl can only be achieved with this type of bell.

Mini singing bowls are smaller in size, and are the size of kitchen bowls or serving bowls. Singing bowls are crafted with a great degree of skill and design and come in a variety of forms. Hand-hammered singing bowls are the closest to the traditional form of singing bowls. They are beaten by hand to form their shape. Cast singing bowls are typically more elaborate in design than hand-hammered singing bowls. Cast singing bowls often have Buddhist symbols carved on the outside of the bowls, and they also come in a variety of different colors.

Although singing bowls are most popular in Tibetan Buddhism, they are also common in India and Japan, where they are used in Hinduism and Zen Buddhism. Although the original evolution of singing bowls is unknown, we know that singing bowls have been used for many centuries. Singing bowls have been found to be used in Buddhist practice all over Asia. Singing bowls were always used in the same manner, regardless of the variations in the forms of Buddhism in which singing bowls were used.

Singing bowls are made from a combination of seven metals. Each of these seven metals is designed to reflect celestial bodies in the sky. (Specifically, it is the sun and the moon along with the planets Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn) Two of the metals yield some rather expensive singing bowls. These two metals are, of course, gold and silver. Mercury bowls are not as popular due to people having concerns over exposure to mercury. (This is the case whether such concerns are valid or not. In reality, mercury bowls are harmless) Generally, the most common singing bowls you will find are tin, iron, copper, and lead. And, of course, such metals are more affordable and accessible.

During meditation, the soothing hum of the singing bowl will help the practitioner drift into a relaxed state of consciousness for meditation. This tone helps you get the most out of meditation. The sounds made by singing bowls are dependant on the size and thickness of the singing bowl. Learning to strike the bowl and how to move the striker around the outside of the singing bowl take practice, but can be learned easily in time.