| Although they are commonly referred to as bowls, | | | | Because of all the different ingredients in the alloy, |
| they are technically a standing bell. They are not hung | | | | ancient bowls have a much richer, more complex |
| upside down or put on a handle, but stand alone on the | | | | sound than Tibetan singing bowls made today. Ancient |
| bottom side. By tapping with a wooden mallet, or | | | | singing bowls are still available, but they can be quite |
| rubbing the rim with a leather covered piece of wood, | | | | expensive. Most singing bowls available are modern |
| a Tibetan singing bowl can be made to sound. They | | | | creations, and are not made from the exotic alloys of |
| have been used for centuries by Buddhists and others | | | | ancient bowls. They are usually made from |
| as an aid to meditation, health care, relaxation and | | | | combinations of bronze, zinc and iron. They are usually |
| certain religious practices. They are also more | | | | not hand hammered, but are cast. Modern singing |
| correctly known as Himalayan Singing Bowls, for their | | | | bowls are made in Nepal, Tibet, Japan, Korea and India. |
| traditional ranges of occurrence are Nepal, Bhutan, | | | | If you have ever rubbed a wet finger around the rim |
| Mongolia, India, China, Tibet, and Afghanistan. | | | | of a wine glass, or gently tapped the side of it with a |
| Although they are associated Buddhism, they date | | | | finger, the sounds you heard are vaguely similar as |
| before Buddhism. Some scholars believe their | | | | sounds from a singing bowl. The wine glass vibrates in |
| beginnings were in India. A Buddhist master traveled to | | | | the air, and emits sounds. So does the Tibetan singing |
| Tibet and introduced Buddhism and the bowls to that | | | | bowl, but the sound itself is different. Research has |
| region in the 9th century A.D. Ancient bowls were | | | | been done that suggests that the sounds coming from |
| made from a combination of precious and | | | | these bowls, especially the ancient ones, resonate with |
| semi-precious metals and stones. From 3 to 12 | | | | certain brainwaves and can help calm the mind and |
| different ingredients, including pieces of meteorites, | | | | relax the body. The sounds of Tibetan singing bowls |
| were used to make the ancient bowls. They were | | | | resonate with people today as they did with people of |
| hammered by hand into shape. The ancient metallurgy | | | | centuries past. The music they make is the sound of |
| and hammering techniques to make these bowls is | | | | meditation, calm mind, and relaxed body. |
| now considered a lost art. | | | | |