Singing Bowl - Origins, History and Usage

Origins, History and Usage

In Tibetan Buddhist practice, singing bowls are used as a signal to begin and end periods of silent meditation. Some practitioners, for example, Chinese Buddhists use the singing bowl to accompany the wooden fish during chanting, striking it when a particular phrase is chanted. 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, for example changing from sitting to walking meditation. In Japan, singing bowls are used in traditional funeral rites and ancestor worship. Every Japanese temple holds a singing bowl. Singing bowls are found on altars and in meditation rooms worldwide.

The oral and written traditions from the Himalayan region are vast and largely unknown in the West. It is unknown whether there are any traditional texts about singing bowls. All known references to them are strictly modern. However, a few pieces of art dating from several centuries ago depict singing bowls in detail, including Tibetan paintings and statues. Some Tibetan rinpoches and monks use singing bowls in monasteries and meditation centers today. Singing bowls from at least the 15th century are found in private collections. The tradition may date significantly earlier since bronze has been used to make musical instruments for thousands of years. Bronze bells from Asia have been discovered as early as the 8th–10th century BC and singing bowls are thought to go back in the Himalayas to the 10th-12th century AD (Feinstein, 2011).

Singing bowls are played by striking the rim of the bowl with a padded mallet. They can also be played by the friction of rubbing a wood, plastic, or leather wrapped mallet around the rim of the bowl to emphasize the harmonic overtones and a continuous 'singing' sound.

Singing bowls produce a unique sound and also physical vibration that can be felt.

Both antique and new bowls are widely used as an aid to meditation. They are also used in yoga, music therapy, sound healing, religious services, performance and for personal enjoyment.