Singing bowls are part of the culture of Asia and have been made for centuries, since the days of the silk roads. In The Singing Bowl Book, I write about the spread of singing bowls across all of Asia, from the Eastern Persian Empire all the way to Japan. Singing Bowls are beloved objects that have been collected in the USA and Europe for only a few decades, where they are used in many inventive ways.
Traditionally, singing bowls are found in temples around Asia where they can be used for sound offerings, played either rhythmically as part of prayer recitation, played occasionally as an offering in the Buddhist tradition, or used as a collection vessel in the temple. In many cases, they serve all these purposes.
Sound is one of the traditional offerings in Buddhism and singing bowls may be used as well as bells, drums, wooden fish, gongs or chimes. Singing bowls are generally placed on the lower left side of the altar (the Buddha’s left, which would be your right if facing the altar). Some temples have an area for musical instruments which may also include one or more singing bowls. Many temples will have two singing bowls, one smaller and one larger, either on the altar, in the monk’s seating area, or hidden from view with other treasures.
Singing bowls are found on family shrines in East Asia where they are used as part of daily prayers to ancestors and relatives who have passed on.
Singing bowls are used to begin and end meditation. Often a lower pitch is used to start meditation and a higher pitch is used to end the session.
Singing bowls are used for meditation and prayer as well as in feng shui, acupuncture, massage. They are also used in more modern approaches like psychotherapy and by mainstream doctors of all sorts.
Singing bowls are excellent for group facilitation and are used in community groups, schools, churches and events. Teachers have been very creative in their use of singing bowls in mindfulness, sharing and leadership exercises with children.
Antique singing bowls are the best for two reasons: first, they were made much more finely than anything they can make today. The quality is exponentially greater. The makers put a lot more time into making them centuries ago. They were made thicker, with better shapes, more detail and much better finishing. The overall construction of the best antiques puts them in a class by themselves, as nothing made since comes close to the quality of manufacturing.
Second, the aging process itself dramatically improves the sound and feeling of the vibration. By comparing the effects of bowls from different periods, we can easily see that the older, higher quality antiques have much more pronounced beneficial effects than any other singing bowls. There is a wide margin of difference between the quality and what the vibrations do as a result.
Antique singing bowls benefit individuals in profound ways. The sounds and vibrations have a delightful effect on people as well as the environment. The peaceful sounds of an antique singing bowl make any environment feel calm and comfortable. The effect is quite stunning. Antique singing bowls have a special presence which really transforms the environment.
The sounds also transform you personally. The personal benefits can literally be life changing.
By making the singing bowls part of your every day meditation practice, you get an excellent reminder to practice and a healthy tool for yourself and your environment. The vibrations travel through the air, canceling out stray vibrations in the air. They also reach you and you really feel the warm, soothing vibrations from these wonderful objects. The feeling is very distinct and nothing else is like the feeling of a great singing bowl.
The sounds also reach your ear and the harmonic overtones of the real bronze singing bowls make a rich, complex musical chord. You hear the low, mid and high harmonic, which combine to produce the unique voice of the individual singing bowl. There is a lot of variation to the tones and the harmonic relationships make a bowl sound in tune or out of tune. My skill has always been in choosing the most harmonious sounding singing bowls.
You can also combine bowls, so you get a blending of many harmonic tones together. By combining three or more singing bowls, you get a rich symphony of sound that is delightful to listen to, soothing to feel, makes the environment feel great and brings people together.
Singing bowls are used therapeutically as well. The recent field of “sound healing” is gaining participation as people become more interested in the singing bowls and other sound instruments.
While the benefits are widely known, the real history is often misunderstood. Many myths about singing bowls persist and a lot of false information is spread on the internet. Many people exaggerate the benefits of sound or get bogged down with mystical theories. Sellers tell all sorts of myths and “selling stories” to make their singing bowls sound more special.
The real truth about singing bowls can be found in my many articles, videos and in The Singing Bowl Book, where I discuss how I developed a new understanding of these objects through 25 years of research with the help of top scientists and experts.
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