Tibetan Singing Bowls: What and How to Play Singing Bowls in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan music bowls, often called “singing bowls”, are a kind of bell used in Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Instead of hanging upside down and being struck, the bowl sits upright, and a wooden puja stick is used to vibrate the rim of the bowl, making its unique “singing” sound.

These bowls have been used in Tibetan Buddhism for centuries, and are an integral part of learning the Buddhist teachings as well as being used in meditation to attain enlightenment.

Origin and History

The origin of the singing bowls is lost in the mists of time. There are many debates on where they first came from, and many say that bowls made of the same materials came from ancient Mesopotamia. Similar bowls made from the same seven metals that have been unearthed in Persia (now Iraq) have been dated to be as old as 3,000 BC. However, since there are no written records of their origins, one can only speculate on the mystery of their beginnings. Some say that the great master, Padmasambhava, brought them to Tibet from India in around 800 AD. What is known is that the bowls could not have originated in Tibet, since the precious metals that are used in the making of the bowls are not found in the region.

One thing that is known is that the bowls have been made in Nepal for over a thousand years, with Nepali artisans hammering the seven metals into one alloy by hand, and shaping them into the bowls that are seen in the monasteries of Tibet. Therefore, the name Tibetan Singing Bowls does not denote the makers but are named for the peoples who used them. However, while the bowls are definitely Himalayan made, they were never Himalayan in origin, and this technology came to the Himalayas very late in Tibet’s history.

Making of Tibetan Singing Bowls

Tibetan singing bowls have been made the same way for centuries, but the art has since been lost during the move to more modern methods. Bowls are made more these days by machines, although they fail to get the perfect tone that the hand-made bowls achieve. Traditionally, the bowls were made by hand, hammering out their shape from sheets of metal alloy. Bowls that are more modern are mostly made from a kind of bronze alloy known as “bell metal”, which is a mix of copper and tin. However, traditionally, the bowls were made from very high-quality bronze, with a mix of other metals. This unique alloy also contained gold, silver, mercury, lead, and meteorite iron. This iron, which is known as thogcha, or “sky metal” in Tibet, was highly prized for its pure iron content, with minimal amounts of trace elements. This could only be obtained by meteorite iron, as the atmospheric burn-off removed many of the impurities in the ore.

The quality and composition of the bowls, using multiple metals in the alloy, is thought to be the reason for the high quality of sounds from the antique bowls. Combined with age and design, these three elements are what make the antique bowls so sought-after in the modern market. While modern bowls can produce beautiful sounds, they cannot compare with the unique quality of the antique bowls.