The Saga of the Singing Bells

[Guest guest]

I was talking about Bells. Bells have always fascinated me. The school

in my town had a big bell which used to ring at 10.A.M and 5.00 P.M.

The entire town used to set their watches by the bell, which was heard

all over the town. Huge bell in a belfry. The older temples in south

India have huge Bells, which ring during the Deeparadhana three times

a day. The sound of the bells helps in Meditation.

 

Actually when it comes to bells the Cathedrals and Churches have the

best. In the British Isles they have been practicing the Art Of Change

ringing for a very long time now. You can read about here

http://www.cccbr.org.uk/ Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a detective novel

THE NINE TAILORS (1934) based on Bell Ringing.

 

Now back to Temple Bells. In my native place once a year an Old

Wandering Sadhu used to come. He would stand in front of the house,

take out his bell, ring it twice, and then pass a wooden stick around

the bell. This would produce a humming sound that would increase in

volume. The Sadhu was treated with respect and my Grandmother would

give him rice. He was called Siddhasan in Tamil.

 

I wanted to buy this kind of bell for our Puja. My wife had not seen

this kind of bell. Then one day when we were looking in an antique

shop in Mussori (a hill station near Delhi) the shopkeeper produced a

bell and repeated what the wandering Sadhu did. I bought a big bell

though it was too big for Puja. Later on I got a smaller one for our

Puja.

Now I know that these are the Tibetan Singing Bells

 

<<According to Tibetan oral tradition, the existence of singing bowls

dates back to the time of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni (560 - 480

B.C.). The tradition was brought from India to Tibet, along with the

teachings of the Buddha, by the great tantric master Padmasambhava in

the 8th century A.D.

Singing bowls produce sounds which invoke a deep state of relaxation

which naturally assists one in entering into meditation, the ultimate

goal being enlightenment. They are a quintessential aid to meditation,

and can be found on private Buddhist altars, and in temples,

monasteries and meditation halls throughout the world.

A metallurgical analysis, done by the British Museum in London,

reveals that the instruments are made of a 12-metal alloy consisting

of silver, nickel, copper, zinc, antimony, tin, lead, cobalt, bismuth,

arsenic, cadmium and iron. Now a lost art, it appears that this

quality of bell bowl cannot be reproduced today.>>

 

Read about the singing bells here. But the site shows only singing

bowls.

http://www.bodhisattva.com/about.htm

 

You see the Bells here.

http://www.ninja-weapons.com/Decorative/Tibetan_Accessories/TBBL002.shtml

 

One of the good source of materials for the shrine are the Buddhist

stores. You have many of them in U.S. See here

http://dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Buddhism/Lineages/Tibetan/Merc\

handise/

 

So if you can, get a Singing Bell. Introduced by the great

Padmasambhava (one of my favourite heroes) this has turned the

Tibetans, once one of the fiercest warrior race, to a peace loving

people.

 

Jai MAA !!!