Singing bowls are bowls that are used to promote relaxation. They produce sounds and vibrations when hit or circled with a mallet. Those sounds and vibrations are supposed to help you relax.
It is sometimes stated that singing bowls are ‘traditionally’ made of an alloy consisting of various metals, often seven, each associated with a heavenly body. Those commonly mentioned are gold, silver, mercury, copper, iron, tin and lead (or antimony).
When the Licchavi princess Bhrikuti was married to Songtsen Gampo the 33rd Tibetan King, Bhrikuti took particularly two things with her: a statue of Buddha and a rice bowl to serve for ritual; the bowl must have started the invention of ‘Tibetan bowls’.
The name ‘singing bowl’ was coined by Jit Bahadur Shahi, a trader of handicrafts. He said there was no name for the bata and that he had named it singing bowl because of the beautiful sound it made, and now the name is used everywhere in the world.
The ‘healers’ use the vibrations and the sound of the singing bowls to heal the mind’s burden. Practitioners also say the sound of the singing bowl helps those who are suffering from anxiety, depression, mental fatigue and insomnia. Meditating with a singing bowl has also been gaining the interest of many who are looking for emotional well-being, but these beliefs are muddled as are the origins of these bowls.
Many who come to Nepal seeking refuge from the worldly materialism have fallen for the sound of the metal bowl. With just one ding, the reverberating intensity of the bowl can even make the most sceptic of people consider the profound depth that believers vouch for.