It is basically divided into four traditions namely, Nyingma, Kagyu, Gelug and Sakya. These schools include the teachings of the three Buddhism vehicles that are the foundational vehicle, the Mahayana and the Vajrayana. In Gelug, however, Vajrayana is considered to be a part of Mahayana.

According to legends popular in Tibet, Buddhist scriptures mainly Karandavyuha Sutra and relics like Cintamani were brought to Tibet in the fifth century when Lha Thothori Nyantsen ruled. The tale which describes the arrival of these scriptures is based on fantasy; however, researchers believe it to have a historical background which was the arrival of Buddhist missionaries to Tibet.

Tibetan Buddhism History

The earliest influence which seems to be well documented of Buddhist culture on Tibet is observed in the rule of the king Songtsan Gampo who married a Buddhist princess, Wencheng of the Tang dynasty, in the seventh century. Another legend suggests that Songtsan Gampo also married another Buddhist princess, Bhikruti, who was from Nepal but the documentation is not reliable.

Temples of Tibetan Buddhism

Songstan Gampo established the first Buddhist temples in Tibet. By the second half of the 8th century, he was regarded as the embodiment of bodhisattava Avalokiteshvara. In the 8th century, King Trisong Detsen established Buddhism as the state’s official religion. He even invited several Buddhist scholars to his court. During his reign, Padmasambhava arrived in Tibet.

Padmasambhava is believed to have established the old school – Nyingma in Buddhism and has also written several scriptures. A strong exertion of Tibetan Buddhism was observed in countries of central Asia, mainly Mongolia during the 11th century AD.

Tibetan Buddhism Meditation

According to the tradition of Mahayana, the paragon destination of spiritual development lies in achieving enlightenment also called Buddhahood so that one can efficiently help other beings achieve this state. A partial definition of Buddhahood is the state of omniscience in accordance with the Buddhist principle that the mind creates everything.

Tibetan Buddhism Beliefs

On the attainment of Buddhahood, all confusions of the mind clear leading one to the true form of reality, which makes one experience a never ending state of bliss blended with the knowledge of emptiness. It is believed that one who attains this state is capable of removing all his limitations to help other living beings.

It is supposed that there have been many beings who have  reached the heights of Buddhahood. Buddhas’ main aim is to perform activities that benefit all other sentient beings in the world. However, the karmas of sentient beings often prevent Buddhas to help them. Thus, even if Buddhas are devoid of limitations in their ability to help others, it is the sentient beings themselves who limit their help and suffer from the consequences of their own bad actions.

Tibetan Buddhism

The spread of Buddhism to countries like Nepal and certain parts of India can be attributed to the military attacks by People’s republic of China on Tibetan Troops in May, 1950. After generals Tan Guansan and Zhang Guohua reached Lhasa on 26th October, 1951, thousands of troops marched towards Lhasa.

All this led to armed aggression in the later decade. The uprising against the Chinese failed and led to the exile of more than eighty thousand Tibetans, mainly, Buddhist clergy members to India. A few migrated to the west due to which Tibetan Buddhism spread to several western countries where it is popular till date.

Effects of Tibetan singing bowl – Singing bowls of high quality produce complex and harmonic overtones. When struck with a soft mallet, they produce the tone of a warm bell. In Asian countries where Buddhist religion is practiced, during prayers, the sounds they produce are meant to induce hypnotic meditative trance and are believed to be a method to get blessings from the spiritual world.

Nowadays, they are used all over the world irrespective of the spiritual traditions as a part of alternative health care therapies, meditation, relaxation and religious purposes. They are also used in music therapy, yoga, for performance and simply for entertainment purposes. History suggests they were traditionally made in Tibet, Japan, China, India, Korea and Nepal. Presently, they are made in Korea, Japan, India and Nepal.

Rare & Antique Tibetan Singing Bowls

Buddhists in China, Japan and Vietnam prefer to use the singing bowl while chanting when the bowl is struck at the singing of a hymn or mantra. They also signal changes in activity or just mark the elapsed time. Their use in Tibetan culture has the support of various folklores, which describe them as magical tools to transform the matter and self..

Some singing bowls are made from quartz and crystal. But the authentic Tibetan one which the purists consider as the only true singing bowls are made of alloys consisting of several metals are multi-phonic as each metal generates its own harmonic tone, simultaneously resulting in multiple harmonic tones. New bowls of high quality bronze have this property but most new bowls are made of simpler alloys that produce just one or two overtones. The sound improves as the bowls age. This is the reason why new bowls don’t sound as warm as the antiques.

Antique Tibetan singing bowls were made of an alloy of five metals usually bronze, tin, copper, zinc and iron. I have heard of the even rarer Seven Metals singing bowls of Tibet but I need to research more them. Many antiques made from gold, silver and nickel have also been found. The traditional manufacturing techniques are lost but people making new hand-hammered bowls using the traditions are still found in places like the hidden corners of Nepal. The antique singing bowls feature decorative circles, lines and rings that are engraved onto the surface.

The west is yet to explore them because the written and oral traditions of the Himalayan region are mostly beyond the knowledge of the west. Several statues and paintings have been found in the Himalayan region, which depict the use of these bowls. The private collections of a few people have singing bowls dating to 10th and 12th centuries.

The tradition is believed to suggest the existence of these bowls to be older than these centuries. A few bronze bells have been discovered in Asia, which date back to 8th and 10th centuries BCE. The popularity of these rare Tibetan singing bowls as a collector’s item has increased manifold. The popularity is due to the brilliant craftsmanship and the hypnotic sound effect they produce.