29 Jan 2020 HYN Himalayan Yoga Academy
History of Singing Bowls (Dwani Patro)
Most original singing bowls come from ancient Hindu cultures in Nepal and were later promoted to Buddhist areas such as Tibet and India as well. As Hindu cultures, they used to put the foods in different pots typically called Dabakaa, Batukaa, Kachauraa, Baataa, etc. Gradually, they started to make different sounds by playing these instruments. When it produced sounds and felt like singing, people used to call it the Singing Bowl.
Much of the history of singing bowls remains unknown or unclear due to the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s. However, oral traditions date singing bowls to the time of the historical Buddha Shayamuni (560 – 480 BCE). Some singing bowls during this time were used for strictly religious purposes within monasteries and temples, such as leading chants or prayers, guiding meditation, or acting as an offering or begging bowl.
Other times, larger bowls were used for grain storage and smaller bowls used to eat from. As the use of singing bowls spread throughout Asia to places like Japan, Korea, China, and Mongolia, their uses expanded as well. For example, Japanese and Vietnamese Buddhists have traditionally used singing bowls to perform funeral rites and to worship their ancestors.
Singing Bowls Today
For hundreds of years, however, what has remained constant is the calming, meditative state that singing bowls can create. Singing bowls are useful to Buddhist practitioners and anyone else who wants to experience a greater amount of peace and intuition in their daily lives through meditation. Today, singing bowls are found far outside the temples and monasteries of the Himalayan mountains. They are used as tools for meditation or alternative treatment for various illnesses like chronic pain or depression, just to name a few!
Frequently, singing bowls are associated with sound therapy and sound baths or massages. For human beings, sound is a vehicle that can help us arrive at a healthier state of being, both physically and mentally. It also allows us to explore and express the feelings we keep inside of us. For this reason, singing bowls are becoming increasingly popular in treating anxiety disorders, depression, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. The vibrations work throughout our bodies, massaging, cleansing, and purifying, while the calm meditative state allows individuals to search within and find what ails them.
When researching the benefits of using a singing bowl, you are likely to find it linked with cancer treatment. While the use of singing bowls is not a scientifically-backed treatment for diseases such as cancer, they have been noted to greatly improve the symptoms of the illness and treatment for cancer patients who have used Tibetan singing bowls as a part of their healing process. In a case such as this, singing bowls are not intended to heal the body of the cancerous cells but rather provide relief and balance to other parts of the mind and body. Using a singing bowl in this way is similar to drinking fluids and resting when sick—it does not cure you of your sickness, but it alleviates the symptoms and helps your recovery along the way.