TIBETAN THEMES

 

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Avalokiteshvara could be described as the quintessential Bodhisattva, for he is the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and compassion is the distinguishing mark of the Bodhisattva. Indeed it is the overwhelming upsurge of compassion - the heartfelt longing to rescue all living beings from the burning house of samsara - which makes a Bodhisattva a Bodhisattva. Avalokiteshvara is the figure who embodies this compassion raised to the highest power.

Singing Bowls

What is a Singing Bowl?

Singing bowls awaken a beautiful and powerful mystery . . .
They produce the sacred sound of AUM
Their rich sonic vibrations alter space, mind, and time

They are used for meditation and for following the Yoga of Sound
The sound and music of the bowls awakens cellular memory
and permeates the aura with healing energy

What exactly are they?

The singing bowls originated in the pre-Buddhist, shamanic Bon Po culture of the Himalayas - often called "Tibetan" singing bowls, they are actually made in Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Tibet. They are ‘resting bells’ and, as such, part of the Bell family, which culture seems to date back to a Bronze Age in China some 4,000 years ago, which, at its peak, extended geographically as far as Burma and Indochina.

There are two basic ways of playing a singing bowl: you can either strike it with a mallet (there are a variety of these) for percussive, pulsating tones; or you can rub around the edge with a wooden ‘wand’ for a sustained effect (in a way similar to that of rubbing a finger around the edge of a wine glass). With both mallets and ‘wands’ the basic ‘rule-of-thumb’ is that the larger the bowl - then the larger the wand/mallet.

Resting the bowl upon the palm of your hand will usually enable you to appreciate the experience to a greater depth than placing the bowl on a pad or sandbag on a tabletop when using the mallet. Using the wand, we mostly find that, by just resting the bowl in the palm of the hand, the lower sounds will be accentuated, while dampening the bowl by bringing your fingers up lightly around the bowl will decrease the lower sounds and accentuate the higher frequencies, however, too high up and the sound disappears!

The pressure that you use to apply the wand onto the rim of the bowl will affect the sounds the bowl produces, as also will the speed with which you rotate the wand. It’s also true that the wood from which the wand is made makes a tremendous difference to the sound produced by the bowl. Too much or too little pressure, or the wrong speed, will cause a nasty ‘rattling’ sound that most people dislike - and a common complaint from novitiates.

Listening to the singing bowls of Tibet is like taking a 'sound- massage.' There are so many disharmonious noises in our modern world compared to which the sublimely harmonious sound of a good singing bowl is as a real tonic! The ancient art of manufacturing one of these singing bowls centres upon creating a sound that resounds for a remarkably long time, with rich overtones which are arranged in such a way that an extremely long-drawn-out oscillation in the note can be heard: the sound swells and ebbs away again softly, like the great rhythm of the ocean, conveying the feeling that it is massaging or washing clean the listener's soul. There is also the sense of a profound spiritual presence living in this world of ringing harmonic overtones. The very slow dying away of the sound takes the listener out of the actual sound itself to the limit of what is audible, finally awakening us to the inaudible sound within a silence of rare depth that can at the same time be profoundly felt.

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All bowls are individual: differing proportions of metals produce different sounds.

Comes with a ,Wooden puja (striker).

Hear the sound of a singing bowl:

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Singing Bowl

This large 6" to 8" bowl is hand crafted from 7 metals, one of which is from a meteorite! When properly rubbed with a wooden mallet it produces a multi-octave tone, used to focus mental concentration and prayer among some religious traditions in the Himalayas. an ancient tool to help meditation on another level. .
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The Tibetan bell and Djore were created to facilitate centering the energy and quieting the mind.
A wooden striker(included) is used to play the bell (stroking the base) to create harmonious sound.

BELLS AND DORJES

Bells and Dorjes are also a practice unique to Tibetan Buddhism. The bell represents the feminine element and is believed to carry one's prayers to heaven. The dorje is a stylized lightning bolt, the male element, represents illumination. The bell is held in the left hand, the dorje in the right.

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NEWSLETTER

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NEWSLETTER

Each prayer wheel is a personal spiritual tool where inside each wheel you place your own sacred prayers and intentions to bring forth manifestation. Prayer is essential to personal and spiritual growth.

Tibetan Prayer Wheel Copper/handle wood 12" inches $us17.95

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Tibetan Prayer Wheel Metal 60% Silver 8" inches $US 9.95

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Prayer Wheels

In Tibetan culture, prayer wheels traditionally surround monasteries and sacred places. The Tibetan people feel these prayer wheels represent one of the highest forms of spiritual healing. According to Tibetan religious practice, prayer wheels bring innumerable benefits to all people everywhere. One can envision that as the prayers inside the wheel are spun into the wind, they will reach to the far corners of the world.This hand held prayer wheel has a wooden handle and is decorated with images and sometimes polished stones. It is filled with mantras and prayers, with the sacred "Om mani padne hung" written on tiny scrolls inside. It has a chained jeweled weight, and when spun is believed to activate the prayers of the holder, multiplied by the prayers inside, multiplying blessings and bringing merit. Whatever your religion, if you believe in prayer, this object is worthy of your attention.

Tibetan Prayer Wheel Metal 80% Silver 8" inches $US14.95

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Om Mani Padme Hum

Tibetan Buddhists believe that saying the mantra (prayer), Om Mani Padme Hum, out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion. Viewing the written form of the mantra is said to have the same effect -- it is often carved into stones, like the one pictured above, and placed where people can see them.
Spinning the written form of the mantra around in a Mani wheel (or prayer wheel) is also believed to give the same benefit as saying the mantra, and Mani wheels, small hand wheels and large wheels with millions of copies of the mantra inside, are found everywhere in the lands influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.

It is said that all the teachings of the Buddha are contained in this mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum can not really be translated into a simple phrase or sentence.

It is appropriate, though, to say a little about the mantra, so that people who want to use it in their meditation practice will have some sense of what they are doing, and people who are just curious will understand a little better what the mantra is and why it is so important to Tibetan Buddhists. We begin in the next section with some information about the mantra itself.

The alloy is cast and turned to obtain their true shape and pure sound. The casting may include decoration of the upper surfaces - usually depicting dragons or the eight auspicious symbols or 'om mani padme hum' These units come assorted unless specified prefferences are required.
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Tingshas

Tingshas have long been used for ritual purposes by Buddhist monks, nuns, yogis and yoginis. When the two cymbal-shaped metal disks are struck together each produces a ringing sound of very slightly differing pitch. The combined effect gives rise to the unique 'shimmering' quality to the sound.

In Tibetan Buddhist practice tingshas are struck together at right-angles; this produces a loud penetrating sound.

Outside Tibetan Buddhism, shamanic use of tingshas also includes clearing space of negative energies and healing or balancing auric fields. They are also used to define the beginning and the end of a period of meditation.

Tingshas are made from an alloy of 5 or 7 metals which originally included meteorite. Today, iron is used as a substitute for this due to meteors being rather scarce!

 

The eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism consist of: parasol, pair of fishes, treasure vase, lotus, white-spiralling conch shell, endless knot, victory banner, and golden wheel.Groupings of eight auspicious symbols were originally used in India at ceremonies such as an investiture or coronation of a king. An early grouping of symbols included: throne, swastika, handprint, hooked knot, vase of jewels, water libation flask, pair of fishes, lidded bowl.In Buddhism, these eight symbols of good fortune represent the offerings made by the gods to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he gained enlightenment.
from top left to bottom right:

The Parasol (umbrella):

This was a traditional Indian symbol of protection and royalty. The parasol denoted wealth and status - the more carried in a person's entourage, the more influential the person was; 13 parasols defining the status of king. This concept was adopted by Indian Buddhists who saw the Buddha as the universal monarch and 13 stacked parasols form the conical spire of the Buddha or Tathagata stupa. In Buddhist mythology, a jewelled umbrella is said to have been given to the Buddha by the king of the nagas .

Symbolically, the protection provided by the parasol is from the heat of suffering, desire, obstacles, illness and harmful forces.

A typical Tibetan parasol consists of a thin round wooden frame with 8,16 or 32 thin arched wooden spokes. Through its centre passes a long wooden axle-pole embellished at its top with a metal lotus, vase and jewel filial. Over the domed frame is stretched white, yellow or multicoloured silk and from the circular frame hangs a folded or pleated silk skirt with 8 or 16 hanging silk pendants attached. The parasol dome represents wisdom and the hanging skirt, compassion.

The Two Golden Fishes: The two fishes originally represented the two main sacred rivers of India - the Ganges and Yamuna. These rivers are associated with the lunar and solar channels which originate in the nostrils and carry the alternating rhythms of breath or prana. They have religious significance in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist traditions but also in Christianity (the sign of the fish, the feeding of the five thousand). In Buddhism, the fish symbolise happiness as they have complete freedom of movement in the water. They represent fertility and abundance. Often drawn in the form of carp which are regarded in the Orient as sacred on account of their elegant beauty, size and life-span.

The Treasure Vase:This is known as 'the vase of inexhaustible treasures' - however much is removed from it, the vase remains perpetually full. In Tibet, wealth vases sealed with precious and sacred substances are commonly placed upon altars and on mountain passes, or buried at water springs. The symbol is often shown as a highly ornate, traditional-shaped vase with a flaming jewel or jewels protruding from its mouth.

The Lotus Flower:The lotus blossoms unstained from the watery mire; it is a symbol of purity, renunciation and divinity.

The Right-Spiralling Conch Shell:

The conch shell is thought to have been the original horn-trumpet; ancient Indian mythical epics relate heroes carrying conch shells. The Indian god Vishnu is also described as having a conch shell as one of his main emblems; his shell bore the name Panchajanya meaning 'having control over the five classes of beings'.

The conch shell is an emblem of power, authority and sovereignty; its blast is believed to banish evil spirits, avert natural disasters, and scare away poisonous creatures. In Indian culture, different types of conch shell were associated with the different castes and with male and female.

In Buddhism, the conch was adopted as a symbol of religious sovereignty and an emblem which fearlessly proclaimed the truth of the dharma. One of the 32 signs of a Buddha's body is his deep and resonant voice, which is artistically symbolised in images of the Buddha by three conch-like curving lines on his throat.

Shells which spiral to the right are very rare and considered especially sacred, the right spiral mirroring the motion of the sun, moon, planets and stars across the sky. Also, the hair whorls on Buddha's head spiral to the right, as do his fine bodily hairs, the long white curl between his eyebrows and the conch like swirl of his navel. A shell is made into Tibetan ritual musical instruments by cutting off the end of its tip and furnishing it with a mouthpiece and an ornamental metal casing extending from the shell's mouth.

The Endless Knot:

This symbol was originally associated with Vishnu and represented his devotion for his consort Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune. It symbolises the Buddha's endless wisdom and compassion. It also can represent continuity or dependent origination as the underlying reality of existence.

The Victory Banner:

These were traditionally carried in battle. Great warriors would often have banners with their own emblems, the banners being carried on the back of their chariots. Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu) had a banner bearing the garuda bird. In early Buddhism, the banner represented Buddha's victorious enlightenment with his overcoming the armies of Mara (hindrances and defilements). The banner is said to have been placed on the summit of Mt Meru, symbolising Buddha's victory over the entire universe. In Tibetan buddhism, the banner represents eleven methods of overcoming Mara: the development of knowledge, wisdom, compassion, meditation and ethical vows; taking refuge in the Buddha,; abandoning false views,; generating spiritual aspiration, skilful means and selflessness; and the unity of the three samadhis of emptiness, formlessness and desirelessness.

The Golden Wheel: The wheel is an ancient Indian symbol of creation, sovereignty, protection, and the sun. The six-spoked wheel was associated with Vishnu and was know as the Sudarshana Chakra. The wheel represents motion, continuity and change, forever moving onwards like the circular wheel of the heavens.

Buddhism adopted the wheel as a symbol of the Buddha's teachings and his first discourse at the Deer Park in Sarnath is known as 'the first turning of the wheel of dharma'. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is understood as 'the wheel of transformation' or spiritual change. The hub of the wheel symbolises moral discipline, the eight spokes represent analytical insight, the rim - meditative concentration. The eight spokes point to the eight directions and symbolise the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, mindfulness and concentration

"The play of overwhelming compassion being unobstructed,
In the moment of love the empty essence nakedly dawns,
May we constantly practice, day and night,
This supreme path of unity, devoid of errors"

Karmapa Rangjung Dorje

Tibetan Incense Holder

This is a beautiful, Tibetan Incense Holder w/Blue stone top 13". Used for placing and storing incense inside. Inscription on sides is the Tibetan chant of "aum mane pemae".

Tibetan Incense Holder $US19.95
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A must for any incense collector. This is a stylish way to store and burn your most treasured incense. You can close the lid while burning to prevent the ashes from wandering while the aroma is released through the ornately carved holes throunghout the burner. It even has a lower compartment to store more incense. Measures 12 long and 2 high.
$US7.95

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Tibetan Butter Lamp
Copper and brass butter lamp with pedestal.5.5" high and Beautifully made
Copper/Brass 5.75"
$US14.95

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Silver buddha/dragon burner


$US3.99
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Buddha Silver Ring

$US12.95
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Amulete with OM

Medium $US9.95
Large $US14.95
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Amulet with Buddha
inside.
Silver $US19.95
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