Tingshas (ding-shas, cymbals) are used as musical offerings in spiritual practices and during meditation practice, at regular intervals, in order to maintain concentration. “Musical offerings” are common during pujas (praying rituals) when a number of instruments are used: bells, drums, cymbals and horns. Musical offerings are indeed standard in many Tibetan Buddhist and Hindi rituals. Today they are used by them and lay people alike. They are used with Feng Shui, meditation, cleansing, healing and alignment.
For what purposes can I use tingshas?
Strike the hand cymbals together and a beautiful, clear, high note will rise from them, clearing the air and creating an extraordinary stillness. The scintillating tone of the tingsha instantly strikes a resonance within the human heart. Their purpose is to summon, they call us to awareness, to remember who we are, and to recognise our priorities in this often turbulent and illusive world. When they are suspended horizontally and struck together, a delightful, oscillating wave of sound seems to pass between them as they reverberate at a high frequency, creating an impressive symphony of evocative sounds.
Tingshas and Feng Shui
Tingshas are also used in Feng Shui to clear the energy present in a room and “open” it by sounding the tingshas in the four corners of a room. A great way to clear energy when, for example, smudging is not possible or appropriate.
Feng Shui
Feng Shui (pronounce as: fang shouee) is an over 3,000 years old philosophy, teaching how environmental factors influence our well-being, and also how negative influences may be altered into positive ones. Feng Shui aims to adapt our living or working environment in ways that stimulate a harmonious flow of Chi (life force). In Chinese philosophy, it is all about harmony and balance between the complementary forces of yin and yang, like male and female, etc.
Tingshas and healing sound
By healing or balancing auric fields, cymbals are also used to define the beginning and the end of a period of meditation. Some say the use of tingshas is like summoning. It brings our awareness into the here and now.
How to store tingshas
As with many altar offerings, we recommend placing them wrapped in cloth when not in use, or keep them in a special tingsha brocade two compartment holder.
Decoration of tingshas
The casting may include decoration of the upper surfaces – usually depicting dragons, the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” or Buddhist symbols like the Tibetan eight auspicious signs. But many tingshas are just plain, shining entirely throught the beauty of their sound.
Composition of tingshas
Each tingsha is individually sand cast and typically made mainly from brass (a metal alloy of mainly copper and zinc) or bronze (mainly copper and tin alloy). While both sounding beautiful, the bronze cymbals produce an even more powerful harmonic resonance that vibrates even deeper through every fiber of your soul.
