The bell falls silent:
The scent of flowers
spreads. – Evening…
Basho
The priest signaled me to ring the bell. First, I gently touched the thick rim of the bell, and a soft sound emerged. Then I swung the beam strongly, and the sound was deep like thunder, powerful like the bass of mighty organs – a terrifying, unusual, but beautiful sound spread far across the hills. Then quickly followed another, weaker and more melodic rumble, and then another, followed by a whirlwind of echoing waves. Just one striking, astonishing bell, and it continued to mourn and cry for at least ten more minutes! And the age of this bell is six hundred and fifty years.
One of the striking facts about Eastern bells is the multitude of sizes and shapes we encounter, from open bells to closed Shinto horns, ranging in height from one centimeter to seven meters and weighing from a few grams to over sixty tons. Their sound ranges from high, like birdsong, to deep, like muffled thunder.
Unlike Tibet and India,
Small and handheld bells are mainly used in China, Korea, Japan, and Burma, while bells of all sizes are used in these countries, and the special feature is large, hanging bells. D. T. Suzuki in his book “The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk” mentions how a whole range of bells of different sizes is used in Zen Buddhist communities, and each of them has a separate name and purpose.
The Vietnamese Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh in his book “The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra” says: The bell is like a bodhisattva, it helps us to awaken… Listening to the bell brings a person back to their core, to themselves.
The bell in the East is a distinctive symbol of Buddhism, just like the image of the Buddha in meditation. The bell itself is compared to the Buddha’s body, and its sound to the Buddha’s voice. The purpose of large Buddhist bells is to calm the listener, purify their mind, and therefore they have a deep tone. Their resonating sound seems to come from a source beyond time and space, like a The isolated bell, separate from all transient things, yet its serene, even tone elevated above the human drama uplifts the spirit and brings peace.
Great Buddhist bells in various parts of East and Southeast Asia differ somewhat from country to country and from the original form that originated in China.
China
It is believed that the first bells were made in China. The oldest specimens were made of clay, but the Chinese quickly mastered the art of casting bronze and making bronze bells (tchung or chung), as early as the Shang Dynasty in the 14th century BC. They also invented and perfected the musical instrument consisting of a series of tuned bells, presumably as early as the 6th century BC.
Bells initially had ritual significance, they were used as musical instruments and to determine the pitch of the Chinese musical scale, and over time they became symbols of social and rulers’ power. Bells were also used for timekeeping and alarm purposes. The resounding sound of bells was. Not so long ago, the common response to natural disasters in Asia was as follows:
A temple in the mountains –
the sound of a struck bell
disappears in the mist.
Buson
Although bells have been in use in China since ancient times, they became prominent with the spread of Buddhism. The word “buddha” means “awaken,” so the bell became the main Buddhist symbol, a symbol of awakening, which found fertile ground in China where the bell already played an important role and quickly became part of Chinese Buddhist tradition. In order for the bell to be heard by the people from a greater distance, its sound had to be louder and more penetrating. This is why larger and thicker bells were created. Striking a large bell produces a deep and magnificent sound that is even more impressive because instead of an iron pendulum, a wooden mallet or beam is used, depending on the size of the bell. There was a saying: “No bell, no temple.”
With the establishment of Buddhism, the use of a single bell as a religious instrument surpassed the use of bell series, and the casting of large bells flourished during that time. The Tang dynasty (618-906) was followed by the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in China. The largest Chinese bells were cast during the Ming dynasty. Emperor Cheng Tzu, also known as Yung Lo, ruled from 1403 to 1424 and moved his capital from Nanjing to Beijing. During his reign, three grand projects were initiated: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Great Bell, which served as a symbol of imperial power and as a support for Buddhism. Many significant bells were created during his time, but only a few have been preserved. One of them is a giant bell made of bronze, standing at 7.2 meters tall and weighing 63 tons. It is located in a forty-eight-meter-high enclosed bell tower (Chunglou) at the northern end of the central axis that passes through the heart of old Beijing. The inscription on it reads: “Cast on a fortunate day during the reign of Yung Lo of the Great Ming.” This bell was used to announce the nighttime hours and also to sound the alarm in case of a fire, and so on.
However, the most famous bell in China is the one hanging in the Buddhist Temple of Awakening, where it was transferred from a long-lasting temple. om se počelo primjećivati da su zvona s rupom na vrhu ljepša i melodičnija. Tako se počelo izrađivati zvona s namjerom da imaju rupu na vrhu, kako bi zvuk bio čišći i ljepši. Uz to, vjeruje se da rupa na vrhu zvona predstavlja otvor za duše koje se uzdižu prema nebu. Kroz povijest, zvona su imala važnu ulogu u kineskoj kulturi i religiji, koristila su se za obilježavanje vremena, upozorenja i svećane ceremonije. Danas se tradicija izrade kineskih zvona nastavlja, a ona su i dalje važan simbol mira i harmonije. Near Buddhist sutras or inscriptions painted with Buddhist thoughts, large bells in Korea have taken on ornamentation in the form of traditional symbols such as dragons, cranes, etc.
Korea
Korean historical records say that many kings were fervent worshippers of “Sakimonji” and some of them immortalized their names by having enormous Buddhist bells made, many of which still exist today. Inscriptions on Korean bells often reveal an expanded belief in the mystical powers of bell sound.
The most famous is the Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok the Great, esteemed for its age, size, extraordinary craftsmanship, and interesting inscription. It was cast in 773 during the time of the Unified Silla Kingdom. This is the largest existing Korean bell, nearly four meters tall, over two meters in diameter, and weighing nineteen tons. The bell is adorned with relief decorations of floral patterns, lotus flowers, and pairs of apsara, heavenly dancers. The inscription on the bell represents a beautiful example of the same. Asian calligraphy and engravings tell stories, among others: … The all-pervading truth of Buddha lies beyond the realm of visible things: its source cannot be seen with the eyes. Like a great sound that penetrates to the farthest corners of the universe, it can never be fully heard or understood. Therefore, to better comprehend its deep mystery, it is necessary to pour and position a spiritual bell in a prominent place to awaken Buddha’s calling… Metal has been collected and a great bell has been cast. Its shape emerged like a towering mountain peak, and its sound was like the roar of a great dragon. Its echoes soared into the highest heavens and penetrated to the deepest depths. Everyone who saw it exclaimed how beautiful it was! Everyone who hears its sound will experience the blessing of Buddha…
Over the past thirteen hundred years, the metal of this bell has acquired a noble blue-green hue, which further accentuates the timeless beauty of the bell. Today, it is preserved as a precious cultural treasure in the National Museum in Gyeong. e koje su stigle iz Koreje. Japanska zvona imaju tanji zid i dublji zvuk, a proizvode se korištenjem tehnike lijevanja u pijesku. Ovaj tradicionalni proces, koji zahtijeva vještinu i preciznost, i danas se koristi za izradu japanskih zvona.
Kina
U Kini se lijevanje zvona koristi već tisućama godina. Početak kineske tradicije lijevanja zvona datira unazad više od tri tisuće godina s dinastijom Shang. Zvona su imala važnu ulogu u kineskoj društvenoj i religijskoj praksi, koristila su se za izricanje ceremonija, obredne svrhe i komunikaciju. Kineska zvona su poznata po svom harmoničnom zvuku i preciznom dizajnu. Osim religijske važnosti, zvona su bila simbol moći i autoriteta u kineskom carstvu. Velika zvona, poput Zvona Mingun u Kini, bila su statusni simboli i predstavljala su veliku umjetničku vrijednost.
Danas se tradicija lijevanja zvona nastavlja u Kini, iako se koriste modernije tehnologije i materijali. Kineska zvona i dalje zrače svojom ljepotom i izvode se u raznim oblicima i veličinama. Zahvaljujući ovoj drevnoj tradiciji, zvona su postala neizostavan dio kineske kulture i prepoznatljiv simbol Kine širom svijeta.
of god, but also the bell-like sound it produces. Both in terms of construction and decoration, they can be considered among the most beautiful in the world.
The Bonsho is considered sacred and highly respected. In order for its sound to freely resonate, the bell is not enclosed in a bell tower like in China, but is usually located within the temple complex, in a wooden open pavilion called a shoro. This bell also does not have a clapper, but instead, a wooden beam called a shumoku is suspended alongside the bell on two ropes or chains, which is swung and strikes the bell at a specific point – a lotus-shaped protrusion called a shuzu. The bell usually has two shuzus on opposite sides, rarely one, and in some cases, four. After each strike, the beam is held back so that it does not hit the bell again. Therefore, Eastern bells produce a much more measured and ceremonial tone than European ones.
Percival Price writes: Japanese Buddhists enjoy its vibrations that penetrate their bodies. In this way, they believe that the sound of the Bonsho purifies the soul and takes away sorrow, desires, and misfortunes. Deep tones of long duration are particularly desirable. duration. With its relatively soft end, the wooden beam is most suitable because it only causes vibrations of lower tones.
Most Japanese temple bells (cast after 1600) were removed during World War II to be turned into weapons. By the end of the war, only about five hundred bells remained untouched in temples due to their cultural and historical significance; however, the bells that were not melted down were returned to the temples they were taken from.
After 1950, bells in Japan experienced a renaissance once again. The largest bell in Japan is now called the Flying Dragon, Hiryu no Kane, and weighs 37.5 tons. It was cast in Kyoto in 1977 and is located in the temple complex of Renge-in Tanjyo-ji on the southern coast of Kyushu Island. On clear days, it can be heard on an island about forty kilometers away. Eisho Kawahara, the head priest of Renge-in Tanjyo-ji temple, says that the bell is most lively during the summer heat, accompanied by lightning and thunder. In early August, during the Bon festival, the bell emits its loudest sound. Every year, tens of thousands of believers come to ring the bells in order to pray for their ancestors. The sound of the bells can be heard in the farthest corners of the world, and following its sound, the souls of the ancestors travel from the land of the dead along a narrow path towards the earthly world to reunite with their loved ones at home altars. The Obon festival concludes with the lighting of fires on mountains around the cities or the releasing of lanterns down the river, allowing the souls to return to where they came from.
Eisho Kawahara says: …Bonsho means sacred bell. Because it is much more than an inert object, an instrument that produces sound. The shape of the bell itself reminds us of the Buddha sitting, and before we strike the bell, we monks bow three times as if we are about to hear a sermon from the Buddha himself. We strike the bell with prayers to help awaken the hearts of those who hear it. There is a sutra that says when the big bell is struck, those who hear its sound are led towards enlightenment. The sound of the bell is the voice of the Buddha… But, the bonsho in determining the rhythm of daily life in the East as they once were, their true purpose remains unchanged. They serve as a connection between the past, present, and future. Those who have already departed, those of us who live in this world, and those who are yet to be born should all hear the sound of the bell. In the not-so-distant past, bells dictated the rhythm of daily life in the East. However, nowadays there are more complaints about the noise of temple bells, and people are less aware of their simple beauty. Nevertheless, the last day of the year is an opportunity for Buddhists to flock to the temples, strike the bell to bid farewell to the old year, welcome the new year, and pray for blessings.
Despite the differences between bells in the East and the West, which reflect the spirit of different peoples and their religions, the bell is sacred to all and symbolizes heavenly protection and blessings that come from above. If we pause amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life and listen to the bells, we will momentarily be freed from earthly worries and anxieties and feel refreshed. Although bells may no longer hold the same significance as before, their essence and purpose remain timeless and profound. And in our everyday lives because the rhythm of life has changed, as well as its priorities, the deep human need for the sacred has not changed, and that is precisely what the bell embodies.