Chiming Tones: The Tibetan Tingsha Bells
Tingsha bells are categorized into four principal varieties: Tibetan, Han, Nepalese, and Hor. Within the Hor tradition, materials such as jalandhara wood and kunma are referenced, and a threefold classification is proposed. Among the Nepalese Tibetan bells, those with a somewhat thinner rim produce a more pleasant tone. These examples are recognized as distinct from old Tibetan Tingsha bells.
This text is drawn from The White Lotus of Elegant Speech: Abridged Edition (legs par bshad pa padma dkar po'i chun po) (1981; Gangtok edition). Hor-style tingsha are further broken down into three subtypes (details appear below). Relative to Nepalese tingsha, the classic Tibetan variant has thicker crowns and more melodious tones. The instrument in question is a single-form ritual cymbal, belonging to the same cymbal category as tingsha bells, and known in Tibetan as "khro lo" or "shang.
For close to a thousand years, Tingsha (ritual cymbals) have endured as one of the most refined instruments in Tibetan Buddhism, their delicate ringing beginning in the hand and echoing outward. When examining ritual objects, five key aspects—Title, Type, Origin, Function, and Symbolism—must be carefully considered.
In tantric practice, the paired form of the instrument often symbolizes the union of deities. The term itself—called ཏིང་ཤག་ or ཏིང་ཤགས་ (Tingshag) in Tibetan, with alternative spellings such as ཏིང་ཏིང་ཤག་, ཐིང་ཤགས་, and གཏིང་བཤགས་—roughly translates to "the paired objects that produce a 'ting-ting' sound." Subsequently, scholars broadened this interpretation to describe it as "an instrument that brings one into meditative equipoise (ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་, ting nge dzin).
Tibetan tingsha's prototype comes from South Asian cymbals, which were initially employed as indicators of rank or for begging alms. Its standardization as a ritual implement is generally assigned to Translator Dromi (འབྲོག་མི་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ་ཤཱཀྱ་ཡེ་ཤེས་, 992–1072), although certain classical writings note that assorted tingsha forms were already present in Tibet during the Early Diffusion of Buddhism. As legend has it, both Dromi's teacher Gayadhara (ག་ཡ་དྷ་ར་) and the Second Karmapa (1204–1283) were proficient in its usage.
Their chime gathers devotees, and their resonance invites deep absorption within religious musical settings such as Mani chanting. Through the sonic field produced by tingsha, Sound manifests what is profound, clears away afflictions, and embodies wisdom. Tibetan tradition has made these objects sacred instruments, employed in water offerings (chötrül) and daily mantra recitation.
According to the writings of Jinmei Linba and "The White Lotus of Elegant Speech," bell cymbals are generally grouped by Tibetan craftsmen into four types: Hall-style, Central Plains-style, Nipalos-style, and Tibetan-style. Within these, the Hall-style is subdivided into three categories, noted for producing the finest sound and traced back to the legendary singing bird/commanding bird. This classification applies especially to studies of ritual instruments in Tibetan craftsmanship.
In the scriptures, each of the remaining three bell cymbal types is described as having its own distinctive traits for identification. Here, the explanation of "Hall" (ཧོར་) varies a bit from earlier ones, with "Sahall" (ཟ་ཧོར་) being considered the interpretation in some instances.
Based on historical context, where specific analysis is needed, "Hall" generally signifies the north. As for "Sahall," it commonly points to the modern-day Dakar region of Bangladesh and, on occasion, may encompass the Indian subcontinent's northwest, which is linked to Central Asia. Six common criteria are used to distinguish bell cymbals (bell gongs): the dimensions of the bell top, the thickness of both the bell top and the bell edge, ornamental surface designs, the materials used, and differences in acoustic output.
Compared with a standard Hall-style model—one variant within that style—Nipalos-style bell cymbals, for instance, have a bell top that is smaller, higher, and thinner, along with thinner bell edges, less elaborate surface decoration, and a bright tone resulting from the black material they are made of. In contrast, Tibetan-style bell cymbals, when compared with Nipalos bell cymbals, possess bell tops that are larger, shorter, and thicker, as well as thinner bell edges, fewer decorative details, and a deeper sound.
Among the Five Sensual Offerings, tingsha commonly represent "sound," as do other sacred ritual instruments. Ritual cymbals can be divided into three categories: Silnyen (སིལ་སྙན་), held by the crown; Rolmo (རོལ་མོ་), commonly used as a general term for cymbals and alternatively called Chalang (ཆ་ལང་) or Bubchal (སྦུབ་ཆལ་) with subtle distinctions; and Tingsha (ཏིང་ཤག་), which is sometimes classified separately.
To awaken wisdom through Dharma-inspired melodies, the human-headed divine bird (Jīvaṃjīvaka / བྱ་ཤང་ཤང་), whose Tibetan name underscores its musical character, plays cymbals and carries heavenly music to earth, while celestial offering goddesses hold various instruments.