The Singing Bowl

In Japan they are called ring gongs

In China and Tibet they are called singing bowls

Usually hand hammered brass bowls

Enthroned on a round ornate pillow

With a hard wooden striker. 

The ancient Chinese believed

That the bowls collect our prayers

And when struck send them to Heaven

The one I have was given to me

By one who loved me and has gone on her way

Through the gateway of the Summer Stars.

By what ever name you call them

They are used to begin and end

A period of sitting meditation

One strike signifying the beginning of the period

Three strikes signifying the end.

The one strike reminds us of the unity of all things

The three, oh yes, the three signify so much to me.

The three refuges of the Christian:

I take refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ

I take refuge in His Holy Gospel

I take refuge in His Holy Church

The three refuges of the Buddhist:

I take refuge in the Buddha

I take refuge in the Dharma

I take refuge in the Shanga

And as the last sounds fades into silence

I am not filled with the peace

That so many seek and find in meditation

But rather an enormous sense of Gratitude

That I have traveled

In the company of such Giants

September 25, 2006