A question about bells and clappers.

[gaurdianaq]

So I noticed their are different instruments used for different things during zazenkai (a tiny bell for during chanting, a large bell to start zazen, clappers to end kinhin) I was wondering what the history behind them. Is it as simple as "clappers are easy to carry around during kinhin"?


Evan,
Sat today, lah

[Jundo]

So I noticed their are different instruments used for different things during zazenkai (a tiny bell for during chanting, a large bell to start zazen, clappers to end kinhin) I was wondering what the history behind them. Is it as simple as "clappers are easy to carry around during kinhin"?


Evan,
Sat today, lah

Tradition!

Buddhism has always had a variety of musical instruments, bells, clappers, drums and such. Here is a little about some of them ...

https://terebess.hu/zen/szoto/hangszersz.html

I have noticed that they are often used rather differently by varied places, for example, some places use the wooden clappers to end Kinhin, some a handbell bell or the larger Zendo bell. Some (like the "Ho" giant hanging fish and the "Umpan" cloud) are rarely used outside a monastic setting, and only to signal meals and a few other functions.

Umpan and Ho:



When I was in China, I saw the call to Zazen did not involve the wooden "Han," but was played on the stoop to the building!

So, when in Rome, drum as the Romans drum.

The various drums and bells are typically clocks, indicating who should be where, and do what when.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Jundo]

Oh, by coincidence, I recently stumbled on a nice piece of wood and banger for an improvised "tsuichin," a kind of drum mostly used to "clack" during the Oryoki service. We now have it in the Tsukuba Zendo. I will introduce it next Friday Zazenkai.

The tsuichin is a hard wood octagon about a foot and a half wide and the mallet is also octagonal, four inches long with tapered ends. It evolved from an instrument called a ghanta in Sanskrit.

Ours is more a round mallet and a round piece of log. Frankly, it will not be called into action very often.



Gassho, J

STLah