The meaning of the musical instruments in Buddhist rituals

Bells, Drums, Gongs, and Plates are Buddhist instruments. “Bells and Drums of Prajna” are common nouns used to refer to the great bell (very large bell) and large drum, usually placed on the left and right sides of the main hall, in the manner of “ta chung, huu co”, meaning the bell is placed on the left and the drum is placed on the right. Many pagodas also build towers to place the bells and drums, so the place where the bells and drums are placed is called the bell and drum tower; bell tower (chung lau); drum tower (co lau)…

The sound of the magic instrument

To have the sound harmonized in a rhythmic way, high and low, to increase the solemnity and spirituality of the ceremony, it is necessary to have instruments to act as a means of mutual support in the ceremonies such as: bells, drums, wooden fish, clappers, cymbals, gongs, wooden clappers, conch shells, cymbals, gongs, clappers, and clappers. In addition, the octave music (erhu, moon lute, flute, drum, trumpet, sanh tien, clappers) is also used in the grand ceremonies. In which:

Bell:When hearing the bell, people feel a sense of peace and relaxation, because the bell has the power to bring happiness to the living and liberation to the dead. "The alarm bell": leisurely, warm, if it is too loud and makes the mind agitated, it is not a temple bell.

Drum:The sound of the drum represents the majesty and bravery of Buddhism. The Buddha's teachings are likened to the sound of thunder breaking through ignorance and delusion, like the sound of endless ocean waves reverberating throughout the nine levels and down to Avici Hell.

Wood:The sound of the sutra blends with the sound of the wooden fish, its tone is deep and warm, to stop all delusions and delusions, to open the eyes of wisdom to look straight into one's inner self to transform evil karma into good karma, to transform suffering into happiness, to transform the world into Nirvana.

In addition, other Dharma instruments such as: tanh, linh, khanh also have the same nature as a means to express Dharma sounds to help practitioners develop their spirituality towards liberation...

The voice of the temple

The main tone of chanting is the low tone. We can say that all Buddhist traditions are based on that. In their practice, the Tantric, Pure Land, and Zen traditions have thoroughly developed the methods of chanting and formed a rich Buddhist ritual music.

The basic melody of the chants still takes a deep, warm tone as the basic sound and a steady rhythm following the heartbeat and breathing for the purpose of calming the mind. Occasionally, the master of ceremonies sings in a high voice, but that is only to increase the power of the ceremony. When it goes high, it does not reach the point of disturbing the mind or causing confusion.

In short, there is a basic melody in the chanting methods of Vietnamese Buddhism that the technical term calls "meditation breath" or "meditation flavor"; that is, a warm, rhythmic breath with a liberating tone, causing the listener to awaken and develop a good heart.

To achieve good results, the temple needs to practice diligently: voice tone and breath. It requires a long-term effort from you. It is best to chant sutras every day.

The master of ceremonies, depending on the level of understanding of each congregation, will choose and chant appropriate pieces for the congregation, thus harmonizing the sound and tone to achieve satisfactory results.