Gongs
Like singing bowls, gongs are distinguished as much by the nature, proportion and properties of the metals making up their alloy as by the mastery of the hammering and the accuracy of the shaping born of the master smiths’ craft.
Shaped according to tradition, the Solar, Lunar and Lung gongs rest on an alloy of great purity. Forged from a noble bronze of roughly 80% copper and 20% tin, into whose heart the seven traditional metals are incorporated in minute quantities.
Each metal is intimately bound to a planet, giving gongs their full sonic richness and vibrational depth: copper to Venus, tin to Jupiter, iron to Mars, lead to Saturn, mercury to its namesake planet, silver to the Moon and gold to the Sun.
Beyond the quality of its alloy, a gong owes its whole soul to the art of hammering, an essential stage of its making in which several smiths usually join their craft to shape a single piece.
This majestic, imposing instrument demands a know-how of extreme precision, indispensable to master its great size and deliver an exceptional sound quality.
The vibrational and sonic power of the gong makes it an instrument widely used within Buddhist ceremonies as much as at the heart of Bön shamanic practices.
Whether it resonates during traditional ceremonies or accompanies people in vibrational treatment, the gong unfolds an enveloping presence able to act deeply upon the soul and the memories of the physical and subtle bodies, allowing a work of memory deprogramming.
The exceptional craft of the artisans and master smiths
The mastery and knowledge of the artisans and master smiths guarantee the excellence of the instruments used in the trainings. Born of a close companionship with the lineages of master healers and shamans, these instruments belong to no ordinary trade: they are part of a direct transmission from lineage to lineage, preserving their full spiritual value and giving each instrument a genuine vibrational and therapeutic quality.
The market mostly offers moulded, heavily decorated bowls with an attractive finish; these are generally made of five metals, and when they do contain seven, the hammering is merely mechanical or superficial, made for trade. Produced at the expense of traditional craft, they suffer from a lack of artisanal knowledge that deprives them of any real vibrational quality and sustain.