Priest's bell

A small, richly decorated priest's bell from Indonesia. The bronze hand bell was used in BuddhistBuddhismBuddhism is the religion of the followers of Buddha, who lived in the plains of Northern India, around the river Ganges in the 6th century BC. The essence of Buddhism is to achieve Enlightenment. This is the state of release from the suffering of existence, of escape from the spiral of reincarnation. A Buddhist can achieve this by fulfilling life's various functions correctly, for example by making the right decisions and by meditating in the proper manner. Buddhism spread from Northern India across large parts of Asia, to Southern India, Southeast Asia, the Indonesian archipelago, China, Korea and Japan. In the course of time numerous cults and movements emerged within Buddhism that often differed considerably. In Northern India Buddhism was replaced in the 12th century by Islam, while in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia it continued to prosper. Islam also replaced Buddhism on the Indonesian islands, but in China, Korea and Japan the latter still remains the dominant religion. rituals. Such hand bells are still used by Buddhist priests, for instance in Bali, Nepal and Tibet. But they are rarely as finely executed as this example. The priest's bell consists of three parts: the domed body of the bell itself, the handle and the top. Four adjacent heads form the handle. The upper part (varja) consists of four sickle-shaped protrusions around a pin.