Dharma Wheel

I now have a kangling (thigh bone trumpet). This one is copper and bronze, and looks quite old.

Again, I was drawn to a street market and it found me, as my melong had found me in the past, but from a very different source.

I know they sometimes come in pairs, but this one looked lonely so I bought it! It sounds 'right' somehow.

Blue Garuda wrote:I now have a kangling (thigh bone trumpet). This one is copper and bronze, and looks quite old.

Again, I was drawn to a street market and it found me, as my melong had found me in the past, but from a very different source.

I know they sometimes come in pairs, but this one looked lonely so I bought it! It sounds 'right' somehow.

Hi BG,

This type of Kangling isn't usually used for Chod. It's usually part of a set of 2 used in Pujas. Played along with Gyalings and Radongs etc

The Chod Kangling is the thigh bone one, also made sometimes of resin or wood. My friends site, Garuda trading, has some really nice wood ones from Bhutan.

I had a really good quality human thigh bone Kangling, but gave it away a few years back to someone going into a 3 year retreat.

Stewart wrote:
The Chod Kangling is the thigh bone one, also made sometimes of resin or wood. My friends site, Garuda trading, has some really nice wood ones from Bhutan.

Personally, I would prefer wood over resin. Wood has been used traditionally, which resin has not and I believe the material is of importance in this case.

Warm Regards,

Jens

Stewart wrote:
Hi BG,

This type of Kangling isn't usually used for Chod. It's usually part of a set of 2 used in Pujas. Played along with Gyalings and Radongs etc

The Chod Kangling is the thigh bone one, also made sometimes of resin or wood. My friends site, Garuda trading, has some really nice wood ones from Bhutan.

I had a really good quality human thigh bone Kangling, but gave it away a few years back to someone going into a 3 year retreat.

Yes, I've seen the Garuda Trading stock - some nice items.

I'm 'working with circumstances' (as in having £5 for a market stall but not enough for internet shopping sadly). Maybe I'll find the other one.

Yes, I agree Jens, I even seen plastic ones somewhere, they just looked and sounded terrible.

The wooden ones from Garuda trading are actually really nice.

Lama Jinpa's "damaruworks" website sells some very good quality wooden kanglings as well. Occasionally a bone kangling is available too...

(http://www.damaruworks.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Terma

Little known fact: you can actually use your hand in the shape of a trumpet. Because you're blowing through your finger bones. So if you can't afford a kangling, you can just use your fist!

How about using a pig´s bone for kangling? I think pig´s thigh bone should be pretty easy to come by. And pigs are pretty similar to humans in many aspects (at least biologists say so).

http://buddhism-for-vampires.com/kangling-chod
Some tips, good to see my look a likey, the scorpion doing something useful . . .

lobster wrote:http://buddhism-for-vampires.com/kangling-chod
Some tips, good to see my look a likey, the scorpion doing something useful . . .

What a great article. I've been admiring his writing lately. And I've been looking for a kangling for a while - this spurs me on. Also a kapala - but that's a different thread.

Incidentally, do the DC use kangling in their Chod?

underthetree wrote: Incidentally, do the DC use kangling in their Chod?

Can do, yes.

underthetree wrote:

lobster wrote:http://buddhism-for-vampires.com/kangling-chod
Some tips, good to see my look a likey, the scorpion doing something useful . . .

What a great article. I've been admiring his writing lately. And I've been looking for a kangling for a while - this spurs me on. Also a kapala - but that's a different thread.

Incidentally, do the DC use kangling in their Chod?

Yes. It's the five-syllable kangling pattern, and it occurs once during the feast. But it can also be done with no kangling.

Better not use a pig bone.

fanboy

fanboy........it makes nosense to blow.

unless you use dig up your loved grandmas bones to use..

that i would love to see..

I'm raising this old thread from the dead to address a question that came up when I visited the bookstore of a Tibetan center not far from my home. I've noticed that of all the materials available for kanglings, resin seems to be the least popular* among practitioners I've met. But at this center, the only kanglings available to practitioners were resin ones. Just like this one, actually--the same dakinis dancing on the sides.

http://www.tibetanspirit.com/all-items/kangling/

I also recall that Chagdud Tulku had designed some resin kanglings that looked very much like bone ones, and encouraged his students to use these.

So: am I mistaken in thinking that there is no consensus on the resin issue? Or is it rather that there are some communities where it's the norm, and others who don't go there?


*compared to human bone or wood. Other materials such as yak bone that you see on ebay... who knows? I don't know. Speaking of ebay, it seems these curly-horned ones are available. never seen something like this before.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancienne-Corne- ... 2ca03b03ad

I can't read French very well, so if it's actually not a kangling, then apologies.

DGA wrote:I'm raising this old thread from the dead to address a question that came up when I visited the bookstore of a Tibetan center not far from my home. I've noticed that of all the materials available for kanglings, resin seems to be the least popular* among practitioners I've met. But at this center, the only kanglings available to practitioners were resin ones. Just like this one, actually--the same dakinis dancing on the sides.

http://www.tibetanspirit.com/all-items/kangling/

I also recall that Chagdud Tulku had designed some resin kanglings that looked very much like bone ones, and encouraged his students to use these.

So: am I mistaken in thinking that there is no consensus on the resin issue? Or is it rather that there are some communities where it's the norm, and others who don't go there?


*compared to human bone or wood. Other materials such as yak bone that you see on ebay... who knows? I don't know. Speaking of ebay, it seems these curly-horned ones are available. never seen something like this before.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancienne-Corne- ... 2ca03b03ad

I can't read French very well, so if it's actually not a kangling, then apologies.

They are calling it a kangling, it's kind of interesting...

I think Chagdud Tulku's point with the resin kanglings is to illustrate it really doesn't matter what the material is. Plus he came up with an option that was more affordable. Generally vajrayana in the west is reserved for the rich and affluent. I am surprised some dharma centers in America aren't selling "Organic Dudtsi".

Depending how dualistic one wants to get...... the materials matter, the mantras inscribed matter, the fact a lama blessed it matters. Ultimately none of that stuff really matters. With a little capacity You could successfully accomplish chod with a cow bell and a hollowed-out petrified dog turd. Or even better with no implements at all. Just one syllable to cut the bullshit.

The bell I use is plain and has no Dakini symbols or anything (looks like a mirror), it's not even five metals. A lot of lamas might say it's not fit for practice, but it sounds good and it helps me integrate into my practice better than my super fancy five metal one.

All of it depends on how you relate and feel with the implement. Personally, I think the resin kanglings sound like crap and are way heavier than human bone. The wooden ones are nice and can have a nice sound. Human ones really have no comparison, but you have to work with circumstances.

Honestly, one of the points of not using a human bone one is so you can travel in airports and not get screwed with because you are traveling with human remains to a retreat. Do you really think carrying a resin replica of a human bone is going to make you look any less weird to TSA?

I have bought a lot of stuff on eBay, but I don't think i would buy a kangling from there. I think most of the ones coming from China are cow bone. Bhutan is the best place to source them, followed by Nepal.

I am pretty dualist with implement stuff though and wanting to use authentic human implements is my limitation. For me, the right implement just shows up, through a friend or teacher. All stuff I have is human and sourced through friends (Or strangely found in a thrift store) and was passed down from practionors with way more capacity than me so I fell more "vibes" from them, but It's an accessory to practice not the main point.

That's good stuff, Reibeam.

I don't own a kangling, and I'm not shopping for one. I always figure if I need a particular tool for Dharma practice, it'll fall into my hands. I've also noticed, for what it's worth, that things go badly for me when I decline gifts of Dharma implements and images.

Anyway, what interests me is how rules that seem hard and fast maybe aren't so hard and fast after all. Different teachers do see things a bit differently, so it's not always clever to generalize what you read online as being authoritative for everyone, always--maybe it's better to relax and ask one's teacher.

It's impossible to have a wooden kangling. A trumpet made of wood is a shingling, surely?

I think it depends on one's lineage and one's teacher. As others have stated these days resin and wood kanglings are available but are generally considered inferior to a good bone one with all the auspicious marks and signs and origin. My teacher who is an old school Nyingma lama says only bone is acceptable. However in a pinch a wood or resin one is easier to travel with and better than nothing.

Call me weird but considering all the nonsensical things people spend money on these days I personally don't mind spending a decent chunk of change on proper Dharma wares. There is also great merit in working and save money to buy such things and I have always been instructed to buy the best quality I can afford. For those of us in the West then, we can legitimately get a decent job and earn enough to purchase musical instruments, statues, thangkas, etc of the highest quality.