Tibetan traditional music

Tibet is situated on the highlands of the Himalayas, its history and social development are largely determined by the neighborhood of the great countries of India and China *). All cultural (and often social and political) life in Tibet has been shaped for centuries under the influence of a specific Tibetan Buddhism , sometimes called Lamaism (the Lama is a Tibetan spiritual teacher and master, and the Dalai Lama is also a political leader). The first traces of Buddhism penetrated from India to Tibet as early as the 7th century (brought by the sage Padmasandhala), but its real influence and development does not begin until the 11th century, in synthesis with elements of earlier shamanic and animistic traditions.
*) Chinese influence in Tibet: violence or progress ?
It should be noted that the relationship between China and Tibet is greatly affected in our consciousness by gross political distortions on the part of the Western mass media !; in fact, it's different , it's all more complicated ... In history, Tibet has alternated under the influence of China, India, Mongolia and other surrounding countries. China's influence has always been dominant, even during periods of Tibet's independence. Chinese influence in Tibet intensified significantly, especially in the period after 1950, when China enforced an agreement with the Tibetan government to join as an autonomous region. In 1959, an uprising broke out in Tibet *), after which Chinese soldiers were sent there and defeated the uprising. This was associated with a number of problematic aspects (violence, disputes, skirmishes and struggles on the brink of civil war, the abolition of a number of monasteries under the influence of the "Cultural Revolution"), which is not important to describe in more detail here, because they have been widely published in our country, in a strongly distorted and exaggerated form, and are still presented in this way.
*) Tibetan uprising was provoked by the secret services directed by the Western powers, who planned strategically advantageous Tibetan plateau to establish military bases rocket that would - in the spirit of the Cold War - military-dominated throughout much of Southeast Asia, especially China ...
  However, there are objectively significant and undoubted positive aspects :
- The abolition of feudalism , which until then had survived in Tibet and kept many people, especially in the countryside, in subordination, poverty and ignorance (some even in slavery ).
- Equality of women, which used to be the most oppressed group of Tibetans.
- Land reform of the existing feudal, large-scale and monastic ownership of the land, which was made available to farmers for cultivation.
- Establishment of public education , instead of one-sided, false and backward monastic education. Monastic education has been preserved only for religious education, especially of monks.
  After overcoming the distortions of China's "cultural revolution", these positive aspects became prevalent and led to a substantial improvement in lifeordinary Tibetans. Let us believe that friendly and mutually enriching relations between China and Tibet will prevail and that progress will continue in the future in preserving and developing the true spiritual values and wisdom of Tibet ..! ..
Briefly summarized: A much better life has been established in Tibet than during the time of the feudal Dalai Lama and his thousands of monkish parasites.
  I am aware that these political circumstances into this brief treatise it does not belong to Tibetan music (after all, I am personally apolitical, I only emphasize the ethical and philosophical side ). I apologize here only for the sake of objectivity - for at least a partial correction of our widespread misconceptions and opinions ...

Tibetan Buddhism is a complex combination of Mahayana and Indian tantra *), which gives it a highly ritualized, mystical and esoteric character. Tibetan Buddhism has a number of sects, the main of which are four: minkmapa ("old school" founded in the 8th century), kagjupa (meditative school, founded in the 11th century), sakjapa (until the 15th century), gelukpa (The religious school of "yellow hats", founded at the beginning of the 15th century, has been the dominant direction since the 17th century; the Dalai Lama is also recruited from it).
*) The oldest texts of Indian tantraaccording to legend, they arose from the dialogues of the god Shiva with his wife Devi. The tantric system, which then complemented and expanded between the 5th and 10th centuries, contains elements of divine cult, fertility rites, magic, shamanism, sexual practices. Tantric yoga emphasizes the role of psychosomatic speculation - the concept of chakras - energy centers in the human body (mostly along the spine), "sublimation" or "transcendence" of sexual energy during orgasm into "higher realms of consciousness", which should lead to true culmination and liberating experience.
  Some tantric elements have been adopted into Mahayana Buddhism , especially in northern India. In India, then in the 12th century. Buddhism was pushed out and gradually integrated into Hinduism - the Buddha was then interpreted as the avatar of the god Vishna. However, Tantric Buddhism has been preserved and further developed in Tibet.

Also Tibetan traditional music developed in close liaison with the Tibetan variety of Buddhism - Lamaism *). This religious direction, more than any other direction of Buddhism, is oriented towards monastic life in monasteries with many rituals with a specific color (such as the Mahakala ritual ).
*) This applies to spiritually oriented Tibetan music. Tibetan folk (ethnic) music is completely different, its roots are not in India, it is more like the music of Central Asia and Mongolia.
  The endless chanting of mantras by Tibetan monks takes place in a monotonous "grunting" voice with deep vibrations, which, however, has its melody and mystical impact. There is a peculiar peculiarity in the Tibetan vocal expression - an aliquot of biphonic throat singing . By a special setting of the tongue and lips, it is possible to achieve that when the nasal tone is emitted, some aliquot tones of the basic sung tone are amplified to such an extent that we hear two tones at the same time from the mouth of one singer . In addition to Tibet, biphonic singing is also practiced in Mongolia and mainly in the adjacent area of Tuva and Altai.
Note - Tibetan monasteries:  
For the sake of objectivity, we should not idealize life in Tibetan monasteries (and traditional Tibetan theocratic-feudal societies in general)! Enlightened philosophers and spiritual teachers formed only a very small part here. Most of the monks were poorly educated, their mental horizons not far beyond the mechanical teachings of the mantras, which are constantly tumbling around, without deeper understanding. The motivation for monastic life for most was not spiritual, but rather the possibility of an easier life in a poor country. Unfortunately, in communities of an excessive number of monks, negative phenomena such as bullying and sexual abuse manifested themselves ...

Tibetan musical instruments
The religious ceremonies of Tibetan monks are accompanied by sounds and music on specific instruments. The most famous are Tibetan bowls , which are bronze bowls of various sizes (originally also used as a dining bowl), which resound with the blow of a mallet, after which the tone of the rod can be maintained by rotating the mallet around the perimeter of the bowl. Then there are various gongs (often of considerable size), bells , Relmo cymbals , drums (such as the Nga frame drum ). Often also used shells whose protracted shouting in Munich to pose convened ceremonies.

The powerful sound is made by the long Tibetan ovens ( horns ) of Rang dung .
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Sound library :

Buddhist Meditation
Sings: Lama Card
Vibration of Peace - Meditation Music for Tibetan Flute Starring:
Tibetan meditation - relaxation music based on Tibetan ceremonies Uploaded by: Phil Thornthon
Tibetan Buddhism - .................. ....
Dhama Suna - traditional Tibetan music "gar" ..........
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Vojtech Ullmann