We held a gong ceremony in honor of you, Elizabeth in our garden at Grace Street. 102 strikes, between the gong and the bell, each sounding individually, representing the yin and the yang, coming together for 36 strikes simultaneously, then each finishing with their separate sounds. It was based upon a Taoist ceremony for preparing the earth for ritual.
We will conduct this ceremony throughout the year on the solstice and equinoxes.
The act of gonging and chiming with the bell are both acts of the Asian art of "listening". The person striking the gong must listen to sway of the gong during repeated strikes and hit it at the angle that stops the gong in its sway to avoid tipping. The person chiming the bell must observe the gong in order to synchronize the bell with the gong AND still observe the sway of the bell to obtain an effective sound. The bell chimer is double listening.
It was a lovely ceremony, conducted for the solstice and the to open our yard to the garden walk. Of course we finished with the tai chi form.
- Lisa
No comments:
Post a Comment