Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Cymbals: "Ting-ting-shags"

These Tibetan cymbals, called "Ting-ting-shags," are associated with Buddhist religious communities in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Buddhist monks use ting-ting-shags during prayers to call spirit-beings to offerings.

The ting-ting-shags may have been introduced to Tibet as early as the 600s, when Buddhism was being introduced to Tibet from India. Cymbals of varying sizes and designs are known to have been used in Indian Buddhist ritual practices prior to the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet.

These cymbals are decorated with the Eight Auspicious Symbols.

Buddhism is a religion in which people follow the teachings of the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) who lived and taught about 2500 years ago. Buddhists do not believe in a personal creator god. Buddhists believe in the Four Noble Truths, including that life is suffering because we are attached to our desires, but that suffering and attachment can be ended by living according to the Noble Eight-fold Path (ex. right thinking, right working, right speaking). The holy book is called the Tripitaka. It contains the teachings of the Buddha. Buddhists believe in rebirth after death (reincarnation). Their goal is to become Enlightened, to achieve Nirvana, and break the cycle of birth and death.
Source:
https://omeka-s.grinnell.edu/s/MusicalInstruments/item/3440