Sutra drum 5 inch

Sutra Drum

width: 13 cm (5 inch)
material: nanmu wood
handmade in China
including stick and cushion

A Zendo leader uses this Japanese percussion instrument to measure the beat while reciting a sutra, mantra or other Buddhist text in the zendo (meditation room). The wooden instrument has beautiful carvings in the shape of the scales of a fish. Two fish heads on the handle enclose a pearl and that symbolizes unity. The instrument is therefore also referred to as 'wooden fish' or 'wooden fish'. The fish, which never sleeps, stands for being awake / alert in Buddhism. So it is an encouragement for monks in temples to keep the attention in reciting.