Each Buddhist based country has created a beautiful temple and Monastery not far from the Mahabodhi Temple. The closest is the Tibetan temple and the interior is elaborately decorated in rich green, blue and red. The Bhutanese has elaborate decoration on the exterior. The Japanese is a disciplined structure, a lesson in less is more. Outside the temple there is a bonsho, a huge bell. It is housed in its own open walled roof structure suspended across the beams with a well beneath. A hanging wooden beam is suspended on chains outside the this bell and strikes a lotus shape on the decorated bell.
This 'Peace' bell is rung several items a day. The wooden beam is unlocked and pulled back some distance before it is released to strike once, taking some effort to halt the beam from hitting again before the tonal resonance has diminished.
The first strike produces a clear sound, which then reverberates and echoes creating a low tonal resonance similar to Tibetan bells. It is a beautiful sound to hear and feel. The sound travels and when it has almost disappeared the beam is released and bell struck again. This happens five times and creates a mindful vibrational atmosphere.
Other temples have a similar bells that start, each after the other, like bird song.
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