གཎ་ཌའ་མད intro.3

intro.3

The gaṇḍī, sometimes misleadingly translated into English as “gong,” refers to a wooden beam cut from specific trees to particular proportions. From as early as the first century ce down to the present day, it has been widely used in Buddhist monasteries as an instrument for summoning monks to assembly.³ To hear its sound is said to quell all disruptive thoughts, dispel obstacles, and pacify all conflicts and negative forces. The role of the gaṇḍī in Buddhist monastic life appears to have been quite varied, extending to both nontantric and tantric forms of ritualism and daily life. As an example of its diverse functions in the day-to-day monastic itinerary, the Vinayavastu classifies five different types or uses of the gaṇḍī: the gaṇḍī for assembling monks, the gaṇḍī for meetings, the gaṇḍī for death ceremonies, the gaṇḍī for renunciation, and the gaṇḍī for emergencies.⁴