Tibetan Buddhists use bells and dorjes in most of their rituals. The bell and dorje have a great significance in this religion. The bell symbolizes the female aspect of wisdom and Nothingness, while the dorje or the vajra, as it is called, stands for the masculine aspect of compassion. Hence, the bell and the dorje represent both the static and dynamic aspects of Nature Herself, the practice of which leads to enlightenment.

The dorje symbolizes a sudden thunderbolt of enlightenment, the shift in human conscious in the moment when it mingles with the Divine - the fusion of the Jeevaatma and the Paramaatma.

The Bell is usually held in the left hand and the Dorje in the right. To get the Bell to resonate, the Dorje has to be swirled through the inner surface of the Bell. Using the right angle gives the optimum sound from the bell.

The intricately engraved Bell and Dorje featured here are made of brass and serve as both a religious symbol and a work of art.