'Kapala' is a Tibetan pronunciation. Its translated meaning is 'skull'. Beads made from leg bones and finger bones are also now referred to as Kapala, but in fact, 'Kapala' specifically refers to the head.
(Tibetan: ཀ་པ་ལ་, Wylie: kapala) is a skull bowl made from a human skull, also known as an inner offering cranial vessel or human head vessel. It is a ritual object used in the Anuttarayoga Tantra for empowerment ceremonies and is one of the commonly used ritual objects in Tibetan Buddhism. This type of bowl is also found in Hinduism, specifically in the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions.
The significance of empowerment is to make the practitioner wise and to wash away all impurities. Some say it helps one to sever attachment to the self. When Vajrayana practitioners hold an empowerment ceremony, holy water is placed in the empowerment vase, and wine is placed in the skull vessel. The master sprinkles the holy water on the practitioner's head and lets them drink the wine, then bestows the secret teachings.
Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana extensively uses human bones to make various ritual objects. However, the skulls used to make Kapala bowls must come from lamas who have achieved spiritual success, crafted according to their wishes before death.
'Kapala' is a Tibetan pronunciation. Its translated meaning is 'skull'. Beads made from leg bones and finger bones are also now referred to as Kapala, but in fact, 'Kapala' specifically refers to the head.
(Tibetan: ཀ་པ་ལ་, Wylie: kapala) is a skull bowl made from a human skull, also known as an inner offering cranial vessel or human head vessel. It is a ritual object used in the Anuttarayoga Tantra for empowerment ceremonies and is one of the commonly used ritual objects in Tibetan Buddhism. This type of bowl is also found in Hinduism, specifically in the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions.
The significance of empowerment is to make the practitioner wise and to wash away all impurities. Some say it helps one to sever attachment to the self. When Vajrayana practitioners hold an empowerment ceremony, holy water is placed in the empowerment vase, and wine is placed in the skull vessel. The master sprinkles the holy water on the practitioner's head and lets them drink the wine, then bestows the secret teachings.
Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana extensively uses human bones to make various ritual objects. However, the skulls used to make Kapala bowls must come from lamas who have achieved spiritual success, crafted according to their wishes before death.