Wooden fish

Wooden fish
Wooden fish
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	木魚
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin mùyú
Tibetan name
Tibetan	ཤིང་ཉ།
Transcriptions Wylie shingnya
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	mõ
Chữ Nôm	楳
Japanese name
Kanji	木魚
Kana	もくぎょ
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn mokugyo
Manchu name
Manchu script	ᡨᠣᡴᠰᡳᡨᡠ
Romanization	toksitu

A wooden fish, also known as a Chinese temple block, wooden bell, or muyu, is a type of woodblock that originated from East Asia that is used by monks and lay people in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism.^[1][2][3][4] They are used in Buddhist ceremonies in China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other Asian countries. They may be referred to as a Chinese block, Korean block or, rarely, as a skull.^[5]

Wooden fish often used in rituals usually involving the recitation of sutras, mantras, or other Buddhist texts. In Chan Buddhism, the wooden fish serve to maintain rhythm during chanting. In Pure Land Buddhism, they are used when chanting the name of Amitabha.

Wooden fish come in many sizes and shapes, ranging from 150 millimetres (5.9 in), for laity use or sole daily practice, or to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) for usage in temples. Wooden fish are often (in Chinese temples) placed on the left of the altar, alongside a bell bowl, its metal percussion counterpart. Wooden fish often rest on a small embroidered cushion to prevent unpleasant knocking sounds caused from the fish lying on the surface of a hard table or ground, as well as to avoid damage to the instrument.