Hey Disco, I'm not sure where you mean specifically. I do know that there is a bowl in front of the statue in the Selunite Temple which is actually in the underdark with the porticullis and laser type set up. For that one, the bowl has nothing to do with solving the gate.
there is a lever on the top of the gate for the lasers, and a lever next to the gate to open the gate itself.
There is the moon puzzle to get to that area, but I think you may have already figured that one out if you collect books.