DARUMA

What is Daruma ?

When paying my first visit of the 2000 year to a shrine, I found this doll,"Daruma",at a stall in the precincts.

Merchants and even politicians in hopes of success often use "daruma" as a sort of good luck mascot, since it suggests a spirit that will not be defeated but keep bobbing up again despite repeated failures. They customarily buy no eyed "daruma", paint one eye wishing your disire and paint in the blind eye when success has been achieved.
(But you will hear the voice,"No" when you asked him if you could get any virtue from it. That is the spirit of Zen as described in the following.)

*`"Who is Daruma ?"`*	`"Daruma"is the Japanese equivalent of Bodhidarma, the Indian Buddhist saint of the 6th century, who came to China, bringing the disciplines of meditation. and sat for nine long years in meditation to found the Zen sect of Buddhism.`
*`"I have erected temples and supported monks. What virtue will come out of it ?", Emperor Wu (reigned A.D. 502-549) of the Liang dynasty asked.`*	`Bodhidarma replied, "No virtue. " (Buddhism dislikes to work expecting rewards.)`
*`"What is the principle of the holy teachings of the Buddha ? "`*	`Bodhidarma replied, "Vast emptiness and nothing holy in it. "`
*`"References"`*	`1)Japan Travel Bureau, A Bird's-Eye View of Japan, Japan Travel Bureau(1980). 2)Diana & Richard St Ruth,The Simple Guide to Zen Buddhism, Global Books Ltd.(1998) 3)Daisetsu Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, Grove Press(1964) 4)Katsuki Sekida, Zen Training, Weatherhill, Inc.(1985)`


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