2025 Holiday Special
Buy 2 or more items, get an original Shi-Zen Daruma for free
Details:
What is a Daruma?
These traditional figurines have been made since the Edo period and are supposed to look like Bodhidharma, the Legendary monk who brought the teachings of the buddha from India to China more than 1,500 years ago.
He is considered to be the grandfather of Zen Buddhism, and is thus a very important figure in Japan.
Daruma figurines represent perseverance while striving towards a goal.
When you first get one, the eyes are blank.
You decide a goal or aspiration you want to achieve, and draw in the left eye.
Then, until you reach that goal, the one-eyed Daruma serves as a visual reminder to keep on persevering.
Once you achieve your goal, you fill in the second eye, and (eventually) take the Daruma to a temple to return as an offering.
Daruma represent perseverance because of a famous story where Bodhidharma he was said to have spent 9 years meditating while facing a cave wall.
His hair and beard grew wild and his limbs atrophied, but he kept on sitting, determined to achieve enlightenment.