wishes, dreams, and daruma dolls

daruma dolls are a cool concept that i wanted to share with you. also known as dharma dolls, daruma dolls look like evil little weebils but they have an essentially good purpose.

here’s what a daruma doll looks like when you purchase it . . .
you’ll notice that it has no eyes, and there’s a reason for that. if you have a wish or a dream then you paint in one of the eyes, like this . . .
if your wish or dream come true then you paint in both eyes like this . . .
daruma dolls are usually made from paper mache that has been weighted at the bottom. that way they don’t fall over - a sort of metaphoric design feature meant to reflect the persistence of meditation.

the reason that daruma dolls are so round is that (according to legend) “daruma” who was the founder of zen buddhism, achieved enlightenment after a very very lengthy meditation during which time his arms and legs atrophied.

some other details you might like to know about daruma dolls include:

~some dolls have written characters on the cheeks explaining the wish or the dream.
~the surname of the owner may be written on the chin.
~until the wish has been granted, the daruma is displayed in a high location in one's home, typically close to other significant belongings.
~it is normal to own only a single daruma at a time.
~one other feature you need to know is that it is alright to burn your daruma if your wish or dream doesn’t come true. this is done as a purification ritual to let the powers that be know that you have chosen another route to make your wish or dream come true!
~some people buy a larger daruma each time the previous daruma’s associated wish is fulfilled.

for more things daruma then you need to visit the darumasan blog which has links to everything worth knowing or seeing in the way of darumas.