Daruma Memorial Day

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Daruma Memorial Day
(Daruma-ki, Darumaki, Japan)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Autumn (October 5)
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

October the fifth is the anniversary of the death of Bodhidharma, the famous Indian monk and founder of Zen (Chan in Chinese) Buddhism. Heir to the teachings of Shakyamuni, he traveled to distant China, where he spreaded the Buddhist spirit through seated meditation, or zazen. Today, when mental magnanimity is greatly in demand, interest in zazen is rising. Bodhidharma physically demonstrated the quintessence of Zen, and his teachings preserve their vigor even now 1,450 years after his death. On the anniversary of his death, we pay reverence to him and conduct ceremonies, like the Daruma-ki, to repay our debt to him.



As Bodhidharma sits in silent meditation, Huike, whose earnest entreaty to be allowed to study under the first Zen patriarch has been refused, demonstrates his firm resolve by cutting off his own arm. Finally he is permitted to become a disciple. After strict training, he succeeds to Bodhidharma's dharma and becomes the second patriarch.

Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch after Shakyamuni, is famous for having transmitted the true dharma from India to China. Born the third son of a king in southern India at Conjeeveram, near Madras, he was first named Bodhipatra.In order to study under the venerable Prajnapatra, he gave up secular life for the religious quest. Discerning his extraordinary grasp of the dharma, Prajnapatra instructed him to change his name to Bodhidharma.

Succeeding to the true dharma from his teacher, to expand it still further, Bodhidharma traveled to China. Although the date is disputed, apparently he made the journey in about 470. He is said to have been 120 years old at the time. Today traveling overseas is taken for granted. But in those days it was a mortally dangerous undertaking requiring tremendous cool courage.

After a very hard sea passage, he finally landed at Guangzhou (Canton) and was invited to have an interview with the emperor Wu of Liang. Unable to understand the true meaning of Bodhidharma's words, the emperor sent him away. From Liang he traveled to the temple Xiaolin-si on Mount Xiaoshishan, one of the 36 peaks of the Songshan mountains, where for nine years he sat in meditation facing a wall.

It was during this period that he met his outstanding disciple Shenguang Huike, who was to become the 29th patriarch. Bodhidharma departed this life on October 5, 532, reportedly at the age of 150.

Read more about Daruma san here:
http://www.sotozen-net.or.jp/kokusai/friends/zf12_3/zen12_3_06.htm

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There is a lot of information about Daruma san, as he is fondly called in Japan, on the internet.
Gabi Greve even has a Daruma Museum full with Daruma artefacts. The Museum is located in Okayama prefecture, Japan.
As a symbol of good luck and fortune, Daruma is very much part of daily life in Japan, especially during the New Year season.

Part of it is online, look at the essays here:
The Daruma Museum, Japan
Study about the Blue Eyes of Daruma

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Japanese culture is almost unthinkable without the influence of Zen Buddhism and thus, Daruma san.

" For centuries Zen masters have said that Daruma is Zen.
Perhaps it would now be appropriate to say that Daruma is Japan.
In neither case is the definition fully explicable or applicable. Each is essentially a KOAN whose solution is acessible only to experience, not to rational analysis.

This is to assert finally that Daruma is one key to an authentic and rewarding experience of Japan and the Japanese people."



Introduction to the Daruma Museum
Bilingual Essays about Daruma in Japanese Culture, by Gabi Greve
The Daruma Museum, Japan, by Gabi Greve

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

Bodhi Dharma moves
into Mahaa Shoonya ~
mosquito vanishes



Mahaa Shoonya ~ The Great Void
Vishnu Narayanan

More about Daruma and the Mosquitoes

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達磨忌や 上毛三山霧こめむ
　　　　　　　　本田　日出登

赤城山、榛名山、妙義山の３つの山を上毛三山といいます。

Daruma Memorial Day !
The three sacred mountains of Kamitsuke
all in mist
http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~ccw84010/hideto/gunnma1312.htm


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達磨忌や履ふみきりし箱根山

達磨忌の口とりは昆布に山椒かな

Daruma Memorial Day !
Today I eat seaweed
and mountain peppers


達磨忌や寒うなりたる膝がしら

Daruma Memorial Day !
It feels so cold,
at least my knees...

加舎白雄　かや・しらを(1738-1791)
http://www.geocities.jp/haikunomori/chuko/shirao.html

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Daruma Memorial Day -
high in the sky
a firework dances

Click on the Firework to read more Daruma Haiku by Gabi Greve

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sitting in Silence
Daruma meditating
in Japanese



Gabi Greve has a Forum dedicated to Daruma and Haiku.
Haiku about Daruma San
Discussion Forum for Daruma San


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達磨忌や無き物さがす箱戸棚
Darumaki ya nakimono sagasu hako todana

Toogan (1790)

Daruma Day!
a search in the cupboard
for something missing

Translation CHIBI, 2009



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Related words

***** Ryokan Memorial Day


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