\nhttp:\/\/www.onmarkproductions.com\/html\/daruma.shtml<\/a><\/strong>
\nFeaturing nearly 80 photos, this 29-page special report is intended as a primer for anyone interested in Daruma (Sanskrit = Bodhidharma), the founder of\u00a0Zen Buddhism. Daruma’s evolution in Japan (from Buddhahood to Brothel, from Saint to Sinner) is an amazing story involving Japanese folkloric motifs, epidemic deities, fertility, prostitutes, phallic symbols, and gender change. It includes fantastic legends of arms and\u00a0legs that atrophy and fall off. In one story, Daruma falls asleep during meditation, and in anger, he plucks out his eyelids, which fall to the ground and sprout into China’s first green tea plants. Today the armless, legless, and blind Daruma doll is one of\u00a0Japan’s most ubiquitous icons of good fortune. Painting in the doll’s eyes is a widespread modern practice to ensure success in business,\u00a0marriage, politics, and other endeavors.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/april-newsletter-2011-B.jpg\" "\\"Various")
<\/a>Various forms of Daruma in Japan.<\/p><\/div>\n
Updates to Buddha Statue eStore<\/h2>\n
\u00bb SEVEN NEW PRODUCTS ADDED TO OUR ESTORE<\/strong><\/p>\n New Products in the eStore<\/p><\/div>\n Let us pause for a moment to reflect on the terrible misery and suffering inflicted on Japan by the killer March 11 earthquake and tsunami. \u00a0April 28th marked the 49th day since the catastrophe. In Buddhist traditions, the 49th day is of great importance — this is the day when the deceased receives his\/her karmic judgment and, on the 50th day, enters the world of rebirth. \u00a0Services were held around Japan to make the \u201cpassage\u201d as favorable as possible for all those who died in the disaster. If you haven’t given yet, please consider donating (no matter how little) to disaster relief. Visit the\u00a0Friends of Japan Web Consortium – Donation Page<\/a> for a list of trustworthy relief organizations.<\/p>\n \u00bb\u00a0Meetings With Remarkable People in Japan: Shuren Sakurai<\/a> \u00bb\u00a0A Journey to Xiangtangshan<\/a>.\u00a0A clip from a video featured in the exhibition “Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan,” on view at the Arthur M. Sackler\u00a0Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Feb. 26-July 31, 2011.<\/p>\n \u00bb\u00a0Safe Handling Practices for Japanese Hanging Scrolls<\/a> \u00bb\u00a0Kyoto National Museum \u00bb\u00a0Edo-Tokyo Musuem \u00bb\u00a0Tokyo National Museum \u00bb\u00a0Nara National Museum\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/april-newsletter-2011.jpg\" "\\"New")
<\/a>In The News,\u00a0& Current\/Upcoming Exhibitions<\/h2>\n
\nRead a heartwarming story by my friend Steve Beimel (Kyoto resident) about an old Zen priest named Shuren Sakurai who carves NOH masks and\u00a0embodies the Zen philosophy of simplicity, perseverance, and patience.<\/p>\n
\nThe FREER\/SACKLER site includes other videos on handling practices for Japanese handscrolls and hanging scrolls, as well as films on other topics you\u00a0might find useful and enjoyable.<\/p>\n
\nHonen: \u00a0The Life and Art of the Founder of the Pure Land Buddhist Sect
\n<\/a>March 26 to May 8, 2011.
\nClick here to read an English review of the exhibition<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nThe Five Hundred Arhats by Kano Kazunobu (1816-63). <\/a>
\nApril 29 through July 3, 2011.\u00a0Get the exhibit catalogue before viewing the artwork, as the catalog\u00a0includes English descriptions while the gallery labels do not.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.tnm.jp\/modules\/r_exhibition\/index.php?controller=ctg&cid=1<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.narahaku.go.jp\/english\/exhibition\/special.html<\/a><\/p>\n