The Story of Daruma

Daruma is the Japanese name given to Bodhidharma, the famous, if semi-mythical, Buddhist monk and founder of Zen. According to legend, Bodhidharma was born to a high caste Indian family sometime in the 5th century AD, although he abandoned the life of his caste for the discipline of a wandering Buddhist monk. In the year 520 he is said to have landed on the coast of China near Canton where he had a famous encounter with the Emperor Wu, a devoted Buddhist and renowned philanthropist:

Wu: 'What do you think my merit might be?"

Daruma: "No merit."

Wu: "Tell me about the first principle of holy doctrine."

Daruma: "Vast emptiness. Nothing is holy."

Wu: "Who is it then who stands before me?"

Daruma: "I do not know."

With that, Daruma left the emperor and moved on to northern China, crossing the Yangtze River on a single reed, or so it is said. He ended up at the Shaolin Temple where he began a programme of mediation which lasted for nine years. During this time he remained in a sitting posture and awake. In fact, it order to resist drowsiness, the legends claim that Daruma cut off his eyelids. The place where they fell saw the sprouting of the first tea plant - tea being very helpful to weary monks. His eyelids were not the only part of his anatomy to suffer during this period of mediation. His arms and legs also dropped off, presumably through lack of use.

According to tradition, Daruma died in the year 534 AD. He was 150 years old. After death he was spotted on at least two occasions. The first, in 537, was in China. Here he was seen wandering the countryside with only one sandal. Since he was presumed to have died only a few years before, his grave was opened, only to reveal that his body had disappeared, although the missing sandal was found. The second major siting was in Japan. Shotoku Taishi, a Japanese prince, went to the aid of a bright-eyed beggar lying by the roadside. Despite the succor, the beggar died and was buried shortly afterwards. The prince, suspecting that the man was not an ordinary mortal, had the grave dug up a few days later and of course the body was gone. Although the story does not explicitly reveal the identity of this strange man, it has always been assumed that it was Daruma.

I have relied on H. Neill McFarland, Daruma: The Founder of Zen In Japanese Art and Popular Culture for the material in this overview.