26-09-11` Daruma Doll

Legend has it that Daruma Doll helps to fulfill your wish.

Background on Daruma:
Remodeled after Bodhidharma who is believed to have been born as the third son to a king in South India. He then, following the instructions of his old master, left his kingdom to live in China. He immediately gained a reputation for, among other things, his practice of wall-gazing. Chapin mentions that the legend also claims that he sat facing a wall in meditation for a period of nine years without moving, which caused his legs to fall off from atrophy. Another popular legend is that after falling asleep during his nine-year mediation, he became angry with himself and cut off his eyelids to avoid ever falling asleep again. His discarded eyelids are said to have sprouted the first tea plant.

Shape
Darumas are still usually made of papier-mâché, have a round shape, are hollow, and weighted at the bottom in a way that it will always return to an upright position when tilted over. In Japanese a roly-poly toy is called okiagari. meaning to get up (oki) and arise (agari). This characteristic has come to symbolize the ability to have success, overcome adversity, and recover from misfortune.
Due to this, Daruma is often illustrated alongside the phrase "Nanakorobi Yaoki", translated to mean seven times down, Eight times up. This is seen in the popular culture on cards, banners, and books. One example of this is Dr Alan Gettis' Book entitled, "Seven Times Down, Eight Times Up: Landing on Your Feet in an Upside-down World". Recalling the Story of Daruma-san in the introduction of his book, Dr. Gettis describes the phrase as "a call to never give up."

Eyes
A daruma doll with one eye filled in for wishing.
The eyes of Daruma are often blank when sold. Monte A. Greer, author of Daruma Eyes, described the "oversized symmetrical round blank white eyes" as a means to keep track of goals or big tasks and motivate them to work to the finish. The recipient of the doll fills in one eye upon setting the goal, then the other upon fulfilling it. In this way, every time they see the one-eyed Daruma, they recall the goal. One explanation how this custom started says that in order to motivate Daruma-san to grant your wish, you promise to give him full sight once the goal is accomplished. This practice might also have something to do with the "enlightenment", the ideal attainment of Buddhism. This custom has led to a phrase in Japanese translated as "Both Eyes Open". Referencing to ‘opening’ the second eye, it expresses the realization of a goal. Traditionally, the Daruma was purchased as a household, and that only the head of the household would paint in the eyes.

If you're at dire state, pray. Calvin and I were at our wits end for our missing passports when we had to pin our last hope on our Daruma Doll which we bought from Japan last December. We were dead worried to know that we are only a month's time away from our overseas trip, so in order to avoid reporting loss of passport and spending SGD130 each, we decided to use our only Daruma Doll. We drew an eye on the Daruma Doll and made our wish. 2 weeks prior to departure to Taiwan, we managed to miraculously found our passports! As said in the legend, you draw the right eye first when making your wish and the Daruma Doll will be motivated to grant your wish so that he could have his full vision when the mission is accomplished and you fill in his left eye. Call me superstitious, but this works!