The Daruma doll’s roots go back to Buddhist culture, which is also where they stand vested with their religious significance from. Put simply, they are cultural lucky charms and are believed to be blessed tokens of setting goals, and achieving them. When speaking of the ‘sanctity’ of a Daruma doll, these are not typically items that are worshipped in the traditional sense. However, seeing as they are modeled after Bodhirama, the 5th century Indian monk credited with the founding of Zen Buddhism, there is an overt sense of veneration associated with it. Daruma dolls are designed to mimic a seated meditation posture and represent perseverance, albeit one that’s being tided over divinely. The build of the doll is such that it bounces right back up if dropped, capturing the essence of the Japanese proverb ‘nana korobi yaoki’, which translates to: ‘fall down seven times, get up eight’.
