DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Dharma (Daruma) Doll CD Rom Craft

In Japan, when someone has a goal or task they wish to complete, they purchase a red Dharma doll that comes without pupils painted on the eyes.  At the beginning of the task one pupil is colored in, and upon completion, the other pupil is painted.

History of the Dharma Doll:

Dharma Daishi ( Daruma Daishi in Japanese) was from India and is credited for reviving Hinduism in China and as being the founder of martial arts.  Dharma created an exercise routine for the monks of the Shaolin Temple that would strengthen the body and be useful in self-defense.  The meditation required of the monks was physically draining and the "Kung Fu" training developed by Dharma helped make the monks physically strong enough.  Dharma taught that martial arts should be used for self-defense, and never to hurt or injure needlessly -- it is one of the oldest Shaolin sayings that “one who engages in combat has already lost the battle.”

Dharma Daishi was a very devoted Buddhist who took his studies and meditation very seriously.  Legend says that Dharma meditated for so long that his arms and legs fell off.  Legend also says that he cut off his eyelids to prevent himself from falling asleep during his meditation.  On the place where his eyelids fell, the first Chinese tea plant grew -- Chinese tea continues to be used by monks to prevent themselves from sleeping during meditation.  The armless and legless shape of the Dharma doll reflects these stories.  Dharma dolls that one purchases at the store are weighted at the bottom so if they are knocked over they will pop back up again (reflecting perseverance in life).  The word Daruma means "Although it falls over, it always rises".

Materials:

• CD Rom (or round piece of cardboard),
• a printer,
• something to color with,
• scissors,
• glue,
• paper

Instructions:

• Print out the craft template of choice.
• Color (if using the black and white version of the craft) and cut out the template pieces.
• Glue the large circular piece on first to cover the CD.
• Glue the Japanese words onto the CD as far towards the bottom as possible.
• Glue the "apostrophe" shapes beside the Japanese words.
• Glue the face on just above the words.
• Glue the 4 "teardrop" shapes overtop of the face.
• Glue the eyes onto the face.
• When starting a task or goal color in one of the pupils.  When the task is complete color in the other pupil.

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Template   (color)   or   (B&W)

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