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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Buddha Tarot Book Companion : A Review, January 1, 2005
This review is from: The Buddha Tarot (Paperback)
Renowned artist and tarot scholar/writer Robert M. Place has produced a masterpiece in his new tarot 384 page companion book, The Buddha Tarot Companion: A Mandala of Cards. This book affords a rich unique perspective of the Tarot through the lens of the Buddhist paradigm. The companion deck comes in a beautifully illustrated box containing exquisitely designed cards that fit perfectly in my hand, a tiny black gossamer bag plus a bordered little white box with the instructions, "Embellish this box with protective and/or empowering symbols." Other suggestions that greet you as you begin your journey with the Buddha cards include: "Smudge with sage to cleanse and re-energize the cards after a reading." and "Store your deck with stones or crystals that absorb negative energy, promote healing, or provide protective energy." Also included in the box is a mini-book with guidelines on reading these particular cards. Both items are published by Llewellyn, who as always, have taken great care to ensure quality and aesthetics in the way the cards are packaged and presented.
Robert has done an amazing job in correlating the life of the Buddha with the Tarot journey through the cards. He describes how the Major Arcana fits perfectly with the life of Siddhartha and his journey of enlightenment. Each of the tarot trumps is a stage on the mystic's journey to enlightenment. In fact, it is Mr. Place's belief that the creators of the Tarot were directly influenced by the life of the Buddha, and incorporated archetypes into the Major Arcana based on his journey. He teaches that the ancient wisdoms were not isolated from one another. Instead, "the classical world maintained communications with India and the ancient Western philosophers were familar with Indian philosophies." As well, the Islamic world introduced the Christians to the life of the Buddha during the Middle Ages. "The European Christians were enamored with the story, and they transformed him into a Christian saint - St. Josaphat."
I was fascinated by the titles given to the Major Arcana cards. Each of the 23 cards reflect an important aspect of the Siddhartha's personal journey to become the enlightened one, the Buddha.
Robert Place has created a deck and book that not only meets the needs of people who practice Eastern beliefs. He also acts as a mediator to help people of the Western world learn about and appreciate the noble tenets of Buddhism and its teachings for life. I highly recommend this deck - I found it very easy to follow, the graphics are amazingly detailed and artistically rendered and the companion book clearly helps you to learn to "read" using a Buddhist world view.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shook My World, July 11, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: The Buddha Tarot (Paperback)
The Buddha Tarot certainly shook my world. It took me back to my junior high and high school days, where a serious interest in the study of Buddhism began for me. (Not an unusual thing, as I was living in Seattle during those years, and had many Asian friends, some of whom came from families that were practicing Buddhists.) The second phase of Buddhism in my life came when I was stationed in Hawaii during the early 70's, and had a chance to actually visit a Buddhist Temple (there is a lovely Buddhist temple off of the Pali Highway - many people visit here. Robert Place has done some excellent work in bringing the Tarot and spirituality/religion together in previous decks/books: Tarot Of The Saints (combining Christian mythology with the Tarot Archetypes), The Angels Tarot (with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, entering the Angelic realm and working with the Kabbalah, alchemy and Christina mysticism), and The Alchemical Tarot (with Rosemary Ellen Guiley - combining alchemy with the Tarot Archetypes). I knew before I even had the deck in my hands that this was not a "make do" Tarot, where giant leaps of faith had to be made to match the life of Buddha with the Tarot Archetypes. This is amazing, considering that this is a well thought out 79 card deck (the 22nd card being Parinirvana, representing the death of the human Buddha and his attainment of total nirvana). Other than an added card, there is only one other change to the Trumps, and that is the placement of Justice as number eight and Strength as number eleven. The LWB (Little White Book) that accompanies the deck is a wealth of information on Buddha and on the journey that represented his life. Enough background is provided so that the reader has a solid basis for understanding what the cards represent, and so that The Buddha Tarot can be easily understood and worked with, not just memorized and worked with by rote.
The life of Buddha - who he was, who his family was, where he was born - this is all discussed in a very palatable format. It is fascinating to learn that his birth was very similar to that of Jesus, and that soon after his birth a seer named Asita affirmed that there were to be two possible paths for Buddha: he had the choice of following a worldly life and being a great emperor over a unified India, or he could embrace asceticism and become a world savior - a Buddha. The journey that Buddha took to enlightenment is well presented in this booklet - including his teaching of the Four Noble Truths ( 1. All life is dukkha, suffering; 2. The cause of dukkha is tanha, desire; 3. The cure to life's suffering - dukkha, is to let go of tanha; 4. There is a method for overcoming tanha. It is called the Eightfold Path.) and the Eightfold Path ( 1. Develop right knowledge; 2. Develop right aspiration; 3. Develop right speech; 4. Develop right behavior; 5. Develop right livelihood; 6. Develop right effort; 7. Develop right mindfulness; 8. Develop right absorption.
Place follows this with a section discussing the esoteric (archetypal) aspects of Buddhism: the archetypal aspect of Buddha is called Adi Buddha, meaning the primordial Buddha. Buddha encompasses the entire cosmos, with the cosmos having a center and four cardinal directions - creating a mandala. On the plane under the Adi Buddha are five great Buddha's called jinas -Sanskrit for conquerors, referring to someone who has conquered spiritual knowledge and time. Each Jina represents a direction and the associations with that direction. Each Tarot suit is represented by one of the Jina's, with border color for each suit representing the color associated with each specific Jina. The magickal implements associated with each Jina take the place of the traditional suit symbols. (c) March 2004
Bonnie Cehovet
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dont Cross The Streams!!!, July 1, 2005
This review is from: The Buddha Tarot (Paperback)
This was a very special moment in my life being a Buddist and Tarot reader for many years as well. I anticipated this set for months. I was waiting for the missing link in the clouded history of the Tarot. I was sure this was going to be it! Wrong was I. Or maybe the Fool again.
Overall this is a well done set with a lot of careful research into both histories eastern and western. The cards were very nice to handle as well as the size. The majors carefully and accurately depict the life of the Buddha. The similarities were uncanny. This is where my facination ended.
The greatest hurdle with this deck is reading for others. Most Tarots leave out religious references. The original images dating from the middle ages perhaps were giving some sort of dramatic lesson that has been clouded by time. This is irrelevant to modern Tarot therapist. The Buddhas enlightenment is not to be used as an example for divination. My Buddist clients likes the pictures, but couldnt relate to traditional interpretations. I wouldnt consider using this deck for non-Buddist practioners. There is just too much confusion and a lot of explaining.
This Tarot is an important study deck for many this art develops. Maybe in the future there will be a clearer depiction of these two important esoteric schools!
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