Dharma Tarot Emperor — Suddhodana card
A great leader is an observer, a navigator, someone willing to take charge. But a true leader must be willing to share their power, to listen to the people and the land, to develop the potential they see in others, and to take responsibility, no matter the outcome of a situation.
#DharmaTarot
Dharma Tarot card 7 of Flowers — Tending the Karesansui
As the designer of the karesansui chooses each stone carefully, appreciating each one for its own unique form, see your work as a labor of love, a chance to practice #mindfulness.
#DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot
The #Bodhisattva Vows speak to the infinite power of our potential to transform ourselves and our world and the perseverance to keep hoping and trying when things are most bleak.
#DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot #Kannon #Avalokitesvara
Dharma Tarot card Queen of Flowers — Mamaki
Mamaki experiences the #interbeing of all phenomena, realizing that everything is connected through networks of cause and effect. She sees through differences to the connections between everything in existence and cares for all beings like a loving mother does her child. #DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot
Dharma Tarot card 8 of Incense — Koans, the Gateless Gate
Do not give up. There is No Gate except the false one of fear and insecurity. Don't underestimate your abilities. Find the places in this situation where you have agency. Do what you know you need to do, say what needs to be said. #DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot
Dharma Tarot card - The Chariot — Marishi-ten shown being pulled by her boars.
Today, I am channeling Marishi-ten, the protector goddess with the powers of the enlightened mind; invoked against immediate dangers she is invincible, indestructible, unbindable, unstoppable, inescapable, unerring, unpunishable, unburnable, and unassailable by weapons.
#DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot
The bhāvacakra visualizes the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The Wheel reminds us of karma—our actions of body, speech, and mind have results, wholesome and unwholesome, known and unknown, ones that come to fruition immediately and ones that take innumerable kalpas to ripen.
#DharmaTarot
10 of Incense — Jizo Bodhisattva is pictured surrounded by images of the six realms of rebirth: the realms of the devas (gods), asuras (demigods), humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings.
The #bodhisattva #Jizo (#Kshitigarbha) is a guide through confusing and difficult times, giving hope to vulnerable, lost beings. He is also a protector of those in liminal spaces—babies and children, the unborn, pregnant women, travelers, and pilgrims. #DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot
11. Justice – Ashoka card from the Dharma Tarot deck. Justice asks much of us: to re-evaluate our views, to hold ourselves and others to account, and to deeply contemplate the impact our actions, reactions, and non-actions have on others and on the planet. Can you envision yourself in others’ situations? Do you elevate the voices of others instead of speaking for them? Do you judge others harshly, or too quickly? Do you work to make your community and world more just? Do you work so that all beings will be at ease, benefited equally? Your actions have impacts.
I pulled the #Justice - Ashoka card and then received @upaya.bsky.social's newsletter with a link to their Vows for the coming year 2025.
"We together can make good trouble and bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice and care."
www.upaya.org/2024/12/upay...
#DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot
5 of Flowers – Ryōkan
Ryōkan Taigu, whose name means big-hearted great fool, was a Soto Zen monk and poet who lived as a hermit in the snow country of northern Japan. He was known for forgetting to go begging for food—he was too busy playing ball with the local kids or doing calligraphy. #DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot
Strength — Mahapqjapati Dharma Tarot card
#Strength is often found in connection. Leaders in revolutionary actions help others while helping themselves. Through listening and true empathy, they reach others, both fellow revolutionaries, and, sometimes, their antagonists.
#DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot #Buddhism #Buddhist
Dharma Tarot Temperance - Middle Way card
Only a balanced life leads to wisdom and joy. It’s time to strive for the middle ground. Nothing is fixed, and by not holding on to static, one-sided views our vision is cleared and we can see the way.
#DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot #Temperance #TheMiddleWay
Dharma Tarot card 3 of Incense - Nagarjuna's Death pictures Nagarjuna's head, turned to stone, over blades of kusha grass.
Tragedy is part of the pattern of life, not a punishment from on high. Let yourself grieve fully, always asking, "What is harmful for me right now? What is helpful for me right now?" There's no need to rush grief. Healing is a process of simultaneously grieving and moving forward. #DharmaTarot
Knight of Incense — Fudo Myo-o Dharma Tarot card
Fudo Myo-o is one of the wrathful manifestations of buddhas whose fierce aspects scare away the most persistent delusions. His right hand holds the rope of skillful means to bind the demons of anger and passion; his left hand wields the sword of wisdom that slices through delusion. #DharmaTarot
Buddha sitting in meditation touching the earth with Mara looming behind. There is a rooster,boar, and a snake in front of him.
A demon is anything that obstructs the achievement of freedom. There is no greater devil than this fixation to a self. So until this ego-fixation is cut off, all the demons wait with open mouths. - Machig Labdron qtd. by Jody Hojin Kimmel Osho
#DharmaTarot #Mara #Buddha #TheDevil #Tarot #Dharma
Dharma Tarot card 2 of Incense picturing Senjo and her Soul looking at each other under a pot with two incense sticks.
What is our true nature? We have multiple selves: is the me of today the same as the me when I was sixteen? Or five? Is me in this moment the same as the me from two days ago? We are ever changing. How can this me find integration with all the other "mes" that have ever been? #DharmaTarot #Tarot
Dharma Tarot card Queen of Cups picturing Lochana seated in lotus position floating on waves of water with a cup of water in front of her. In the background there are lotus flowers and two eyes above her.
The Buddha is able to smile to suffering because he knows how to take care of it and to help transform it. We need to be aware of the suffering, but retain our clarity, calmness, and strength so we can help transform the situation. The ocean of tears cannot drown us if karuna is there. #DharmaTarot
Dharma Tarot card Page of Cups picturing a kneeling Rengetsu writing or drawing on a bowl.
Drop cynicism. Give yourself over to intuition. Return to where you were before the thought. Return to the site of oneness. Replace fear with awe, release tightness with wonder. Rediscover how to be playful. There's so much inspiration around us, if we can only see it #DharmaTarot #PageOfCups #Tarot
Dharma Tarot Card The Hanged Man shows Siddhartha leaving home. Two figures, one on a horse and one on foot, the background is an upside down palace and tree.
Radical acceptance isn't giving up, it's acknowledging pain without falling into repetitive, unhelpful thoughts like "why me?" and "it's not fair." Sometimes you need to surrender to what is, without forcing things.
#HangedMan #DharmaTarot #Tarot
The 10 of Cups - Layman Pang's Family standing together under ten cups encircling a mandala. The sky is blue, there is a tree and a small sand colored hut in the background.
The Pang family devoted themselves to living an enlightened life by fully engaging and being in harmony with their ordinary daily affairs. Their 'chopping wood, carrying water' is our 'changing diapers, paying bills.' #DharmaTarot #Tarot #Dharma
2 of Candles - Saigyo card from the Dharma Tarot. Saigyo, a wandering monk, stands looking at trees with cherry blossoms. There are two candles, one on each side of him, and he's carrying a staff.
The Two of Candles represents growth and forging new trails. Difficulty can shape us in powerful ways, sometimes inspiring beautiful things. Moving into change and not against can invite discovery. It takes courage to put yourself in the path of the wind and see where it takes you. #DharmaTarot
The 2 of Flowers - Equanimity from the Dharma Tarot deck. Five Japanese acrobats perform, spinning tops on a single finger, dancing on a high wire, and flipping through the air, while behind them waves rise and fall, crashing over boulders.
With equanimity we can observe the world clearly, with understanding and patience, unimpeded by discrimination. Views become less rigid. We need equanimity to prevent becoming burned out by suffering. The Two of Flowers encourages balance, new ways of thinking, and mental spaciousness. #DharmaTarot
The Sun - Hotei card from the Dharma Tarot
Lama Rod Owens writes that happiness is being in our bodies, being connected and sensitive and in tune with the world, despite how difficult that is in a world this harsh. Setting limits on what we need to be joyful prevents us from feeling happy with our everyday lives. #DharmaTarot #Dharma #Tarot
7 of Candles card from the Dharma Tarot deck Thich Nhat Hanh and Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama with protesters, one protester wearing chains with Free Tibet written on his chest, others carrying a sign Stop the War in Vietnam Now, and a large groups of monks sitting in meditation.
How can you mentally gird yourself when taking up causes that sometimes seem hopeless? Strive for love, joy, compassion and equanimity. Don’t get attached to the immediate results, concentrate on doing what’s right in the moment. When there are setbacks, regroup, examine, and try again. #DharmaTarot
The #DharmaTarot is my absolute favorite Tarot deck. Michelle Sellars is a Tarot reader who uses her perspective as a Zen Buddhist to shape her tarot practice. I love how she connects each of the cards to Buddhist teachings. And the collage artwork is stunning.
www.instagram.com/thedharmatarot
