The Buddha Tarot by Robert M. Place

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Little Baron	01 Feb 2005
I have seen the other decks and art work of Robert M. Place and have liked it a lot. I like the cleaness of line and the bright, but not garish, colouring. I have never owned one of his decks ... until today. I have recently began studying Buddhism and in helping me to understand the life of the Buddha, thought that this deck may be of some help; combining my Buddhist studies with my Tarot studies. Opening the deck and looking through, I am already impressed by the artwork. I very much like Marseille and pip decks, even though, at present, I am daily drawing with the Original Rider Waite (due to its acuracy), and having very brief illustrations within the minor cards is something that I like with this deck. I have not yet ordered the accompanying companion book, but will do soon. The LWB looks quite involved as a starting point, though. Does anybody read consistantly with this deck? Would be interested in anyone's views and thoughts about it; especially if it helps them with their Buddhist studies, of which I am very fresh to. Regards LB

SongDeva	01 Feb 2005
Here is a link to an earlier thread; you can do a search for more. http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=17818&highlight=buddha+place

Little Baron	01 Feb 2005
Thanks SongDeva; am checking the link right now. LB

Cocobird55	01 Feb 2005
I have this deck, and I also bought Place's The Buddha Tarot Companion. I'm still reading it. So far, it has been quite good -- an excellent overview of Buddha and Buddhism. I haven't worked with the deck yet, but I do like it a lot. I'm also interested in Buddhism, so this has been a good match for me. Sue

Cerulean	01 Feb 2005
I've seen the name "LittleBuddha" before and thought that would be a great match for the pretty deck by Robert Place. I do like the deck, but after one walk through the majors, it gave me enough to remind me of a nice graphic novel that a community center gave to me when I was young and going to language school for Japanese. The courts and suit symbols are beautifully done and would be a nice adjunct for learning some Buddhist art symbology. Or reminding one such as me... In a way, it reminds me how I react when I enjoy seeing how Brian Williams designed his Minchiate and then wrote an excellent book that shows different illustrations and gives detailed background...the learning is fun...but then I don't tend to interact with the images, I see them as what the author says. I feel that I missed something in terms of my bonding with the art...this is just me right now. I have a feeling since I've bonded with specific Asian decks, there something else I am looking for, just me... I think Robert Place's deck is excellent, but I tend to learn through images if I can also explore on my own. So I'm enjoying the Royal Thai Tarot and one-by-one, going through a Buddhist art book that does a survey of different East Asian cultures and internet searches to look up things such as "Buddhist hand mudras" which are gestures that signal certain symbolism as I come across the image. I would suggest Robert Place's book as a wonderful resource to start thinking in terms of crossroads with tarot and other cultural motifs. But I tend to keep the deck and book as the Alchemical deck and book: great decks, excellent books and I hope to read his upcoming book (2005 at Amazon.com) and eventually, perhaps see his upcoming Sevenfold Mystery Tarot....once in awhile all of gels with me and then I can do a reading that works. Other times, it's better for me as a resource to study and compare. Regards, Cerulean

Little Baron	01 Feb 2005
Thankyou Cocobird and Cerulean I am using the Rider Waite (purple box - says original on box) as my daily draw and reading deck right now and don't want to interfere too much with my learning of that. I always find I learn less when I chop and change. However, I ordered the companion book to the Buddha Tarot this evening and look forward to spending a few quiet hours here and there with it as a side line. I think it will be a lovely hobby for the summer months when I can take the deck and book into my garden and relax and digest it all. Thanks for relaying your experiences. I will let you know how my relationship with the BT goes. LB

RedMaple	01 Feb 2005
I love my Buddha Tarot. I think you will find the book wonderful reading. I liked very much how he made the links between the journey of the Buddha, and the Tarot Fool's journey, and traces the Western esoteric tradition. The artwork is beautiful. I feel this is a deck I will keep coming back to and learning. I have used it only a few times for readings, and it was remarkably accurate and I found the images very numinous and relevant to the reading in ways that go beyond words. He also suggests the use of the cards as a Mandala for meditation, and I did lay them out that way one night. It was meditative just to lay them out and they were very beautiful. I haven't worked with mandalas myself, (my meditating is more from the Zen school) but I can see that it could be a good use of this deck.

Little Baron	01 Feb 2005
I hadn't realised there was a pattern of the 'mandala'. I have only briefly looked through the LWB, reading about Siddhartha's life and the brief introduction to the Buddha Tarot. I have only, after just reading your post, seen the 'pattern' in the back of the book. I may go and lay this on my dinig room table, which is round, to see how it looks. Thanks LB

RedMaple	01 Feb 2005
I just realized the subtitle to Robert Place's book is "A Mandala of Cards." I remembered reading in his book about how he felt about Tarot and Mandalas. Here's some from the introduction: "In traditional Tibetan culture, artists create hand-painted cards called tsakli. Unlike a mandala with its multiple imgery organized in geometric unity, each tsakli depicts just one sacred object, Bodhisattva, or deity. The tsakli are used in ritual and meditation to focus on the single element, but the same archetypal unity runs through the set of cards. They are a mandala broken down into its separate parts; a mandala of cards. This is how I see the Tarot." That really helped me to see how he was thinking about it, and how to approach the deck. The book is one of the best companion books I've read. Some of them just reiterate the same old same old, this one is definitely different and expands the Tarot into a new direction.

Little Baron	01 Feb 2005
Thanks Red Maple. I had to lay the cards out in the living room as my dining room table was too small for the whole lot. I very much look forward to the book arriving. Thanks for posting the part about the mandala. Hopefully, there will be more discussions on this deck here in the future. LB

Cerulean	01 Feb 2005
It gives directions for the Mandala layout as well. And the great thing about this is you can also do this with your favorite learning decks...sometimes the plainer decks laid out on the floor suddenly take on an amazing pattern or look that adds to my enjoyment of the deck. Thanks for the reminder of the layout! I want to do this with my Thai deck and compare with the Buddha Tarot...but this also would be fun with another style deck... Regards, Cerulean

The The Buddha Tarot by Robert M. Place thread was originally posted on 01 Feb 2005 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.