The point is... Robert Place makes an effort to research the subject of his decks. Many authors out there don't even bother, so we have to give him some credit for that.
While Tarot and Buddhism are different paths to arrive at a similar place, they are still very different and I believe it's impossibly to blend them seamlessly. Robert Place is an american with a historical/intellectual interest in Buddhism and this deck reflects that. He was not born in a Buddhist culture, he does not practice the Buddhism (not that I know, I think he's a bigger fan of Alchemy, lol!)... so you cannot expect him to create a deck that reflects Buddhism in its complete glory.
I bet that even a Tibertan lama with a superficial interest on Tarot would not be able to create a perfect Buddhist deck. All tarot decks are a simplification of whatever cultures and faiths they represent because they are, above everything else,
tarot decks.
The book is VERY good. I confess I always skip the initial historical part about Plato and the history of tarot iconography because Bob Place repeats it in EVERY book he writes, lol! And I have read most of the companion books to his decks. Also, I dislike his constant mention of how 'yadda yadda' relates to Plato. Plato was a awesome, we get it, now lets move on!
Aside from that pet peeve of mine, the book is amazing! It's really a guide, it contains a lot of information not simply on the deck, but also on tarot history and Buddhist history. The person who said Robert Place got it all wrong probably didn't read the companion book, because there he explains where he got the information from and why he chose one particular symbol over the other. It's definitely a book worth buying if you like the deck!
Yes, that something to keep in mind too. Buddhism was practiced in different ways in the countries where it survived. Japan, China, Tibet, Thailand, Sri Lanka... all have they 'own' ways of practicing Buddhism, and none of them is wrong. Culture and religion do not grow separate, they mingle and influence each other.
That said, I'd not call the Buddha tarot and 'American Buddhism' deck, even because Buddhism still haven't had enough time to become a religion completely mingled with the American culture yet (as it happened in Asia over many centuries). For me, the Buddha tarot shows Buddhism from the point of view of an American scholar. And this has both advantages and pitfalls.
To point a finger and say "this is not true Buddhism" is useless and silly. Of course it's not. It's a deck based on theoretical Buddhism, it's not trying to convert you or show you the One True Path. People need to stop projecting their expectations on the decks.
M_M~
