Round bottomed Daruma dolls always pop back up after being knocked down; the proverb associated with the dolls is "Seven times down, eight times up." Or as we would say in English, "Never give up." All of us get knocked down by something during our lives, but when that happens the best and most universal advice is, "Get right back up!" Nice, soft brushwork, and a humorous depiction of Daruma.
Deiryu was a Dharma heir of Nantembo. He was a fine calligrapher and painter, a martial artist, and a popular Zen master. Details of Deiryu's life and art can be found in The Art of Twentieth-Century Zen, by Audrey Yoshiko Seo and Stephen Addiss (Boston: Shambhala, 2000).
