Why is Santa Buddha (Budai) so fat?

Hotei/Budai is not Buddhist but Shinto

"The Legend of Hotei, the Laughing Buddha" (holymtn.com) edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Hotei (Budai) is a Shinto god

Japanese Hotei (known in Chinese as Budai) is one of the Shichi Fukujin, or "Seven Shinto-Gods of Luck." He is the "god of happiness, laughter, and the wisdom of contentment" and the patron of the weak and of children, fortunetellers, and bartenders.

• The term "Shinto" derives from the combination of two Chinese characters -- shin (神), which means "spirit" (kami, supernatural entities, possibly heavenly ETs coming to this dimension) or "god," and tō (道, tao), which means "way," "road," or "path" [45]. Shintō (神道) is therefore "the Way of the Gods" (or Spirits, the shapeshifting kami at the center of the priestly religion). It was a term already used in the I-Ching or Book of Changes, referring to the divine order of nature [46]. Around the time of the spread of Buddhism in the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), the term was used to distinguish indigenous Chinese religions (shamanic or magic-based traditions) from the new imported religion. Ge Hong used it in his Baopuzi as a synonym for Taoism [47]. Shinto is animistic and polytheistic with priests who deal with the unruly shapeshifting monsters/gods known as the kami. The Chinese term 神道 (MC zyin daw) was originally adopted into Japanese as Jindō [48]; this was possibly first used as a Buddhist term to refer to non-Buddhist deities [49] or spirits. More

Budai points at the Moon

Hotei is distinguished by his [fat] body, which is of generous proportions with a round belly exposed beneath loose robes. This big jelly belly is a symbol of happiness, luck, and generosity.

On his back he carries a huge linen sack, containing candy, precious things, and gifts of good fortune, including children.

He also holds an uchiwa, a flat fan of Chinese origin used by ancient chieftains as an emblem of authority and wish granting.

Hotei may sit in an old cart drawn by boys, as the Wagon Priest, and can be compared with the Buddhistic Mi-lo-Fo.

Chinese backstory

I am the big Friendly One. Here's some candy!

In Chinese Buddhism he is known as Budai, the "Loving or Friendly One." He was a wandering Chan Buddhist monk who lived in the 9th century.

At his death between the years of 901 and 903, he recited a poem that revealed to the world that he was in fact the Bodhisattva Maitreya in disguise.

Maitreya, Chinese Mahayana Buddhists believe, is the Future Buddha, who will return to the world and bring innumerable individuals to realization (bodhi) and salvation (nirvana).

This concept of hope for all those who suffer, combined with Budai’s pleasing (always kind and smiling) human features, made him a most popular Buddhist deity (deva).

Good Luck Budai honored in Thailand

It was not until the 16th century that he was canonized as the sixteenth and last Chinese Bodhisattva.

According to Chinese legend he carried a sack of candy to give to children. He is sometimes worshiped as a god of good luck and prosperity.

He is always represented as very stout (fat), with breasts and upper abdomen exposed to view. His face has a widely grinning, joyful, or laughing expression, so he is also known loosely as "the Laughing Buddha" even though he is NOT a buddha.

• [EDITOR'S NOTE: Even "Maitreya Buddha" is actually not yet a buddha as his name would suggest but rather a bodhisattva, that is, "a being striving to become a supreme buddha" (samma sam buddha) in the future.]

He stands in the first hall of Buddhist monasteries. Because of his constant good nature, he has become the symbol of philosophical contentment. Source

• Not to be confused with Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva)

The Laughing Buddha Story | Joy of Enlightenment | Zen Buddhism

(Narrative Dreamscape) This short Zen story follows the tale of Hotei (Budai, Putai), a Chinese Buddhist monk who attains "enlightenment" [satori or kensho, an epiphany or spiritual realization] after hearing a child's laughter. He then wanders the land being called the "Laughing Buddha" [Bodhisattva], spreading joy and showing that enlightenment [a realization] can be found by embracing the humor and impermanence of life. This lighthearted and inspirational Zen tale reminds us not to take life too seriously but to greet each moment with childlike joy and presence. Let this [Fat Happy] Laughing Buddha story bring a smile to the face and warmth to the heart.

#zenstory #lifelessons #laughingbuddha #laughingmonk #laughingbuddha

• Legend of Hotei, the Laughing Buddha (holymtn.com); Narrative Dreamscape, Sept. 9, 2023; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

US to return to 'space' using a balloon

Billionaire Dick Branson to co-pilot first crewed space balloon flight

"Space" surely is thousands of miles up, at least.

The lights are out in Cuba (the whole country). The Turpan kids are being molested in foster care after being molested and tortured by their biological parents. Homelessness in California (or is it just L.A.) can be cured for just $100 billion (180,000 unhoused individuals). Los Angeles is broke (thanks, Mayor Karen), and what do we want?

• VIDEO: Dick Branson to co-pilot first crewed 'space balloon' flight float high into the sky and thinner atmosphere

US Navy's Secret Space Program

Cake and circuses, spectacles and space! What counts as "space"? Anything 20 miles up will do, but maybe science tries to say 50 miles more officially. Ask the person on the street, who'll probably answer thousands of miles. The moon and sun are in "space." And there a few thousand miles up, according to Eric Dubay, though science would have us believe they are a quarter million miles and 400 times that (100 million miles). Malarkey.

But to dare to question Science today is tantamount to the audacity to tell the Church that they're wrong. Remember Galileo? He was likely wrong but should have had the right to speculate and present his evidence rather than facing a Spanish Inquisition, Vatican investigation, or Catholic excommunication.

Space hotel to open soon?

Galactic Federations Councils & Secret Space

An astronomical new hotel courtesy of Orbital Assembly? Never mind flying to distant shores for an exciting trip. How about catapulting into space? While it might sound far-fetched, it could soon be a reality. A new space hotel, designed by space construction company Orbital Assembly Corporation, is currently being built and could soon be available for an out-of-this-world vacation. Discover what it’ll look like and when the first guests will be able to check-in: The countdown is on for the galaxy's first space hotel

We'll eventually be enforcing special no man's land laws in the international waters of space.

• VIDEO: Epic fails can sometimes be hilarious

Funky Buddha's Oktoberfest? Alcohol

Hey, where your tutu is, Desi? - Hey, where's your llama, Dolly? - AH HA HA HA!

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Budai brand beer?

Imagine a place so crass that it exploits the Buddha's image to promote beer and hard liquor, drunkenness and carelessness, negligence and unskillful karma. Let's call the place "Buddha Bar." No, that's taken. Let's call it Funky Buddha. Open it on the dangling participle of the country (Sandy Schlong Beach, Florida).

Let's invite the Dalai Lama, who says he's all about laughing it up, and tell him to bring his freaky friends like the ghost of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. We can hold a skimpy BBC (Buddha Bikini Contest) with a large purse and a slow reveal that begins with the wet tee-shirt phase.

Yo yo yo, how we feeling out there tonight!?

DJ Buddhahed can spin the turntables with EDM and hip-hop beats pleasing to all. Fight through protesters and picketers to get in there and, BAM, we've got ourselves a party. Well, no need for imagination because a company called Funky Buddha beat us to it: funkybuddha.com with BuddhaFest MarZen

Alan Watts, Zen monks stole swigs of saké on Cloud Mountain, while their whereabouts were unknown? No, that was Taoists. And it wasn't saki, the water of life, but ambrosia.

• Real Buddhist holidays, celebrations, and festivals around the world (buddhanet.net/festival)

SUTRA: To Sujata (Sigalovada)

Doesn't booze make the writer?

(DN 16) Thus I have heard. One time, the Buddha was staying on Vulture's Peak (Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha), Rajgir. He was accompanied by a large assembly of 1,250 monastics.

It was then that the Buddha (the Blessed One, the Bhagavān) put on his outer robe and took his bowl into the city for alms. At the time, there was a prominent man’s son named Sujata in Rajgir. Early in the morning, he went out of the city to go for a walk in the park. He bathed, wetting his entire body. He then bowed in all the directions: east, west, south, north, above, and below.

The Buddha saw Sujata getting wet [as a mark of respect] then bowing in the directions. Seeing this, the Buddha went over to Sujata and asked: “Why did you leave the city in the early morning to go to a park, wet your entire body, and bow in the directions?”

Sujata explained to the Buddha, “My father’s death is imminent, and he gave me this instruction: ‘When you go to bow, you should first bow to the east, south, west, north, above, and below.’ I dare not neglect to carry out my father’s instruction, so after I’ve bathed, I first saluted while facing east then bowed to the east. I do this for all the cardinal directions -- south, west, north, above, and below.”

The Buddha then told Sujata, “These 'directions' are only names. We, too, have this practice, but we do not bow to the directions to pay respect to them in this noble teaching [enlightening Dharma].”

Sujata then said to the Buddha, “Please, Blessed One, it would be good if one were to explain the way it is done in the noble Teaching!”

The Buddha said, “Listen closely, listen closely! Consider it well, for I will explain this.”

Sujata replied, “Very well. I am glad to hear it.”

DUI with loaded gun and salsa: Welcome to TX

The Buddha taught: “Suppose one knows of four unskillful actions, and the grounds for their being unskillful, so one avoids them and is able to know the six actions that squander wealth.

“That is to say, Sujata, one abandons four unskillful actions and pays homage to the six directions. It will be good for the present life, and one will obtain good results in later lives.

“It will be the source for this in the present life and later lives. In the present life, one is commended by the wise and gains this one worldly reward: When the body breaks up and life ends, one will be reborn in a good place.

“Sujata, you should know, those four bad actions are: 1. killing, 2. stealing, 3. sexual misconduct, and 4. false speech. These are the four bad actions.

“What are the four grounds for these bad actions? They are: 1. desire, 2. anger, 3. fear, and 4. delusion.

“If one does unskillful actions on these four grounds, then one will decline.”

After saying this, the Buddha restated it in verse:

“Desire, anger, fear, delusion:

Those who harbor these four

See their reputation dwindle away

As the waning moon does day by day.”

The Buddha further told Sujata, “If one avoids these unskillful actions on these four grounds, then one will improve.”

The Buddha then restated this in verse:

“One who avoids unskillful actions

Done out of desire, anger, fear, or delusion

Will see improvement day by day

As the waxing moon steady gains.”

What happened to all our money, Brian? - This.

“The Buddha further told Sujata, “The six actions that squander wealth are:

1. indulging in alcohol
2. gambling
3. self-indulgence
4. getting carried away at musical performances
5. associating with bad friends and
6. idleness.

“These are the six acts that squander wealth.

“Sujata, suppose one understands these four actions, avoids these unskillful actions done on these four grounds, and knows the six actions that squander wealth.

“Doing this, Sujata, one can abandon these four grounds and make offerings to the six directions. It will be good for the present life and good in later lives. It will be the source for this in the present life and in later lives. In the present, one will be praised by the wise and gain this one worldly reward: When one's body breaks up and life ends, one will be reborn in a good place.

Defects of drinking

Go on. I'm listening. I only imbibe to drink the pain away. You got a better way?

.

Wine, women, and song! Why stop now?

“Sujata, know that drinking alcohol has six defects: 1. loss of wealth, 2. becoming ill, 3. fighting, 4. circulation of a bad reputation, 5. sudden outbursts of anger, and 6. a daily loss in wisdom. Sujata, if they drink alcohol, their family and property with decrease day by day. ...

Then Sujata exclaimed: “...The Buddha is a Wayfarer (Tathāgata), Luminary (Arhat), and a Supremely Awakened One, so he is able to reveal to the world clear instructions. Now, I go for guidance to the Buddha, go for guidance to the Dharma, and go for guidance to the Saṅgha.

How will I ever be able to stop?

“Blessed One, please permit me to become a lay follower in the true Teaching! Starting today, I will avoid killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol for the rest of my life.”

Having heard what the Buddha taught, Sujata rejoiced and approved of it.

• The Dalai Lama says he cured Mongolia of alcoholism with [traditional fermented] horse milk
• Mindfulness meditation really does relieve pain brain scans reveal
• 善生—Charles Patton (trans.), Sigalovada Sutra (DN 16) suttacentral.net; edited and abbreviated by Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Jewish Buddhist LOVE: Zen (Shinzen Young)

Shinzen Young (YouTube); CC Liu, Pat Macpherson, Ananda (DBM) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

After Enlightenment? Love deeply and act effectively - Shinzen Young

What do these ten pictures represent?

(Shinzen Videos) Los Angeles JuBu Shinzen Young weaves stories of the famous Ox Herding pictures and various impressive bodhisattvas ("beings bent on supreme enlightenment") -- including a Holocaust survivor and Buddhist activist, and a "marathon monk" he has known and been influenced by, to get to the true point of this Buddhist practice.

• For more about the Ox Herding pictures

I'm a Jewish Buddhist (JuBu).

Go to shinzen.org for more information on Shinzen Young and his teachings -- including meditation retreats, blog, speaking engagements, and writings.

Home Practice Program includes live monthly phone teachings. Life Practice Program includes live 45 minutes of Shinzen Young guiding practitioners to help their lives. 

Core Free Introduction to Unified Mindfulness recorded and edited by Stephanie Nash: strategicmindfulness.net youtube.com

• mindfulnessarts.org/blog
  

This is a re-posting of a video that was added on 7/7/17, which had over 400 views in less than 20 hours, but a slight edit had to be made, and this repost is the new video.

Zen ox-herding pictures depict enlightenment

Stephanie Liao, March 1st, 2021; Jay Rosay, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

A bull (ox) is notoriously hard to locate and catch, just like our goal.

This is what "enlightenment" (awakening) looks like in Zen? Yes, this is it satori in Zen.

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LOOK: The Ten Ox Herding Pictures, the Depiction of Enlightenment

The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures - Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

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2021 was the Year of the Metal Ox

The Year of the Metal Ox might be a great time to learn about a significant series of poems and murals that features the sturdy animal.

“The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures,” known in Chinese as Shiniu, is used in the Zen Buddhist tradition to symbolize the stages of enlightenment and the return to society to enact the wisdom and compassion one has learned.

For many, it’s one of the best models for depicting the [Zen] awakening process.

The bull (ox) has been a simile to meditation practice for years. It originated in Indian literary traditions, and as Buddhism spread throughout Southeast Asia, the simile of the bull spread alongside it.

The bull represents the “eternal principle of life, truth in action,” which we’re always seeking to grasp and tame until we become one with it.

“True Innovation” in the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures | Zen and Innovation by Kouji Miki | Medium

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Different versions

In the 12th century, the well-known Ten Ox-Herding Pictures emerged in China. There are four Chinese versions. The first series is believed to have been made by Ching-chu in the 11th century.

Ching-Chu’s version only has five pictures, and it features the ox’s color changing from black to white. The transition is meant to represent the gradual development of the meditation practitioner, ending in his/her disappearance.

On the other hand, Tzu-te Hui made a version with six pictures. The first five were similar to Ching-chu’s, while the sixth shows a stage that goes beyond the stage of emptiness, which is where Ching-chu’s version ends.

A third version was made by an unknown author and is the most popular version in China. It’s similar to the two previously mentioned versions in that the bull also changes from dark to white in the ten pictures that are included in this series.

The most recognizable version was drawn by the 12th century Chinese Zen Master Kuoan Shiyuan. He also wrote accompanying poems and introductory words. There is no whitening of the bull in this version, nor does it end with emptiness or absolute truth. Instead, it shows a return to the world featuring the "Laughing Buddha," Putai [who's not really a buddha at all but a bodhisattva named Budai and Hotei].

This version gained wide circulation in Japan and the West after inclusion in a book called, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings, by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki.

Here is Kuoan Shiyuan’s Ten Bulls Murals:

• 1. In Search of the Bull “In the pasture of the world, I endlessly push aside the tall grasses in search of the Ox. Following unnamed rivers, lost upon the interpenetrating paths of distant mountains, my strength failing and my vitality exhausted, I cannot find the Ox. More:

LOOK: The Ten Ox Herding Pictures, the Depiction of Enlightenment: Chinoy TV 菲華電視台

• Wiki version: Ten Bulls (Wikipedia)

Is Santa Claus Comin' to Town? (cartoon)

Santa is Comin' to Town; Crystal Q., CC Liu, Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wiki edit

Together again: Krampus+St. Nick

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is an old X-mas TV special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions.

It stars Fred Astaire as the narrator S.D. Kluger, Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle/Santa Claus, Keenan Wynn as the Winter Warlock, and Paul Frees in various roles.

It tells the story of how Santa Claus (Eastern Orthodox/Pagan St. Nicolas) and several Claus-related X-mas traditions came to be.

Buddhist Santa figure: BUDAI

It is based on the hit song "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," which was introduced on radio by Eddie Cantor in 1934, and the story of Saint Nicholas.

The special was created using Japanese stop-motion animation called "Animagic." All characters are made out of wood and plastic and brought to life using stop-motion photography.

It was originally telecast Dec. 13, 1970 by ABC and continues to air every year on ABC Family (Freeform), which has censored cut several scenes they believe may be traumatizing to younger viewers, like:

• Kris climbing and leaping to escape, done to prevent children from copying dangerous stunts;
• Winter Warlock, knowing Kris will return, telling him he will never escape;
• Burgermeister torching seized toys in front of the children of Sombertown.

The DVD releases include these deleted scenes vital to the story's plot. In 2019, Freeform's print of the special included the 2012 Universal Pictures logo preceding the film, due to their purchase of DreamWorks Animation in 2016 and the scenes that were originally cut were added as well. More

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The best part of the special is bad Burgermeister Meisterburger.

Jolly gift giver Budai (aka Hotei, Pu-Tai) and children with lanterns (en.wikipedia.org)

Japanese lore records a fat, jolly, roly poly man with a giant gift bag for kids: Budai/Hotei

American thighs: I'm not FAT! (video)

The Conversation; Family Guy via Da Plug); Crystal Quintero, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

"MilkShake Brings All The Boys To The Yard"

MilkShake, it brings all the boys to the yard and they're like it's better than yours. Lol. Content owned by Fox TV. No copyright infringement intended. FAIR USE Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Body shaming? Meghan Trainor: Fat and proud in "All About That Bass"

Why are we Americans so FAT?
TheConversation.com, "Our fight with fat: Why is obesity getting worse?"

Fat Happy Budai is not the Buddha

Gyms across the country will be packed in the new year with people sticking, however briefly, to our New Year’s resolution to lose weight.

Most of us do not know that the cards are stacked against us and that weight loss is much more complicated than working out and not eating dessert.
 
Years into the obesity epidemic, millions of Americans have tried to lose weight, and millions of us have failed to do so long term.

Don't look at me. I isn't fat no mo.

It’s so serious now that close to 40 percent of Americans are obese. The average woman in the U.S. today weighs about 168 pounds, or roughly the same as an average man in 1960.

Not that guys’ waists haven’t ballooned, too. Men have gained on average nearly 30 pounds since John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961.
 

It's getting harder to keep off the blubber.

From 1976 to 1980, just under 1 in 7 American adults, or 15.1 percent, were obese.

Now, despite people’s concerted efforts, obesity is at its highest level ever, with about 40 percent of U.S. adults and 18.5 percent of children, considered obese.

This is itself an increase of about 30 percent, just since 2000 when roughly 30 percent of American adults were obese.

Don't worry. I'll just walk it off like before.

The U.S., and increasingly the world, is in the grip of a real epidemic -- the seriousness of which is lost in our obsession with [failed] diets. One study estimated an additional 65 million obese Americans by 2030, and increased medical costs between US $48 billion to $66 billion a year. More

• Who you calling "fat"? (cdc.gov/nchs/data...pdf)

Why is the Buddha big, fat, and happy?

Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

It is thought that the future Buddha Maitreya will come as a Central Asian (Scythian) king.

Just as not all swastikas are the same, neither are all "Buddhas." Here the true historical Buddha Gautama or Shakyamuni (left) is contrasted with the popular Mahayana Fat Happy Bodhisattva Budai or Hotei (blavatskytheosophy.com).

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Fat Budai is not "the Buddha."

The Buddha is NOT fat, big and happy perhaps, but not fat. The fat guy is Budai, also known as Hotei.

He's a bodhisattva, a being aspiring for buddhahood and Maitreya/Messiah status as a kind of Mahayana martyr figure who will save all living beings when he's on the verge of enlightenment but will not enter enlightenment as a buddha but rather as a supremely enlightened (samma-sam-buddha arhat who then establishes the Dharma (teaching that leads to liberation) and waits for all living beings to gain insight and cross over this flood of suffering known as samsara, the "Wheel of Life and Death."

The historical Buddha Shakyamuni

It will be a long wait, of course, but Mahayana Buddhists comfort themselves with selfless vows and slogans like "samsara is nirvana." It's a lot like Catholicism, if one thinks about it. Indeed, there are many, many similarities between the later Mahayana ("Great Vehicle") school that departed and extrapolated or interpreted the historical Buddha's teaching to create a more Brahminical/Hindu version for the masses of followers who prefer faith to compassion to wisdom and compassion.

The "Virg Yin" Kwan Yin Bodhisattva

Like Catholicism, Mahayana Buddhism is far more concerned with the Virg Yin (Kwan Yin) than the central teaching figure. When the teacher is mentioned, it is usually not the historical Buddha who is meant but a more cosmic God-like being known as Amitabha. Everyone goes around greeting each other saying Amitofu, as in "all hail the great leader" or "God bless you."

The Western God, all-powerful white man

Great ceremonies and fanfare promote faith, emotions, piety, and devotion rather than meditation, dispassion, mindfulness, or insight. That kind of stuff is left to the monastics, who do not usually practice much either given that they have become priests and priestesses, officiants at social functions such as funerals and "blessing" ceremonies, so many blessin ceremonies. Like Brahmins of the Buddha's time and later Hindu priests, they are the officials who know the secret mantras (prayer-like magic formulae), the way to "God" and "GOD" (Brahma and Brahman), the ones who as God's representatives on Earth can forgive, modify, or even expunge karma for the rich (with a little "indulgence" selling in the old European style).

Veneration of good luck Budai is widespread

Populist Mahayana Buddhism in China is so in line with Roman Catholicism that the official communist government asked the Vatican and Catholic Church to come in and proselytize to have social control the former Confucian-Taoist-Buddhist triumvirate used to exert for social control. Most Mahayana Buddhists do not realize any of this, so it may come as a shock to research and find it out. Religion is a very deeply seated thing most of us are born into, never question, and get no answers for even if we do question.

Future Buddha Maitreya

So we must all respect the fact that 90% of Buddhists follow this school and its Tibetan branch, which is different enough in appearance to call itself Vajrayana while still very much considering itself a form of Mahayana (just ask the 14th Dalai Lama, enemy of the Chinese government, savior of the Tibetan people and quite a few Westerners). For the love of Kwan Yin and Mother Mary, we can all be Catholic and join in the Universalism religion most humans are forced to follow at this time (which is the form followed on another neighboring planet, it is said, where the population has given up freedom for social cohesion, which seems to be the Chinese way, though not at all the American way).

The Buddha is still the Buddha, who spoke of 28 or so buddhas who had preceded him over the aeons, when the world was not so much different than it is now, save for the fact that in the past the devas (angels, gods, space aliens) were visible and no one doubted whether they existed or what they were capable of doing as superhumans who could shapeshift and appear as average humans.

So who's the FAT one?

Budai or Pu-Tai (Chinese and Japanese 布袋, Bùdài, Hotei, Vietnamese Bố Đại) is a Chinese folkloric deity whose name means "Cloth Sack." The name comes from the Santa Claus like bag he is conventionally depicted as carrying.

Budai is usually identified with or seen as a pre-incarnation of Maitreya, the "messiah," the Future Buddha, so much so that the Budai image is one of the main forms in which Maitreya is depicted in Mahayana Buddhist China.

The "messiah" Maitreya

He is almost always shown as fat, jolly, and smiling or laughing. Hence his nickname in Chinese, the Laughing Buddha (Chinese 笑佛, pinyin Xiào Fó). It is no wonder that in the West, potheads (like Cypress Hill) frequently mistake the image of Budai for the historical Gautama Buddha (Shakyamuni, the "Sage of the Shakya/Scythian Clan). Sitting cross legged he is usually called the Fat Buddha (Chinese 胖佛, pinyin Pàng Fó). More