| Who is that fat laughing Buddha we often see | | | | In a more profound way, it is understood that he was |
| depicted sitting in a relaxed posture? Many people | | | | not merely a human being. He was a manifestation of |
| gets confused with this image of a fat monk, totally | | | | Maitreya. Maitreya is venerated throughout the |
| incongruent with the enlightened and meditative | | | | Buddhist world as the future Buddha, the next in the |
| Buddha. For a lot of people who come to the study of | | | | line. He is waiting in heaven until the situation is right in |
| Buddhism for the first time, this actually is the Buddha, | | | | this world for him to come and to start the teaching of |
| this chubby guy who has a smile on his face sitting in a | | | | Buddhism all over again. |
| relaxed posture. In fact, we see that figure around us | | | | Since he is up there in heaven, it's possible for us to |
| quite often in this world. | | | | invoke his aid. You can find remarkable stories of |
| Well, here is his story. He is called Budai. It is said, | | | | devotion to Maitreya, specially in China, where he |
| specially in China and Japan, that this image of a | | | | seems to play a particularly important role. Remember |
| chubby monk is that of a real monk who lived and | | | | that Budai is simply a representation of Maitreya of the |
| wandered through this world. It is told that he carried a | | | | many that exist. |
| bag full of things which he distributed to people. He | | | | To understand this devotion to Maitreya, you must |
| was almost like a Buddhist Santa Claus. He had | | | | remember that Mahayana Buddhism changed the |
| everything that anyone needed to remove their | | | | style and tone of the tradition in profound ways. To |
| suffering. In a happy and jovial way he will simply | | | | know more about this, you might be interested in this |
| provide this to people. | | | | web site. |