The story of the laughing Buddha

Over the centuries, his teachings have spread throughout India, China, Asia and eventually the world. Today, there are an estimated 376 million followers of Buddhism in the world.

So who was the laughing Buddha?

As Leidy indicated, Buddhism has developed over the millennia to include a pantheon of deities in addition to Gautama Buddha. These include many Bodhisattvas, the term denoting wise individuals who work for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

In Theravada Buddhism , practiced mainly in Southeast Asia, Gautama Buddha is only the most recent of the 28 Buddhas described in sacred texts. And then there are the avatars, the humans believed to be embodiments of deities.

It turns out that the Laughing Buddha was one such avatar, a 10th century Chinese monk named Budai . According to accounts written centuries later, Budai was a gregarious monk with a rounded belly who wandered from village to village carrying a large canvas bag over his shoulder. (Budai means "cloth bag" in Chinese.) He was loved by children and the poor, to whom he gave rice and sweets from his big bag.

On his bed of death, Budai wrote a poem in which he was revealed to be the avatar of Maitreya , a deity also known as "Future Buddha ".

Over time, Budai has become a popular subject of devotion in Zen Buddhism, both in China and in Japan, where he calls himself Hotei. His big belly and bag are said to represent abundance, and he is one of the seven lucky gods of Japan as an omen of prosperity and good health At one point, he also became the patron saint of restaurateurs and bartenders, hence its prime location next to the cash register.

Laughing Buddha Statues are all the rage!

The representations of the laughing Buddha are varied but the statues are the most popular and for good reason, in wood, terracotta, bronze or natural stone, seated in the lotus position or standing under a parasol, you are spoiled for choice to create a zen atmosphere here.

Leidy is not sure of the exact historical provenance of the current Laughing Buddha statues, but believes that Bodai imagery in Chinese art and sculpture began to appear in the 15th century.

"As world trade begins to expand at the end of the 16th and 17th centuries, and porcelain is completely transforming world ceramics, there are likely images of this figure. that crept inside, ”Leidy says. "She was imported to the West and then transformed into a laughing Buddha"

Although rubbing the belly of the laughing Buddha for good luck is not a Buddhist teaching, devotees of Buddhism do not seem to have a problem with this chubby statue.

"The fact that this laughing Buddha of folklore is accepted into official practice is testament to Buddhism's great tolerance for diversity," writes Barbara O'Brien, journalist and student of Zen Buddhism .

"For Buddhists, any quality that represents the nature of Buddha should be encouraged, the Laughing Buddha is not considered a sacrilege, even if people unknowingly confuse him with Shakyamuni Buddha". .