The chubby Buddha image often seen in East Asian settings is indeed
Hotei or Pu-tai (not sure about the transliteration; I believe the
first is the Japanes form, and the second Chinese), whose name is
supposed to mean 'hemp bag (or sack)', a reference to the bag that he
often carries on his back- which did indeed contain toys for children.
He is identified as a sort of ideal Zen Buddhist figure; he was also
supposed to have possessed many supernatural powers that he
demonstrated throughout his life. He aided poor people by predicting
the weather and alerting them to disasters. After his deathn(he is a
semi-historical figure, who supposedly was born to the name Ch'i-tz'u
in 10th Century Chekiang), he was supposed to have been revealed to be
an avatar of Maitteya Bodhisattva (the Buddha of the next age).

Depicting a Buddha-like figure as fat and surrounded by children is
sometimes viewed as being a Buddhist adaptation to Chinese culture.
As you may know, there was a great deal of concern when Buddhism
entered China over perceived incompatibilities between Buddhism and
Chinese culture, particularly Confucian values. It's very difficult
to fit the Chinese conception of a good son or daughter by leaving
your parents to become a celibate monk who sires no children and
gathers no wealth to support his or her parents.

Depicting a Buddhist figure in this way brings a Buddhism closer into
line with Confucian values. Being overweight was considered a sign of
wealth in ancient China, as is often the case in poor, agrarian
societies where food stuffs are the primary form of meaninfgul wealth.
Being surrounded by children, or depicted as a doting grandfather
figure, makes the Buddha or Bodhisattva seem more positively inclined
towards children and family. You'll often see in both Chinese and
some Indian depictions that the Buddha is shown with long earlobes.
This is a sign of wealth or nobility in the inconography of both
societies (one explanation that I have heard is that the earlobe was
supposed to be 'stretched' by the weight of the jeweled ear-rings that
the figure had been wearing).

Because of the perceived compatbility with Chinese values and the
popularity of Hotei among the poor becuase of his aid and miracles,
Chinese monks began to depict him quite frequently in their art. The
image is now probably the most common Buddha image that you see in
East Asia, the Laughing Buddha. By seeming much more 'approachable'
than the idea of a gaunt, family-less foreign saint, Pu-tai helped
increase the popularity of Buddhism among the lower classes in China,
despite its start as being almost entirely reserved for educated
elites.

The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen has a brief intro article
about him. The rest I pulled out of the remains of my memory of a
Chinese Buddhist History class I took several years ago from Robert
Gimello. I might be able to dig up some better sources, if anyone is
interested.

Clay Collier

On 4/30/05, Yuttadhammo <buffer@...> wrote:
> > Hey Gunnar
> >
> > The Buddha who is often portrayed as fat is usually Hotei and
> > not the historical Siddhartha Gotama. He is said to be a
> > wandering monk who carried a bag of sweet stuff for children.
> > Sometimes he is also called the Laghing Buddha. How he
> > originated I am not sure but I think he is connected with
> > zen. Sounds a bit like Santa Claus.
> >
> > pirayaani
>
> It might help here to note that "Kwan Yin" is often referred to as Buddha,
> though orthodox tradition says she is only a Bodhisatta. Then there is the
> Medicine Buddha, and so on and so on. I think it is a misuse of the
> term...
>
> A Sri Lankan monk once gave a lecture in Canada about what the word Buddha
> means, and he said that he himself might be considered "Buddha" because he
> had learned a lot in school. Again, I think this is a misuse of the
> term...
> He also claimed that the word "vipassana" doesn't occur in the Tipitaka (it
> does, after all).
>
> There is a book in Thailand called "Good Morning, Buddha", originating from
> a Thai man who addressed the author, a foreign monk, in this way. Probably
> just a lack of vocabulary in this case...
>
> I think the fat "Buddha" is used to bring luck, and you're supposed to rub
> his belly or something like that . Sometimes you see children climbing all
> over him. I've also heard that it isn't really supposed to be a Buddha. I
> was given some candles of a fat Buddha once. Burn them? Don't burn them?
> What to do?
>
> Suma"ngalaani,
>
> Yuttadhammo
>
>
>
>
>
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