It’s the most familiar icon of Buddhism; a fat, bald, and laughing man. But most westerners would be surprised to know that it’s not who they think it is. It's not a representation of Siddhartha Gautama, the original Buddha. The Fat Buddha, as he is commonly known, is most likely a depiction of an eccentric Chinese monk named Budai (Japanese call him Hotei); though there are conflicting stories about the origin of the fat Buddha.
The Difference Between Siddhartha Gautama and Budai
Budai supposedly lived during the Later Liang Dynasty (907-923 CE). The first images of the Fat Buddha began appearing in China in the late 800s or early 900s CE. Conversely, Siddhartha Gautama lived in India around 560 BCE. The first images of Gautama appeared around 127 BCE.
Visually, the depictions of Gautama and Budai are very different. Gautama is portrayed as a tall, slender man, often meditating; Budai is short, laughing, has a large belly, is either holding or wearing prayer beads, and is holding a cloth sack. As a matter of fact, the name “Budai” means “cloth sack”. Despite the difference in appearance, Budai is a Buddha just the same as Siddhartha. Confusion should dissipate when one understands that under Buddhist tradition there are many buddhas. A “Buddha” is simply someone who has achieved perfect enlightenment, or nirvana. According to Buddhist tradition, Budai is but one of these enlightened sages.
Who is Budai?
The story of Budai is the most accepted reason among Buddhist scholars for the origin of the Fat Buddha. Budai was a Chan (or Zen) monk, who according to the stories written of him, was a little bit of an eccentric. He was a native of Fenghua, a city in the Zhejiang province of China. His Buddhist name was Qieci, which means “Promise this.”
Budai was mentioned in a number of koans. Koans are a story that is supposed to enlighten the listener. One koan about him said that Budai would travel around and give candy to poor children, and ask people for a penny. One day a monk walked up to him and asked him, “What is nirvana?” Budai drops his bag, and doesn’t say a word.
“How does one achieve nirvana?” the monk asked again. Budai picks up his bag, and continued on his way. Again, Budai didn’t say a word.
Chinese Buddhists often call the Fat Buddha an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, which is the “future Buddha”. Budai’s connection with being an incarnation of Maitreya is from a Chinese Buddhist hymn that is attributed to him as his dying words. The hymn says:
Maitreya, the true Maitreya has billions of incarnations.
Often he is shown to people at the time; other times they do not recognize him.
Andrew Perry - Andrew has a B.A. in Philosophy & Journalism. He has worked professionally for newspapers, news sites, and local government.
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