Statue of Hotei in the familiar likeness of the Chinese tradition. In this picture, he is facing the main entrance, which is traditional for Chinese temples.

For the Japanese musician, see Tomoyasu Hotei.

Hotei (布袋) or Bu-Dai (布袋羅漢 (pinyin:Bùdài Luóhàn) literally Calico Bag Arhat) is better known in the English-speaking world as the fat Laughing Buddha. In China, he is called Bu-Dai (Wade-Giles Pu-Tai) or Mí Lè Fó (彌勒佛) and dubbed the Loving or Friendly One. Hotei is the interpretation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the predicted Buddha to succeed Gautama Buddha in the future. He has become incorporated into Buddhist and Shinto culture and is based on an eccentric Chinese Chan monk. His image graces many temples, restaurants, and amulets. Hotei has become a deity of contentment and abundance, Taoist in origin. Hotei persists in Japanese folklore as one of the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichi Fukujin). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (480x640, 147 KB) Summary Maitreya statue at Ming Ya Buddhist Foundation of Los Angeles. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (480x640, 147 KB) Summary Maitreya statue at Ming Ya Buddhist Foundation of Los Angeles. ... Tomoyasu Hotei (布袋寅泰 Hotei Tomoyasu, born on February 1, 1962 in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture) is a Korean Japanese musician, guitarist and actor. ... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... Maitreya Bodhisattva (Sanskrit), Metteyya Bodhisatta (Pāli), or Miroku Bosatsu (Japanese, kanji 弥勒) is the future Buddha in Buddhist eschatology. ... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Shinto() is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. ... Chán is a major school of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... Taoism (sometimes written as and actually pronounced as Daoism (dow-ism)) is the English name for: Dao Jia [philosophical tao] philosophical school based on the texts the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Laozi [Lao Tzu] and alternately spelled Dào Dé JÄ«ng) and the Zhuangzi; a family of organized... The seven fortune gods (七福神, shichi fukujin) in Japan refer to the seven gods of good fortune in Japanese folklore: ; . They are often the subject of netsuke carvings and other representations. ...

History

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Hotei

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (832x2880, 382 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Hotei ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (832x2880, 382 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Hotei ... Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese: 歌川国芳) (1798 - 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese woodblock print. ...

As Angida Arhat

The Laughing Buddha derives from the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, where there was a monk named Angida, whose name also meant calico bag.[1] Angida was one of the original eighteen Arhats of Buddhism. According to legend, Angida was a talented Indian snake catcher whose aim was to catch venomous snakes to prevent them from biting passers-by. Angida would also remove the snake's venomous fangs and release them. Due to his kindness, he was able to attain bodhi. Both Hotei and Angida have similar resemblances, as they both are obese, seen laughing and carrying a bag. Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE. Gautama Buddha was a South Asian spiritual leader who lived between approximately 563 BCE and 483 BCE. Born Siddhartha Gautama in Sanskrit, a name meaning descendant of Gotama whose aims are achieved/who is efficacious in achieving aims, he... A garden featuring depictions of various arhats (Hsi Lai Temple, California) An arhat (also arahat or arahant; Chinese: 阿羅漢, aluohan; Tibetan: dgra-bcom-pa; Jp. ... Bodhi, the Pāli and Sanskrit word for awakening or enlightenment, is an abstract noun formed from the verbal root budh (awake, become aware, notice, know or understand), corresponding to the verbs bujjhati (Pāli) and bodhati or budhyate (Sanskrit). ...

As a Chinese Buddhist monk

In 907 AD, during the Liang Dynasty in China, Hotei was theorized to have been a Buddhist monk in China. He was considered a man of good and loving character. It was said of Hotei's benevolent nature, that he was to be regarded as an incarnation of Maitreya Bodhisattva (the future Buddha), but this claim was only allegorical, and due to his large protruding stomach & smile, he was caricatured as the "Laughing Buddha." Events Oleg leads Kievan Rus in a campaign against Constantinople Yelü Abaoji establishes Liao (Khitan) dynasty Births Deaths Categories: 907 ... Liang Dynasty (also: Leung in Cantonese,) 梁朝 (502-557) was the third of Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Chen Dynasty. ... Maitreya Bodhisattva (Sanskrit), Metteyya Bodhisatta (Pāli), or Miroku Bosatsu (Japanese, kanji 弥勒) is the future Buddha in Buddhist eschatology. ... In Buddhist thought, a bodhisattva (Pali: bodhisatta; Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: púsà; Japanese: 菩薩 bosatsu; Korean: ë³´ì‚´ bosal ; Tibetan changchub sempa (byang-chub sems-dpa); Vietnamese: Bồ Tát; Thai: พระโพธิสัตว์) is a being who is dedicated to assisting all sentient beings in achieving complete Buddhahood. ...

Description

The image of Hotei is almost always seen carrying a cloth or linen sack, which never empties, and is filled with many precious items, including rice plants (indicating wealth), sweets for children, food, and the woes of the world. Sometimes it can be filled with children, as they are seen as some of those precious items of this world. His duty is patron of the weak, poor and children. In some scenes he may be found sitting on a cart drawn by boys, or wielding a fan called an oogi (said to be a "wish giving" fan -- in the distant past, this type of fan was used by the aristocracy to indicate to vassals that their requests would be granted). Linum usitatissimum L. - Flax Torn linen cloth, recovered from the Dead Sea Linen is a material made from the fibers of the flax plant. ...

The statue depicts a stout, smiling or laughing shaved man in robes with a largely exposed pot belly stomach symbolic for happiness, good luck, and plenitude. The stomach is also considered the seat of the soul in Chinese mythology and so the large stomach can be taken as an allegory for Hotei's Open Heartedness. Some sculptures have small children at his feet. Another item that is usually seen with the Hotei figure, is a begging bowl; to represent his Buddhist nature. All of these images display Hotei as a wandering monk who goes around and takes the sadness from people of this world, in some ways parallel to the Christian Jesus. He most certainly is a loving and cheerful character, strikingly similar to Santa Claus in the West, and is a common statuette found in homes and businesses in China and Japan. A Santa Claus doll. ...

Religions that believe in Hotei

I Kuan Tao

Statues of Hotei form a central part of shrines in the I Kuan Tao. He is usually referred to as Maitreya and is taken to represent many important messages from Taoist teachings, including generosity and open heartedness. I Kuan-Tao emblem I-Kuan Tao, also Yi Guan Dao, or usually initialized as IKT (一貫道, translated as the Unity Sect) is a new religious movement that originated in twentieth-century China. ...

Folklore

One belief surrounding the figure of Hotei in popular folklore is that if a person is to rub his belly, it brings forth wealth, good luck, and prosperity. This belief however does not form part of any Buddhist doctrine. He is often admired for his happiness, plenitude, and supposedly wisdom of contentment.

There is also the story that he was a very handsome enlightened monk. people came for his teachings but most of the people came for his beauty, to stop people from coming for his beauty the monk ate himself until he was big and fat, so that people would come for his wisdom and enlightenment.

Western trends

Recently, Hotei statues, statuettes and amulets have become relatively well-known in Western cultures. Misconceptions have arisen because of this new enthusiasm, including the false connection made between the Laughing Buddha and Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ...

See also

• Malaysian Chinese Gods

Picture of a family of Malaysian Chinese Gods, including Kwan Yin Ma, Kwan Kong and Na Tuk Kong. ...

External links

• Truetao.org Information on Hotei within I Kuan Tao
• An article on History of Maitreya & Hotei

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