"HOTEI" ~ METAPHOR of THE ORIGINAL LAUGHING BUDDHA

Bu-Dai Bu-Dai
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai   

Bu-Dai Bu-Dai
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai

Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai

Hotei / Ho'Tay

" In All the Infinite Fullness

that 'Creation' has to offer,

The Abundant 'Hotei Bu-Dai'

is the Very Most Satisfied of ALL

and he can generously offer You

the Design of your own Desires

through The Practices

of Non-Attached Joy !  ~ from the Chinese

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If we approach the wildness of our own mind

like a skilled horse-whisperer ~ so sensitively,

using gentleness, compassion, and kindness -

we return to our own wise natural state

of calm expansiveness
that is always available to us."  ~ Pema Chodron 

Hotei

'Hotei Bu-Dai' A Chinese Street Buddha ~

Hiz Zoner, somewhere a Do-Gooder 

in the street-culture of the West too,
is a good-hearted neighborhood priest

or a party boss who generously provides,

or the social worker who wisely counsels,

or the local Go-To person you go to see.
Yet this one's at the refined spiritual level:
the caring good Buddhist, the good doctor,

the good lawyer, the noble good tribal chief

quintessential guides to all community cultures.

'Hotei Bu-Dai'
a giant human food bag of food-stuff goodies

over his back, ready to re-purpose tears into toys. 

The Laughing Buddha himself is "Compassion"

wrapped in an old rotund metaphor,
a jolly Buddhist Santa -- 

a street monk ready to soothe

the crying child within us all.  ~ Akasa Levi 

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" In All the Infinite Fullness
that 'Creation' has to offer,
The Abundant 'Hotei Bu-Dai'
is the Very Most Satisfied of ALL
and he can generously offer you
the Design of your own Desires
through The Practices
of Non-Attached Joy ! " 
------------------------------

" If we approach the wildness of our mind
like a skilled horse-whisperer ~ mindfully,
using gentleness, compassion, and kindness -
we return to our own wise natural state
of calm expansiveness that is

always available to us."  ~ Pema Chodrron   

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HOTEI ( Ho-Tay ) The Laughing Buddha, for a thousand years,

a very visible, popular folk-image in Chinese Buddhism – where Hotei

is often called Bu-Dai ( pronounced Pu-Tai ) - dubbed The Kind-Hearted

One or The Loving One or The Friendly One. Bu-Dai or "The Laughing

Buddha" has become so fully incorporated into Asian Buddhist culture –

and he seems to be based on a real, eccentric Chinese Chan Zen monk

living in the time of the Liang Dynasty of 908 AD. Reminds us to be Happy !

 

Wherever one goes on the modern globe, Hotei's ever-present image

as little or big statues, paintings or necklace amulets – grace magnificent

Asian temples, and also very ordinary businesses & homes. Most Chinese

gift shops have a full stock of Buddha-statues - not the silent yoga-seated

'Meditative Buddha' - but the storekeeper will lead you to a large section

full of ceramic statues - stout, laughing, shaven-headed fat men in monk's

robes with a large, exposed, pot belly symbolic of satisfaction, abundance

and good luck ! The abdomen is considered the Seat of the Soul, 'Hara'

or 'Chi' in Chinese mythology - and so the large tummy can be taken as

a metaphor expressing Budai's very complete, contented soul - allowing

his wisdom, generosity and open kind-heartedness to freely flow.

Bu-Dai Bu-Dai
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai   

Bu-Dai Bu-Dai
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai

Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai
Bu-Dai u-Dai BuB-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 
Bu-Dai Bu-Dai Bu-Dai 

HOTEI ( Ho-Tay ) PU-TAI The Laughing Buddha, for a thousand years, a very visible, popular folk-image in Chinese Buddhism – where Hotei is often called Bu-Dai ( pronounced Pu-Tai ) - dubbed The Kind-Hearted One or The Loving One or The Friendly One. Bu-Dai or "The Laughing Buddha" has become so fully incorporated into Asian Buddhist culture – and he seems to be based on a real, eccentric Chinese Chan Zen monk living in the time of the Liang Dynasty of 908 AD. A big one stands in the garden of the Peninsula Hotel wherever you go in Asia. Reminds us to be Happy !

 

Wherever one goes on the modern globe, Hotei's ever-present image

as little or big statues, paintings or necklace amulets – grace magnificent

Asian temples, and also very ordinary businesses & homes. Most Chinese

gift shops have a full stock of Buddha-statues - not the silent yoga-seated

'Meditative Buddha' - but the storekeeper will lead you to a large section

full of ceramic statues - stout, laughing, shaven-headed fat men in monk's

robes with a large, exposed, pot belly symbolic of satisfaction, abundance

and good luck ! The abdomen is considered the Seat of the Soul, 'Hara'

or 'Chi' in Chinese mythology - and so the large tummy can be taken as

a metaphor expressing Budai's very complete, contented soul - allowing

his wisdom, generosity and open kind-heartedness to freely flow.

 

A world-wide, popular folklore belief about Budai is – that if a person rubs Hotei-Budai's belly – it can bring forth

sure happiness and prosperity for them. You can actually see the finger-rubbings on most of the old statues of him.

He is usually shown with a huge cloth sack over his shoulder – smiling or laughing uproariously, thus his nickname

"The Laughing Buddha".  He has 'realized' the Truth of Non-Attachment & Generosity and now Laughs. Yet he

carries a simple monk's begging bowl to still represent his truly simple Buddha-nature – a wandering monk who

goes around and takes away the sadness from all the people of this world – swept away off into his tiny bowl.

 

 

Yet Hotei Bu-Dai carries that awesomely huge cloth sack which never empties – that he keeps full with picked up

bits of meaningless rubbish that magically turn into many precious items that he gladly gives away to those in need

of nourishment or good cheer – finely grown rice plants to the poor promising wealth, sweets and little cakes for

unhappy children, food for the hungry, small pet animals for the lonely – and especially healing potions & medicines

for all the woes of the world. Sometimes his miraculous sack can even be filled with little children, that have crawled

out and across his huge belly – as children are seen as some of the most precious of creations. As the Patron Saint

of the weak, the abused, mothers & children – in his wanderings, Budai is said to be always giving free food to poor

people and Zen monks – and only asking a single penny from devoted Buddhist lay practitioners he meets. One fine

day a monk walks up to Budai and asks, "What is the real meaning of Zen?"  Budai suddenly drops his big bag on

the ground. "And how does one actually realize Zen?" the monk further asks. Without a word, Budai then suddenly

hoists up his gargantuan big bag again - and just silently walks on his way...   Bring a Hotei Budai home