Talk:Budai

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Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 16:22, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Sex buddha
i think the article may be completely wrong. As far as i know, this huan1xi3 buddha is a sex buddha. That he's role is to encourage people to have sex. That is why he is often depicted with such features as naked large potbelly and ripe breasts, and often given to newly web couples. 69.236.95.49 3 July 2005 09:24 (UTC)

Speaking as a practising Zen Buddhist and someone that has done a lot of research I have never encountered that particular legend, not even in Folklore. The Buddhist take on Hotei as well as he alleged poem was explained to me by a Monk at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey so i'm convinced of its reliability. There is plenty of evidence available on the internet to confirm the current article. I could also reference a few books. Lostsocks 14:16, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

Also, no disrespect intended, but i do not believe there is such a thing as a "sex Buddha". Is there a source for this infomation? It sounds a lot like a recent new-age invention Lostsocks 18:42, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

Another story. Anyone familiar?
OK, so this is mainly just for my info since this is what I've been telling people, but I've heard a story that this was a Chinese monk who was very hadsome. After he became a monk, the women would fall in love with him upon first seeing him and because he was so full of kindness and generosity, he resolved to become obese to prevent these women from suffering. ??? Feel free to tell me I'm full of crap. Obhaso 02:45, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

I've never come across the story myself, though that does not mean it has never been told. Lot's of anecdotes often develop around popular figures such as Hotei. There is another one mentioned in "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" that I have not heard told elsewhere Lostsocks 14:34, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

I heard that these were actually pre-buddhist indigenous spirits, kind of like the pre-christian northern european idea of faeries...just kind of local spirits.--Feralnostalgia 13:31, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

I was told this same story by a monk in a Danish Buddhist temple (random, I know) Phrenology (talk) 02:44, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Kubera and Dzambala
Has anybody notice the resemblance Hotei has to Kubera and Dzambala (the uncovered pot-belly and the postion of the legs). See web pages:http://www.chazen.wisc.edu/popups/pop.asp?ID=1973-15 for Kubera and http://www.oselgroup.org/images/tsa/dzambala.jpg for Dzambala. Can anyone explain this?- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.121.200.42 (talk) 16:34, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

What language is hotei?
Why is this page at "Hotei" and not at "Budai"? What romanisation is "Bu-Dai"? It's neither Pinyin nor W-G. I'm proposing a move to Budai. In any case, "Hotei" means Jinhua ham in several Wu dialects. --Sumple (Talk) 02:21, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Hotei is Japanese. Zazaban 23:57, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Milefo & Hotei
The Wikipedia entry for Milefo redirects to Hotei. Hotei is the Japanese pronounciation for 布袋. As the figure is originating from Chinese culture it would be more natural to have an article on Milefo (with references to Hotei) than vice versa. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bobke (talk • contribs) 12:36, 30 December 2006 (UTC).


 * At least the Milefo name should be mentioned in this article, since it is as common as Budai in China and Taiwan. Case in point, the accompanying picture of the article is labeled Milefo 彌勒佛 (as the laughing Buddha is known in Taiwan), not Budai 布袋 http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-religion.html http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Putai.html http://thetempleguy.com/mi-le-fo/ascent/10bvahallmai.htm http://www.buddhism-guide.com/buddhism/laughing_buddha.htm Kai Carver (talk) 09:30, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

You will find that many people who edit on buddhist related articles ususally focus primarily on one culture or another. You'll find articles based mainly on Japan, China, Tibet ect. Zazaban 23:56, 1 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I think it is reasonable to refer to him as "Budai" in a Chinese context, and "Hotei" in a Japanese context. What do you think? I have changed the opening a bit to avoid labelling him using either foreign language name, which is also in accordance with the common names policy. --Sumple (Talk) 01:24, 2 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I have had the impression that the name "Hotei" is more common in English than "Budai", which I had never heard before I learned it from Wikipedia. However, I can't really substantiate this, and it doesn't matter much. In any event, I think Milefo should be a redirect to Maitreya.&mdash;Nat Krause(Talk!·What have I done?) 19:20, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Monks at the temple I visited called him Pu Tai, which I'm guessing is Budai, romanised differently. Though I don't think it matters too much which we use. Most people would probably look for Laughing Buddha if they were unfamiliar with Budai ;) Lostsocks 03:20, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Pronounciation
How do you pronounce "Budai"? HighInBC(Need help? Ask me) 05:15, 4 April 2007 (UTC)


 * "Boo-dye" --Sumple (Talk) 05:17, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Sumple. Perhaps somebody who understand pronunciation guides could add that to the beginning. HighInBC(Need help? Ask me) 13:48, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

The Buddha or just a famous monk?
I am unclear about whether or not this figure is a mere monk or the Buddha (i.e. Siddhārtha Gautama), and I think the article could be more clear in this distinction as well. Now my grasp of Buddhism is non-existent, but I was told by a Buddhist monk in a temple I was visiting in Denmark that this figure was not the Buddha but was merely a very famous Buddhist monk. The article claims he is known as "the laughing Buddha," but then it also claims he is a monk. Which is correct--or are they both correct? Does the English title "Buddha" potentially refer to multiple beings/monks? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Phrenology (talk) 02:51, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

He is not Siddharta Gautama. He's a completely different guy. "Laughing Buddha" is just a nickname that has nothing to do with actually being a Buddha, let alone the Buddha.

And yes, Chinese tradition recognises multiple Buddhas. Some people think this guy is a Buddha (usually Matreiya Buddha), while others people just see him as a figure of good luck. Everyone calls him "Laughing Buddha", regardless of what they believe.

No one confuses him with the Buddha.

Scientivore (talk) 02:12, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

It depends. From what I know, since the introduction of Buddhism to China, things have changed. Chinese Buddhism or Asian Buddhism, should I say, is different from the ancient Nepalese buddhism. Budai is synonymous with Maitreya Buddha in Asia. You might as well say that Budai = Maitreya in Asia. That is quite wrong because Maitreya is a future Buddha and hence no one knows how he looks like, but still. So to most Asians, Budai is not just a monk. Bonkers The Clown (talk) 13:34, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Lots of people confuse this figure with the Buddha. I've come across it time and time again among people from different parts of the world where I live (in the UK). I've also seen the statues advertised as of the Buddha frequently. I'm glad this article seems to be accurate (at least it doesn't confuse this particular monk with the Buddha), but I'm surprised it doesn't include the common confusion made with Shakyamuni among the other confusions it devotes space to.Meerta (talk) 01:53, 9 June 2018 (UTC)

Description
I've removed the description:
 * Budai has the appearance of an extremely fat bald bloke, who only wears sheets wrapped around himself (normal clothes don't fit), and half a ton of jewellery. It is because of the jewellery that he is always seen smiling or laughing (Budai is well known for his greed).

and replaced it with the generic, but more accurate and less offensive:
 * Budai is often depicted as having the appearance of a fat bald man wearing a robe and wearing or otherwise carrying prayer beads.

I invite anyone who wishes to expand this accurately and with NPOV to replace my own wording. --Reverend Loki (talk) 18:38, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

I would've removed the print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi as it depicts Daikoku, and not Hotei. Check the characters above the image. Daikoku and Hotei are often confused, and Daikoku is usually the one who holds a hammer in his hand. Liaf (talk) 12:30, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

I've removed the final sentance which said: Blackcats is somethin else again and I keep statues of them, fat or scrawny, in a big sack buried under a big tree. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jemardi (talk • contribs) 15:29, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

Angida
I've removed the sentence that claims that 'Angida' means Calico Bag. 'Budai' means Calico Bag, and Angida is often conflated with Budai, but I do not think Angida means Calico Bag. I couldn't find it in any Sanskrit dictionary, and also, it just seems really unlikely. Scientivore (talk) 14:42, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Article quality assessment?
You know, a couple years ago, this article wasn't very good. (There was a lot of incorrect or confused information in it. Just look at the discussion above for a sample.) But now the article seems pretty good to me. Can we get its quality reassessed? 99.225.130.171 (talk) 02:41, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Big belly paradoxical
Isn't it paradoxical that someone who should be perceived so widely as an icon of perfection should be represented as a fat, bald man? What are the explanations given for this apparent contradiction. __meco (talk) 14:30, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

He is a symbol of contentment hence he is content with being fat and bald. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.188.49.167 (talk) 21:45, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Deity
I have changed the title of the "Conflation to other deities" section to "Conflation to other religious figures".

This is due to the fact that, in Buddhism, no deities are relevant (it cannot be said that they do not exist, since any buddhist can believe in the existence of a deity, as long as that person understands that the deity will not "save" or "enlighten" anyone. Even if a deity does exist, the phrase "one is the guardian of oneself, who else would the guardian be?" still holds for Buddhism).

So, I think the new text to be more proper to a figure that is not seen as a deity in a religion where deities play no significant role.

User:JulioMarco —Preceding undated comment added 11:49, 9 November 2011 (UTC).

"Laughing Buddah" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Laughing Buddah. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Farang Rak Tham  (Talk) 17:07, 7 September 2019 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 20:07, 20 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 湖山寺的彌勒佛.JPG