Anyone walking around an American Chinatown will see statues of what appears to be a very stout, or fat, Buddha.
Local merchants, and now the general public, call this fat man the Happy China-man or the Laughing Buddha.
Popular culture call him the Fat Buddha.
This is not a Buddha,
This is Budai (Hotei in Japan). Budai had no desire to call himself a Ch'an (Zen) Master or to gather disciples around him. Instead he walked the street with a large hemp sack slung over his shoulder. The sack was filled with fruit, candy, and sweet cakes. These goodies he would give to the children who gathered around him in play.
During this play, Budai would teach the children. He established a kindergarten in the street.
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