Hotei or Budai or Pu-tai, as is known in different cultures, is a deity in Chinese folklore. His image is based on a Zen monk who lived about 1000 years ago in China during the later Liang Dynasty and was known for his kindness and loving nature. Hotei is also seen as a reincarnation of Maitreya ot the Future Buddha because of his nature and also because of a chant that he uttered before his death.
Maitreya, the true Maitreya
has billions of incarnations.
Often he is shown to people at the time;
other times they do not recognize him.
Hotei is very important in Feng Shui and is seen as benefitting business as well as family. It is best places in the West part of the room and never in bathrooms as this this a sign of bad luck.
Image
The general image of Budai is that of a fat bald man with a pot belly wearing a robe in Chinese style and carrying or wearing prayer beads. He carries a begging bowl, indicating his Buddhist nature and life. He is also always seen with a cloth or linen sack which hold his few possesions and items like candy for children, rice plants signifying wealth and abundance, and worries and sadness of people.
Budai is popularly known as Laughing Buddha or Fat Buddha in the West because of this image.
Significance
His image is a picture of abundance. He signifies Buddhist values of contentment, generosity, kindness and love. He is frequenly depicted with children and is known to take away sadness from people.
He is seen as a patron of the poor, weak and children. He is also considered to be the patron saint of restauranteurs , bartenders and fortune tellers.
Chinese I Kuan Tao shrines have Budai as a central figure and stands for contentment, generosity, wisdom and kindheartedness.
Confusions
Budai is sometimes confused with Angida Arhat, who is one of the 18 Buddhist Arhats, and Phra Sangkachai, a revered Thai monk because of similarities in their depictions and qualities attributed.
Buddhist monasteries are known as vihara in India, gompa in Tibet, wat in Thailand, Laos & Cambodia. The concept of a Buddhist monastery emerged in the 4th century B.C.
Buddhist monks used to wander all over South Asia. But in the rainy season, they needed to stay in a shelter for protection. The usual practice was to clear forest land to prepare a temporary shelter. Sometimes monks used to get trapped in rough weather. In order to avoid this, monks were ordered to stay in a fixed location for the period of the rainy season. The places these monks used to stay during the rainy season were the first monasteries.
The groups of monks, known as sanghas, started staying in buildings donated to them by wealthy followers. Over a period of time, they left their wandering life and started living in the monasteries. They debated and developed philosophical ideas in these monasteries. Gradually, these monasteries turned into centers of learning, many of them famous, like the University of Nalanda.
Through the years, monasteries became an indispensable part of Buddhism. Living and learning in monasteries is now the preferred lifestyle for Buddhist monks.
Architecture of Buddhist monasteries
The architecture of ancient Buddhist monasteries is different in different countries. The first monasteries, which were in India, were very simple. As time passed, they became more beautiful and more lavish.
Some famous Buddhist monasteries include Nalanda in India, Shaolin in China, etc.
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