Buddha Statue Q&A

Suzi Q answers:

Chances are that your statue represents Budai/Putai, a 10th century Chinese monk who is sometimes known as the “Laughing Buddha.”

In East Asia, Budai is celebrated for his ability to bring good fortune. His large sack carries goodies for all people. He is also thought to be an incarnation of Maitreya, the “Future Buddha” who will appear some time in the . . . Future!

Here are a couple of images of Budai – you can see if these look anything like your figure:
http://www.npm.gov.tw/exh94/form9407/english/images/001_04.jpg
http://www.fengshuicrazy.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/buddha.jpg

Suzi Q answers:

It means that he is holding beads on his knee & is green & holding a dish with a dumpling.

I don’t think it means anything too significant.

Suzi Q answers:

Maybe they have a predujice against short fat people with right arms.

Suzi Q answers:

Different Buddha statues represent different types of Buddhism. Just like Christianity has subgroups such as Catholicism and Protestant.

I found a website that sells different statues and they actually tell you which statue means what,

AMIDA BUDDHA:
Lord of Infinite Light & Life
Lord of the Beyond / Afterlife
Main Deity of Pure Land Sects

DAINICHI BUDDHA:
Lord of the Cosmos
All-Encompassing Buddha
Great Sun Buddha
Esoteric / Tantric Sects
Central Mandala Deity

and etc. Just go to the link for more.

The cheapest one, would probably be the chubby one. Most Vietnamese stores have him in their stores the most. I think it is because he represents wealth; if you look at his statue, he tends to have a big bag like santa clause filled with money/gold.

Suzi Q answers:

Actually, Buddha never asked His followers to worship Him. Some Buddhists worship Him due to the matter of the rules of some certain sects they follow and traditions they adopt, but other Buddhists who follows another sects and traditions may still worship Buddha if they want to, so it depends on each individual.

Some people believe that there are Deities, Deva, or any other spiritual beings inside the statue of Buddha. This might be true, but it will still require our beliefs at the end – or at least until to the point where you may be able to prove it by yourself.

Suzi Q answers:

The word “Buddha” means “enlightened” or “awakened”. Siddhartha (Buddha) was a man who woke up and saw his true nature … And that enlightenment, the knowledge, the understanding, stopped his suffering. He taught us that all of us have that Buddha-nature inside of us, and that we too can stop our suffering by waking up to the true nature of reality.

The man who we call “Buddha” has not been the only one to reach this awakening, but we acknowledge him because he is the one who founded the teachings. We do not worship him. That would be silly. He was just a man. And if we want to also become awakened ourselves, only we can do that for ourselves … No outside power can.

Even sillier would be to think that a statue has any emotions or awareness.

As far as punishment goes, the more one awakens to the true nature of reality, the more compassionate they become, and the less they are pushed around by negative emotions … Getting angry and offended find no where to “hook” an enlightened person. Buddhahood, whether it is reached by Siddhartha, or by your or by me, cannot be reached until one stops being hooked by negative emotions.

Your luck is entirely, 100% dependent, on your karma. And your karma is nothing more than what you have put inside yourself, by what you say, think and do. Generosity creates the karma of fortune. Dishonest words create the karma of never being believed. Luck, fortune, bad luck, misfortune … YOU make what happens to you, not some outside power.

Suzi Q answers:

Apparently a lot of water weight around the middle…

Suzi Q answers:

Your statues talk to you?

Suzi Q answers:

THE Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautam) was a teacher in India around 500 BC. While A Buddha is a person who has been spiritually enlightened. The Buddhist religion recognized many different “Enlightened Ones” over the century. Including the Laughing “Enlightened One” and the Mediating “Enlightened One”. Yes, they are different people.

Unlike the Christian religion where its founder (Jesus) is worshiped, in the Buddhist religion “the Buddha” is only seen as a teacher. He is not worshiped. He is not seen as divine or as the savior, etc. Only the first of many (including some alive today) who are enlightened and able to teach about the nature of the universe.