MI-LO-FWO -- MAITREYA BUDDHA
General y the Chinese worship him for wealth and happiness
and there are those who even believed strongly that he is able to
bequeath them with children as one of his most popular forms
is that with five children surrounding him. However the images
of him that are found in the temples normal y depict a fat genial
laughing figure with a mountainous bel y, in a sit ing posture,
and having a large bag beside him.
Because of this appearance, many people choose to cal him `e
Laughing Buddha'. Such a depiction by his Chinese devotee is a
far cry from what other Buddhists of other lands imagined him
to be, but this does not mean that the Chinese do not revere
him as much as others do. is portraiture of him came about
as a result of one of his memorable emanations in China during
the end of the Tang period and the beginning of the Wu-Tai
Dynasty (9071060). ere was a learned monk whom every-
one addressed as Pu Tai, meaning `Cloth Bag', as he was always
seen carrying a large hemp bag wherever he went. He was a na-
tive of the Chekiang Province who went about propagating the
Buddha-dharma. No one real y knew his true name although
he had cal ed himself `Chi Tze', and because of his bag, the peo-
ple preferred to refer to him as `the monk with the sack'. Here
he appeared as one who is extremely kind, jovial and helpful
and although he had no home or temple which he could cal his
own, he is always in a cheerful mood. He wandered about here
and there to beg for food, giving advice and teaching to those
who care to hear him, or he could be seen col ecting al kinds
of things which he would put into his bag. To the worldly ones
this act may be reckoned as an act of greed but it real y meant
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