Title: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Sophus on October 16, 2010, 06:09:35 AM
Post by: Sophus on October 16, 2010, 06:09:35 AM
I'm really curious why so many people think of Buddha as the jolly indian fat man. Usually I see him depicted like this:
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asianartresource.com%2Fmall%2Fasianartresourcecouk%2Fcustomerimages%2Ftopic-37917.jpg&hash=36f94b5d8a300d3f264ef52a5b6b0d6afde5d3c3)
There's another common way of him being depicted where not idealized like this but rather he's so skinny that you can see his ribs. Where did the chunky enlightened one come from?
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asianartresource.com%2Fmall%2Fasianartresourcecouk%2Fcustomerimages%2Ftopic-37917.jpg&hash=36f94b5d8a300d3f264ef52a5b6b0d6afde5d3c3)
There's another common way of him being depicted where not idealized like this but rather he's so skinny that you can see his ribs. Where did the chunky enlightened one come from?
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: tymygy on October 16, 2010, 06:41:11 AM
Post by: tymygy on October 16, 2010, 06:41:11 AM
Actually, there isn't just ONE Buddha. The "fat" Buddha is Siddhartha Gautama, and Buddha is "one who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment" and there are a few people who have gotten that "title".
So the statues are really statues of those who achieved that.
So the statues are really statues of those who achieved that.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Sophus on October 16, 2010, 06:48:05 AM
Post by: Sophus on October 16, 2010, 06:48:05 AM
Quote from: "tymygy"Actually, there isn't just ONE Buddha. The "fat" Buddha is Siddhartha Gautama, and Buddha is "one who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment" and there are a few people who have gotten that "title".But I believe they are all suppose to depict Siddhartha Gautama, no?
So the statues are really statues of those who achieved that.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: tymygy on October 16, 2010, 07:47:01 AM
Post by: tymygy on October 16, 2010, 07:47:01 AM
Quote from: "Sophus"Quote from: "tymygy"Actually, there isn't just ONE Buddha. The "fat" Buddha is Siddhartha Gautama, and Buddha is "one who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment" and there are a few people who have gotten that "title".But I believe they are all suppose to depict Siddhartha Gautama, no?
So the statues are really statues of those who achieved that.
I looked around and thats what I found.
Sorry, thats all I can tell you.
Maybe if I do a little more research on it when I get on a better computer I can tell you more about it.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Recusant on October 16, 2010, 11:24:07 AM
Post by: Recusant on October 16, 2010, 11:24:07 AM
Quote from: "Sophus"I'm really curious why so many people think of Buddha as the jolly indian fat man.
The image you posted looks well nourished, but not what I would call fat. The same goes for many of the ancient Indian images of Buddha. I think that the "fat Buddha" is actually the result of confusion with a character called "Budai" or "Hotei." Though there are apparently some sects that consider Budai to be an incarnation of Buddha, generally he's considered to be an entirely different person. The Wiki article on Budai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budai) covers all this, and is not too bad, in my opinion. I'm not what anybody would call an observant Buddhist though, so I might have missed an inaccuracy or two in the wiki piece.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Asmodean on October 16, 2010, 02:08:49 PM
Post by: Asmodean on October 16, 2010, 02:08:49 PM
Quote from: "Sophus"How Did Buddha Get Fat?McDonalds. Like every one else
On a more serious note, I believe being nice and plump is considered a symbol of success down in India at least. Perhaps that holds true for Buddha's place of origin? Somneone attempted to make him look successful?
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: PoopShoot on October 16, 2010, 02:19:57 PM
Post by: PoopShoot on October 16, 2010, 02:19:57 PM
Quote from: "Asmodean"On a more serious note, I believe being nice and plump is considered a symbol of success down in India at least.That tends to hold in any area where simply getting enough to eat is a sign of wealth and success. What really baffles me is the ears.
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arka-shop.co.uk%2Facatalog%2Fbuddha02.jpg&hash=b0a2cbdf2f51802f0ceb7539c6b16069b50ee4de)
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Asmodean on October 16, 2010, 03:01:35 PM
Post by: Asmodean on October 16, 2010, 03:01:35 PM
Quote from: "PoopShoot"You can stretch your ear piercing holes to fit some pretty damned extreme things into them.Quote from: "Asmodean"On a more serious note, I believe being nice and plump is considered a symbol of success down in India at least.That tends to hold in any area where simply getting enough to eat is a sign of wealth and success. What really baffles me is the ears.
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arka-shop.co.uk%2Facatalog%2Fbuddha02.jpg&hash=b0a2cbdf2f51802f0ceb7539c6b16069b50ee4de)
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: PoopShoot on October 16, 2010, 03:07:15 PM
Post by: PoopShoot on October 16, 2010, 03:07:15 PM
Quote from: "Asmodean"You can stretch your ear piercing holes to fit some pretty damned extreme things into them.Among other parts.
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FvpJmhVX2I88%2F0.jpg&hash=d7ac405e47ffe16083f6f39c58044db11b330997)
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Thumpalumpacus on October 16, 2010, 04:11:29 PM
Post by: Thumpalumpacus on October 16, 2010, 04:11:29 PM
Christ, I really didn't need to see someone's septum at eight in the morning.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: PoopShoot on October 16, 2010, 04:14:43 PM
Post by: PoopShoot on October 16, 2010, 04:14:43 PM
Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"Christ, I really didn't need to see someone's septum at eight in the morning.On the plus side, it makes booger-removal all that much easier.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Thumpalumpacus on October 16, 2010, 04:16:07 PM
Post by: Thumpalumpacus on October 16, 2010, 04:16:07 PM
Quote from: "PoopShoot"Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"Christ, I really didn't need to see someone's septum at eight in the morning.On the plus side, it makes booger-removal all that much easier.
Yeah, it looks like a garden-hose could do the trick with that kid.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Tanker on October 17, 2010, 04:08:21 AM
Post by: Tanker on October 17, 2010, 04:08:21 AM
If I remember the Buddha story right. The Buddha in this case being the fat one most westerners think of. He came from a rich and powerful affluent family. He became tied of the holowness of this lifestyle and seeked enlightenment through a hindi religous practice of starvation and deprivation to remove worldly distraction and achive a greater understanding of "life, the univere, and everything". At some point he came to the realisation that life and oneness should not be about enforced pain and stuggle but about seeing and expierenceing the good and the wonderful the world has to offer. This of course included eating with enjoyment. If you eat too much, especialy with the goal of enjoyment, you get fat. It's as "simple" as that. There are many forms of buddha not all of whom represent "the Buhhda" as westerners think of but many of him throughtout his life including earlier in when his weight reflected his eating habits
This is of course just hearsay and my own somewhat flawed memory. If there is someone better versed with the life of the Buddha or eastern mystisism please correct me. I'd rather the information be right then my half remembered story has me comfortable with.
This is of course just hearsay and my own somewhat flawed memory. If there is someone better versed with the life of the Buddha or eastern mystisism please correct me. I'd rather the information be right then my half remembered story has me comfortable with.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Sophus on October 17, 2010, 08:16:56 AM
Post by: Sophus on October 17, 2010, 08:16:56 AM
Quote from: "Recusant"Ah, thanks Recusant. I bet you're right. Says he's known here as "the fat Buddha" but I'm guessing the average Joe you ask on the street would presume the Buddha as a jolly fat man.Quote from: "Sophus"I'm really curious why so many people think of Buddha as the jolly indian fat man.
The image you posted looks well nourished, but not what I would call fat. The same goes for many of the ancient Indian images of Buddha. I think that the "fat Buddha" is actually the result of confusion with a character called "Budai" or "Hotei." Though there are apparently some sects that consider Budai to be an incarnation of Buddha, generally he's considered to be an entirely different person. The Wiki article on Budai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budai) covers all this, and is not too bad, in my opinion. I'm not what anybody would call an observant Buddhist though, so I might have missed an inaccuracy or two in the wiki piece.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Tanker on October 17, 2010, 08:43:02 AM
Post by: Tanker on October 17, 2010, 08:43:02 AM
Lol. Wow I suck. I totaly missed Recusants answer and link. My scroll must have jumped because I read the first couple responses and skimmed the body mod posts thinking I had read the whole thread. Well there you go and thanks for posting acurate info and a link Recusant.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Prometheus on October 19, 2010, 06:53:07 AM
Post by: Prometheus on October 19, 2010, 06:53:07 AM
The fat one isn't siddhartha. His name is Budai. To answer your initial question, I think people think Buddha's fat because they are misinformed and don't care to become informed. Many of them also believe that Buddhists pray to Buddha or that he is a god. None of this is true(There are exceptions to this in some sects but generally the belief is that the enlightened(Buddhas) have no interest in or power over the material world.).
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: DropLogic on October 19, 2010, 07:45:29 AM
Post by: DropLogic on October 19, 2010, 07:45:29 AM
Quote from: "PoopShoot"I bet his life story is fascinating.Quote from: "Asmodean"You can stretch your ear piercing holes to fit some pretty damned extreme things into them.Among other parts.
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FvpJmhVX2I88%2F0.jpg&hash=d7ac405e47ffe16083f6f39c58044db11b330997)
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Tanker on October 19, 2010, 08:39:25 AM
Post by: Tanker on October 19, 2010, 08:39:25 AM
Quote from: "DropLogic"Quote from: "PoopShoot"I bet his life story is fascinating.Quote from: "Asmodean"You can stretch your ear piercing holes to fit some pretty damned extreme things into them.Among other parts.
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FvpJmhVX2I88%2F0.jpg&hash=d7ac405e47ffe16083f6f39c58044db11b330997)
I bet it's not and that's why he did that.
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Asmodean on October 20, 2010, 08:14:01 AM
Post by: Asmodean on October 20, 2010, 08:14:01 AM
Quote from: "Tanker"I bet it's not and that's why he did that.If he just likes the way it looks, does his life story really matter..?
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: Prometheus on October 23, 2010, 05:04:05 AM
Post by: Prometheus on October 23, 2010, 05:04:05 AM
QuoteI bet it's not and that's why he did that.
:hail:
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: notself on November 04, 2010, 04:10:34 AM
Post by: notself on November 04, 2010, 04:10:34 AM
sad
Title: Re: How Did Buddha Get Fat?
Post by: deekayfry on November 04, 2010, 05:27:09 AM
Post by: deekayfry on November 04, 2010, 05:27:09 AM
:| [/quote]
#2
#2Quote from: "PoopShoot"Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"Christ, I really didn't need to see someone's septum at eight in the morning.
On the plus side, it makes booger-removal all that much easier.