(public domain image from www.pixabay.com)
That fat Buddha statue commonly adorning Chinese restaurants is not Gautama, the historical Buddha. It's a 10th century Chinese Buddhist monk named Buddai. His name literally means "cloth sack" because he was a wandering monk who carried a cloth sack which he hung over his walking stick. While his biography is sketchy, he is described as "fat and jolly" and usually depicted with a smile on his face.
Not much remains concerning his teaching except that he used his cloth sack as an educational object. For example, Buddai is famous for asking, “What is the meaning of Zen?” His answer was to drop his cloth bag and then ask: "How does one realize Zen?" Again his answer was to pick up his cloth bag and walk away.
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