INFLUENCE OF RELIGON ON CULTURE

Buddhism is a faith founded by Siddhartha Gautama in 6th century BCE . It is based on original
teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha. It originated in ancient India , it is worlds forth largest
religion . Buddhism has influenced culture in various ways , but one of the most prominent thing in
countries like China , Japan and even in India is the Laughing Buddha statue .

Laughing Buddha is the statue of Budai who is a semi historical monk , many people believe he was a
reincarnation of Maitreya , the person who will become the next Buddha .

Statues and images of the laughing buddha can be found in several Chinese and Japanese restaurants,
stores and businesses as the laughing Buddha is considered prosperous, as we all know laughing
Buddha brings good luck , contentment and abundance in one’s life . It depicts plenitude of whatever
one wishes for – be it wealth or happiness, the laughing Buddha i.e. Budai is also considered as the
God of happiness.

Significance of Laughing Buddha :-

1. The sitting posture of Buddha is considered to be that of love and it symbolizes balance of
thoughts and tranquillity
2. The standing Buddha symbolizes riches and happiness
3. Buddha sitting on a large gold nugget and ready to give a smaller gold nugget is a symbol of
good luck
INFLUENCE OF RELIGON ON CULTURE

The history of Budai is different in different parts of the world for example in Chinese tradition
it is believed that Budai was a monk who lived in China around 907 to 923CE , he was a man
who was good and loving , apart from his character , his likeliness with the Maitreya
Bodhisattva(the future Buddha) come from a Buddhist hymn which he said before his death
Whereas in Thailand Budai is sometimes confused with another monk that is respected in
Thailand , named Phra Sangkadchai or Shanghai , he was a Buddhist monk at the time of
Buddha , the Buddha praised him for his excellence in explaining the complicated dharma in
an easily understandable way .
Therefore we can say different parts of a the world have different stories about the origin of
Budai nonetheless Budai or laughing Buddha is considered very prosperous and lucky and is
considered as the God of happiness.
Therefore we can say the laughing Buddha has a huge influence in Buddhism.
INFLUENCE OF RELIGON ON CULTURE