How did Buddha become Fat Buddha?
831460
You have to understand that Buddhism blends wherever it goes. Although the core teachings remain intact, but the outer bark--the "form" that the religion/philosophy expresses--adapts to the receiving culture. Therefore, iconic representations of ideas or teachings differ from area to area. Tibetan Buddhism has a unique flavor, and so do Japanese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Thai Buddhism, Sri Lankan Buddhism, and so on. \n\nYou can think of Buddhist teachings as a vehicle, a car. You'd have all sorts of models, parts, designs, etc., but a car is still a car despite all its variable forms to choose from. \n\nTo get back to your question, the Fat Buddha ("Laughing Buddha") has been an image exclusive to Chinese Buddhism. It has come to represent good luck and wealth, which reconciles amicably with the Chinese merchantship. As for the actual, historical Fat Buddha.. we don't know if he did exist. He's as far back as a legend. I could be wrong though, about the legend part; I'm not an expert in Chinese Buddhism. You have to go dig history. \n\nThe Buddha--Siddhartha Gautama--has taught, and lived, a life of moderation so it is insensible for people from any culture to portray him as having a fat, gluttonous belly.
1144071
Almost anyone can become the Buddha.\n\nBut almost no one WILL become the Buddha, because they think it is impossible or they are unworthy or the starts aren't alligned properly for them, or they are cursed or some other excuse.\n\nHumans flunk themselves out of Buddha-hood, cut their souls up into pieces and flush themselves down the toilet.  Nearly always.
295650
Do kapalbhatti as taught by Swami Ramdev. Force the breath out from stomach in rapid succession for 15 minutes everyday and loose 3kg a month
806381
How is it possible that a fat man can be a preacher when gluttony is a sin?\n\nThere ya go, that easy.
707515
A philosopher asked Buddha: `Without words, without the wordless, will you you tell me truth?'\n\n    The Buddha kept silence.\n\n    The philosopher bowed and thanked the Buddha, saying: `With your loving kindness I have cleared away my delusions and entered the true path.'\n\n    After the philosopher had gone, Ananda asked the Buddha what he had attained.\n\n    The Buddha replied, `A good horse runs even at the shadow of the whip.' \n\nMumon's Comment: Ananda was the disciple of the Buddha. Even so, his opinion did not surpass that of outsiders. I want to ask you monks: How much difference is there between disciples and outsiders?\n\n    To tread the sharp edge of a sword\n    To run on smooth-frozen ice,\n    One needs no footsteps to follow.\n    Walk over the cliffs with hands free.
42774
As the previous answerers indicated, Siddhartha was pretty much sheltered from suffering early in life.  But when he did see it, he decided on the traditional path of the ascetic.  He did as they taught, and became an extreme ascetic, undergoing strenuous practices and self-denial.  He reached a point where he literally almost starved to death.  After he recovered from that, he realized that that was not the way to enlightenment.  While he had made his body starve like that, his mind was not able to think clearly.  So he left those monks and went on his own to find enlightenment.\nHe decided that the "Middle Way" was right - the middle between the excesses of his youth, and the extreme deprivation of the ascetic practices of his day.
427655
For just BUDDHISM:\n\n(1) BODH GAYA, where Gautama Buddha's attained Enlightenment.\n(2) SARNATH, where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha was founded.\n(3) KUSHINGAR, where Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana, and was cremated.\n(4) LUMBINI, commonly recognized as the birth site of Gautama Buddha. \n(5) ANURADHAPURA, which contains the 2300 year old holy Bo tree relic Sri Maha Bodhi.\n(6) KANDY, which is the site of the Dalida Maligawa, the Temple of the Tooth. \n\nTIBETAN BUDDHISM:\nMore important than anything inherent to the places is the presence of the holiest leaders, the highest lamas, who are considered reincarnations of their predecessors.\n\n(1) LHASA, seat of the Dalai Lama (now in exile in Dharamsala, India) in the Potala palace, also national (and under Chinese rule regional) capital of Tibet. \n(2) SHIGATSE, seat of the Panchen Lama, also the country's second city. \n(3) TSURPHU, (later in exile Rumtek in Sikkim, India), seat of the Karmapa Lama, not a proper city, rather a monastic site fairly close to Lhasa.\n\nHope that helps! ^_^
874944
My answer is mainly about the similarities. Answer is a bit lengthy. Buddhism originated from Hinduism. I will give in brief some more details.\n\nMany people may know about Buddhism, but few seem to understand its connections with Vedic culture and how many aspects of it have origins in the Vedic philosophy. To begin with, it was several hundred years before the time of Lord Buddha that his birth was predicted in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: "In the beginning of the age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear in the province of Gaya as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, to bewilder those who are always envious of the devotees of the Lord." (Bhag.1.3.24)\n\nThis verse indicates that Lord Buddha was an incarnation of the Supreme who would appear in Gaya, a town in central India. But some historians may point out that Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was actually born in Lumbini, Nepal, and that his mother was Queen Mahamaya. Therefore, this verse may be inaccurate. But actually Siddhartha became the Buddha after he attained spiritual enlightenment during his meditation under the Bo tree in Gaya. This means that his spiritual realization was his second and most important birth. Furthermore, Siddhartha's mother, Queen Mahamaya, died several days after Siddhartha's birth, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother, Anjana. So the prediction in the Bhagavatam is verified.\n\nWhen Lord Buddha appeared, the people of India, although following the Vedas, had deviated from the primary goal of Vedic philosophy. They had become preoccupied with performing ceremonies and rituals for material enjoyment. Some of the rituals included animal sacrifices. The people had begun to sacrifice animals indiscriminately on the plea of Vedic rituals and then indulged in eating the flesh. Being misled by unworthy priests, much unnecessary animal killing was going on and the people were becoming more degraded and atheistic.\n\nThe rituals that included animal sacrifices, according to the Vedas, were not meant for eating flesh. An old animal would be placed in the sacrificial fire and, after the mantras were chanted, it would come out of the fire in a new and younger body as a test to show the potency of the Vedic mantras. However, as the power of the priests deteriorated, they could no longer chant the mantras properly and, therefore, the animals would not be brought back to life. So in the age of Kali all such sacrifices are forbidden because there are no longer any brahmanas who can chant the mantras correctly. Thus, Lord Buddha appeared and rejected the Vedic rituals and preached the philosophy of nonviolence. In the Dhammapada (129-130) Buddha says, "All beings fear death and pain, life is dear to all; therefore the wise man will not kill or cause anything to be killed."\n\nThe Vedic literature also teaches nonviolence, but Buddha taught the people who used the Vedas for improper purposes to give them up and simply follow him. Thus, he saved the animals from being killed and saved the people from being further misled by the corrupt priests. However, he did not teach the Vedic conclusions of spiritual knowledge but taught his own philosophy.\n\nBuddha was born in the town of Lumbini in Nepal as the son of a king of the Shakya clan. He is generally accepted to have lived during 560-477 B.C. but has been shown to have been born in 1887 B.C. and died in 1807 B.C. \n\nHis mother, Queen Mahamaya, before she conceived him, saw him in a dream descending from heaven and entering her womb as a white elephant. After his birth his father sheltered him from the problems of the world as much as possible. Later, Buddha married and had one son. It was during this time that he began to be disturbed by the problems life forced on everyone, especially after he had seen for the first time a man afflicted with disease, another man who was decrepit with age, a dead man being carried to the cremation grounds, and a monk who had dedicated hims
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At the time of the Buddha the caste system was firmly established in India. According to this system, a person's position in society was determined from the time he was born and there was no way to change his lot in life. There were four castes, or classes, of people in society:\n\nThe Brahmins or priests, who claimed to be the highest caste and the purest of peoples \nThe warriors \nThe merchants and traders \nThe untouchables, who were considered the lowest class. They became workers and servants who did all the menial jobs, and were treated as slaves.\n\nThe Buddha condemned the caste system, which he considered unjust. He pointed out that there existed wicked and cruel people as well as virtuous and kind people in every caste. Any person who had committed a crime would be punished accordingly by his karma no matter what caste he belonged to. He said a person may be considered to have come from a high or low caste according to his good and bad deeds. Therefore, according to the Buddha it is the good and bad actions of a person and not his birth that should determine his caste.\n\nThe Buddha introduced the idea of placing a higher value on morality and the equality of people instead of on which family or caste a person is born into. This was also the first attempt to abolish discrimination and slavery in the history of mankind. \n\nThe Buddha said:\n\nBy birth one is not an outcaste,\nBy birth one is not a Brahmin;\nBy deeds alone one is an outcaste,\nBy deeds alone one is a Brahmin
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Stupid question .. Only a silly people will ask this question .. You really know nothing about Buddhism dont you''\nhahahhahahahhahahahah\n\nWait , are you so dirty minded that you have nothing to joke about already ?\n\nPity you
542737
and Low Fatt is a skinny Chinese gal.\n\ncheers, Some Yung Guy
742867
First of all, Buddhists do not believe in God, so you are misinformed; it is Hinduism that refers to the Creator as Brahma. Secondly, if you have to ask this question, you probably don't need to convert, cause you aren't even sure yourself.
419665
The Buddha in his real life was early on wealthy and well-fed.  But then he sought the life of an ascetic, and he became so skinny that he almost wasted away to nothing.  But he saw that this was all in vain.  So then he chose the Middle Way, between extreme asceticism and indulgence.\n\nThe real Buddha thereafter was never large.  He was thin.\n\nThe Ho Tei Buddha is the "fat one" you are thinking of who is a God of Luck in China.  \n\nThe Buddha is sometimes depicted in various ways depending upon the stage of his life that is being represented.  There are also cultural differences in art-making.
1182666
The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, was not THE Buddha.  He was A Buddha.  The principles he taught did not apply only when a Buddha was present on the earth.  Who knows if at this moment there is one or there are many enlightened people on the earth, but it doesn't really matter.  It doesn't affect the principles of Buddhism at all.  Shakyamuni, before he died, told his followers not to worship him because he was just a man.  Any new Buddha appearing on earth would not be some kind of savior, not would his/her presence necessarily make it any easier for anyone else to gain enlightenment.  The concept of a Buddha being alive on the earth can be a stumbling block to following the teachings of Buddhism.  The truth is in you, not in someone else.
122350
Be very carefull in your search, many people if not all people who claim to be "masters" of something are in fact frauds. It is like the big man on campus doesn't have to tell people he is the big man on campus, people know. I have put a link below for good info on Buddhism that I use everyday for inspiration.
528719
Yeah they worship a fat dude how one day decided to leave hes wife and kids, and now he is god to Asian people every where.... Oh and some yuppies to
1143634
fat is turned into energy and consumed by your body.