Unique Dancing Buddha

The pictured hand carved stone Buddha statue was crafted from beautiful Himalayan marble in northern India. The Laughing Buddha is thought to be based on an historical figure who spent years wandering across China, a fat Zen monk named Pu-tai (China) or Ho-Tei (Japan). The name Hotei means "cloth bag," and he is believed to have carried a cloth sack wherever he went full of candies and toys to give to children. He is worshiped for prosperity and luck, and when viewed as an incarnation of the future Buddha Maitreya, he is also worshiped as a fertility deity. This is nice little carving, an unusual kind of stone and more beautiful than the photos can show.