Laughing Hotei

The celestial Buddha named Hotei, best known as the jolly Laughing Buddha, is based on an eccentric Chinese Ch'an (Zen) monk who lived over 1,000 years ago and has become a significant part of Buddhist and Shinto culture. Because of this monk's benevolent nature, he came to be regarded as an incarnation of the bodhisattva who will be Maitreya (the Future Buddha). If one rubs the Laughing Buddha's great belly, it brings forth wealth, good luck, and prosperity.