The laughing Buddha appears in a surprising number of variations, and each has a traditional reading attached. Most buyers choose on appearance, which is fine, and choosing on meaning gives you a line for the card and a reason for the room.
Sitting, with the sack
The foundational image and the one closest to the original accounts. Budai was a wandering monk whose name means cloth sack, and the bag holds everything he owns along with the sweets and small gifts he handed out.
The reading is contentment and generosity: a man who possesses little, gives away what he has and is entirely happy about it. It is the most universally applicable pose and the safest choice when you do not know a recipient well.
Our hand carved whitewash happy Buddha at 30cm and the 50cm are in this seated form.
Hands raised to the sky
The most specific pose and the one with the clearest occasion attached. Both arms lifted above the head is traditionally read as triumph, prosperity welcomed and burdens lifted.
It is the pose given for beginnings: new homes, new jobs, new businesses. The gesture is unambiguous even to someone who knows nothing about the figure, which is part of why it works so well as a congratulations gift.
The happy Buddha hands up at 40cm is the carved version, and there is a small brass hands up figure for a desk.
Holding beads
A string of prayer beads, or mala, in the hand of a laughing Buddha is read as a reminder of the practice beneath the cheerfulness. Budai was a monk, and the beads mark the discipline behind the laugh.
The traditional reading is spiritual wealth as opposed to material, which makes it a thoughtful choice for someone with a meditation practice rather than someone celebrating a windfall.
Holding an ingot or coins
A Chinese gold ingot, the boat shaped yuanbao, or a string of coins, both read straightforwardly as wealth and business fortune.
This is the version most often seen in Chinese shops and restaurants, placed where it faces the door. It is the least subtle of the group and it is entirely honest about what it is wishing for, which has its own appeal.
Surrounded by children
Usually five, and it draws directly on the accounts of Budai handing sweets from his sack to children who followed him.
The reading is family happiness and, in some Chinese contexts, the wish for children. It suits a family home and a new baby, though it is worth being careful with the second reading if you do not know a couple's circumstances.
Holding a fan
The fan, or oogi in Japanese contexts, is a wish granting object. In some traditional accounts a wave of the fan grants wishes or banishes troubles.
It is more common in Japanese depictions of Hotei than in Chinese ones, and it is the pose with the most explicitly magical reading of the group.
Reclining or lying down
A relaxed Budai lying propped on one elbow, entirely at ease. The reading is contentment and freedom from anxiety, and it is a quieter version of the same message the seated pose carries.
We have a small brass lying down figure, which suits a desk or a bedside.
Choosing for a person or a room
A short guide. For a general gift, seated with the sack. For a new home or venture, hands raised. For someone with a practice, beads. For a business or a shop, an ingot facing the door. For a family, the children. For someone who needs to be told to relax, reclining.
Our full laughing Buddha collection covers the seated and hands up forms in several sizes, and our guide to who the laughing Buddha actually was covers the history behind them.
Questions people ask
What does the laughing Buddha with hands up mean?
Triumph, prosperity welcomed and burdens lifted. It is the traditional pose for new homes, new jobs and new businesses, which makes it the natural congratulations gift.
What is in the laughing Buddha's sack?
Everything he owns, along with sweets and small gifts he handed out. The reading is contentment and generosity: a man with little who gives away what he has.
What do the beads mean?
A mala in his hand marks the monastic practice beneath the cheerfulness, and is traditionally read as spiritual rather than material wealth.
Why is he sometimes shown with children?
It draws on accounts of Budai giving sweets from his sack to children who followed him. The reading is family happiness, and in some Chinese contexts the wish for children.
Which pose should I choose as a gift?
Seated with the sack for a general gift, hands raised for a new home or venture, beads for someone with a meditation practice, and an ingot for a business.
