Hotei is the Japanese name of the Budai Monk. Not a buddha at all, Budai (Chinese: ²¼´ü; pinyin: b¨´d¨¤i) or Budai Luohan, pronounced Hotei in Japanese, also known as the Laughing Buddha, is an interpretation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the predicted Buddha to succeed Gautama Buddha in the future.
He has become incorporated into Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto culture and is based on an eccentric Chinese Zen (Ch¨¢n) monk who lived in the time of the Liang Dynasty. His image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets, and businesses. Budai has become a deity of contentment and abundance, when adopted by religious Taoists and Buddhists. In Japan, Hotei persists in folklore as one of the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichi Fukujin). He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the "Laughing Buddha" (Chinese: Ц·ð).
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