His name is Hotei, and he is our garden Buddha, laughing guardian of the abundant greenery behind the little blue house in the village. An old friend, he spends every spring, summer and autumn sitting there patiently among the lilies and the violets, and beaming out around the garden with a heart as wide as the world and a smile which encompasses everything he sees.The Buddha in the garden always makes me smile no matter what sort of day I am having, and he is a reminder of what is really important. Cassie greets him affectionately whenever she goes outside, and it is interesting to note that the furred and feathered creatures who visit us seem to enjoy Hotei's companionship as much as we do. We simply can't imagine our garden without him, and I suspect that neither can they.
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We also have a the head of a stone buddha and a stone Darwa Pala (although they say Pala Darwa)waiting for their new home.
We have a stone fox in our yard, and our dog ran up to it barking when she first saw it. That made me smile.
Now that is a smile! I suspect he is so happy because of the lilies and the violets.
What you said about hos the furred and feathered ones seem to enjoy the companionship of this buddha as much as humans do ... reminds me of a time our old dog, Sam, was hanging out with me on a landscape design/installation job I was working on. We had just the day before put a large Buddha on a stone slab for an altar ... in a smallish meditation garden. I couldn't find Sam in his usual sleeping spot when I was getting ready to leave (he's deaf and doesn't hear us calling anymore) but upon looking harder for him, we found his sleeping at the foot of the Buddha, as if that was his true place. The photo I posted is on my blog: Wise Ones
btw, your Buddha is simple beautiful! I love the smile.
I'm very familiar with him. He is one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune and a real bonze in ancient China. I love his smile and a big belly. He always carries all the alms he gets in a bag, which is just like Santa Claus to me, their deeds are just the opposite though (laugh).
i'm curious where you found this laughing Buddha - I have some clients who would like to find a Buddha for their garden and I think the laughing one would really be the best one.
A trickster-coyote-like Buddha ...
We don't have a place in Helena to buy things like Buddha sculptures, so I'll have to find it to be shipped here. Thanks if you see this comment, for writing me.
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