Budai The Laughing Buddha statue

The infectious smile of the Laughing Buddha is itself a teaching — the demonstration that wisdom, far from being grim, expresses itself naturally as joy. In Chinese tradition, Budai wandered with a sack from which he gave gifts to children and the poor; his statue stands at the entrance of countless Buddhist temples across China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, welcoming visitors with the promise of happiness as the most natural fruit of enlightenment.