Budai -The Chinese Representation of the Buddha

One of the things that I learned today that this isn't the Indian Buddha. Apparently the term "Buddha" is applied to any Buddhist who achieves a sort of Zen like enlightenment.

Budai, a Chinese Buddhist apparently achieved such a state, and became an icon of Chinese Buddhism because of it.

There are times when I can sound ignorant I think (see below). Till recently, my problem with Budai was, why he had to be so fat. The Indian Buddhist icon isn't, and being Catholic, I like my religious leaders to suffer for us. Part of me wondered how much Budai suffered if he was able to eat so much food.