Singapore n2
Originally uploaded by babasteve.

Buddhism was started over 2000 years ago when Siddartha Gautama achieved enlightenment. Nowadays Siddartha Gautama is known more simply as “Buddha” or “The Buddha”, but a little known fact to Americans who grow up in a traditionally Christian society is that the image of the little fat man with the cheesey smile IS NOT Buddha.

The fat man with the wooden stick was a Chinese monk by the name of Pu Tai (or Hotei in Japan). He has humonguous ears which like I mentioned in a previous post is a sign of wisdom and compassion in some Asian cultures. His big belly signifies happiness, wealth and prosperity.

Hilariously the “Laughing Buddha” as Pu Tai is also known as has been compared to Santa Claus for the obvious physical characteristics they share (minus the ears) and their association with children.

Cites

Santa Claus and Laughing Buddha
Zen’s Zenith of Zest
The Historical Siddartha

Apparently the answer is all about cultural significance.

The Buddha’s large ears are not meant to be an accurate depiction of what his ears looked like while he lived. Rather in some cultures, particularly Asian ones (where Buddhism was cultivated) having large ears is a sign of wisdom and compassion. This can best be compared to Western interpretations of the visage of Jesus Christ. We envision Jesus as a tall, slender, bearded man because Western culture associates height with status & power and hundreds ago when images of Christ became popular beards were also a sign of power.

An alternate answer to the queston about Buddha’s ears that I’m aware of is that the elongated ears are indicative of Buddha’s “all-hearing” power.


Cites
Why does Buddha have such big ears?
Photo Dictionaries of Japanese Buddhist Deities