Buddha didn’t Need to Lose Weight
If you have read or heard any real facts about Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), you may have a bit of confusion over what the historical image of him is.
Because honestly, how the heck was a starving guy depicted as fat?
Totally confusing, I know.
The Back Story
First and foremost, remember that there is no way the “fat” Buddha is a correct representation of what the real Buddha looked like.
In fact, that would be impossible.
This is because Siddhartha Gautama fasted regularly, often eating hardly anything. This was especially true when he first turned away from his kingdom and fled into the jungle to pursue enlightenment.
It was a good day when he got a couple grains of rice!
Back then, it took quite a while for news to get anywhere, and the spread of Buddhism was no different. It was roughly 1200 years after his life (800 AD) that statues depicting the “fat” Buddha became popular.
The Theories Behind the Image
One of the most widely accepted theories is that at the time of Buddha, there was a tendency to respect and admire people with larger figures. This was for several reasons: the larger frame represented wealth and access to food, which means the person was close to nobility.
They were often thought of as generous as well, and so it was considered good luck to rub their bellies for food.
The second theory is that there were several monks that came after Buddha who were considered enlightened. They became well known for their deeds, and could possibly be the inspiration for the fat Buddha statues.
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