Why do Americans call Laughing Buddha/Hotei 'Buddha'?

The expression 'Hotei' sounds Cantonese and means 'happy and content or fulfilled'. The Chinese character 佛 (fó) stands for Buddha and is a term phonetically translated from Sanskrit. So the Chinese just refer to the Historic Buddha, Sakyamuni Gautama Siddharta as 佛 (fó). Fó is pronounced 'Futt' in Cantonese. read more

The Happy Buddha or Budai is believed by Chinese Buddhists (I do not know the origins of this belief, if has been so even when I was little) to be an incarnation of Maitreya, the next Buddha to be. The expression 'Hotei' sounds Cantonese and means 'happy and content or fulfilled'. read more

The Laughing Buddha of Joy & Good Fortune The Hotei or “Laughing Buddha” is the Buddha contentment and happiness, guardian of children, and patron of bartenders. He has a cheerful face and a big belly. read more

And because he was a monk, and because some Asian languages use the same word for monk as they do for Buddha, there has been confusion that he is a form of the historical Buddha. Another theory has it that he was originally a fertitlity God, or a God of Prosperity, and his round belly was a symbol for a bountiful harvest. read more