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Divine Buddha? I was under the impression that Buddha was not a divine being at all, but only a leader that sought enlightenment and found it, thus leading people to follow his ways.

He didn't want to be worshipped but seen as a philosopher, but he later became a divinity as his cult spread after his death.

All the more reason to worship him.

I think so.

Didn't he abandon his wife and infant son in order to become enlightened?

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Divine Buddha? I was under the impression that Buddha was not a divine being at all, but only a leader that sought enlightenment and found it, thus leading people to follow his ways.

Supposedly, Buddah went on a journey, sat under a tree, and came back to his town saying that someone had visited him with "divine knowledge." And enlightened him. Buddah gave up a life of privilage to find the meaning of life. Chances are he was a serious schizophrenic that needed hardcore therapy, but people believed him him much like people now days believe in Jesus. It gave his people something to believe in, but Buddah was nothing more than someone who sat under a tree and talked to thin air.

i dont know much about all this nirvana and bliss crap, but the first line..

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How is it that Buddhist monks are all about self-control and yet their leader is a fat man?

-wolfie

kept me lmao for a while

They are the same person and there are even more of Buddha as he has many incarnations which is when some one who is a Boddisvatta or a Buddha out of compasion for others returns to Earth to help enlighten others. For example Boddhidarhma is an incarnation of Buddha and the Dalai Lama of Tibet is an Incarnation of the Boddisvatta of Tibet so when you get to important Buddist figures they will have many incarnations on this planet.

I didn't know that those were two different countries' Buddhas. I just thought that the thin one was when he was on his path to enlightenment and the fat one was when he found Nirvana.

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Not the divine Buddha. Although without one the other coudln't have existed.

Divine Buddha? I was under the impression that Buddha was not a divine being at all, but only a leader that sought enlightenment and found it, thus leading people to follow his ways.

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Buddha was not actually fat. He fasted alot and came very close to death from not eating. That's when he started eating only in moderation.

Well, that was Siddharta Gautama (sp?). Not the divine Buddha. Although without one the other coudln't have existed.

Yes Buddha actually died of starvation in a cave where he attained enlightenment. But Lord Buddha did have many incarnations one that is very important to me as a martial artist is Bodhi Darhma who brought the Martial Arts to China and the Shaolin Monks there.

i think wolfie u are talking about the laughing buddha...
i have a freind who is a monk will ask him exactly what the differnece between the 2 is..
just one peice of info i have..never buy a laughing budha yourself always gift it or keep it at home only if its been gifted..this again is only for fengshui followers..i am not one anyway...

There's actually a difference between the representations of Buddha. The tradtionally Chinese one is very fat, while the more southeast Asian/Japanese(maybe?) one is thin. So depending on who you're talking about, Buddha is not nessecarily fat.

Buddha was not actually fat. He fasted alot and came very close to death from not eating. That's when he started eating only in moderation.

fat = well fed = happy = Nirvana.