The fat Buddha

I was in grade school when I saw the first fat Buddha that my mother bought. She said that it is a lucky charm that can help us with our hard life. The Buddha figurine was made of plaster and it was surprising that it had a slot at the bottom. Yes, it is a piggy bank. The Buddha has some kids on his tummy, about 5, I think.

When we went to Bangkok, we saw a different shape of Buddha which is slender. That’s when we learned that the fat Buddha is for the Chinese and not considered a religious statue in other Buddhist countries.