Jack said it in a thought provoking way:

"Where does a 600 lbs fat man get the balls to teach others about self-discipline?"

This is from "Anger Management".

Well, what about the discipline? Lets discuss. Isn't Buddhism all about the discipline? To deny oneself? Apparently the pictures I saw of Buddha, he was a pretty portly fellow.



[Edited on 10-24-2003 by Cearbhall]

i like to view buddhism as having discipline for ones mind, less or for the body, since it's just a vessel (you can't take it with you after you die). and since he was truly enlightened, this telling us that he'd already done everything in his past lives -> leading the life as buddha, i guess his last task was to remember, thus becoming enlightened. who know where his soul went after that... maybe it starts all over again, like in a cycle?

The Size of The Buddha's waistline has no influence on the Dharma. If those who are curious would read into the teachings, enlightenment is more mental than physical. The elimination of suffering is key. Make sense?

No - not really to deny ones-self - to Realize the true Emptiness of the Universe & Reality yourself. To Realize that it is your (& Everybody elses) Attachment to Material (or Mental Objects) & Selfish Desire that is the Root Cause of Suffering. Remember Cause & Effect (Karma) is in play - so once you head down the worldly path - it will just build up like a Snowball rolling down a Snowy Mountain. Once you have had enough of Causing Suffering to Yourself & Others - once you "Awaken" to the Truth - you Practice
"The Way" in order Not to build more Negative Karma & Reverse the Wheel - or the Negative Karma that you have already built up - until you reach a state in which you are Totaly Liberated - note this is very Hard to Achieve but it beats the alternative -
Balance & Meditation are Key = Zen!!!

As Byrd had said, Buddah was not the tons of fun depicted in most people's imagination. One of the principles is to achieve enlightenment through knowledge. Try reading the book Sidartha. It tells of the many roads he traveled in order to reach nirvana. Self discipline is also a major concept if I am not mistaken.

I hate it when people attack buddha like that. I mean our classic picture of him is nothing like what he really was. Perhaps people should read the story of his life before making these assumptions. Besides buddha nearly starved himself to death before he reached his first enlightenment.

Originally posted by Tao_Tiger
Besides buddha nearly starved himself to death before he reached his first enlightenment.

I was just going to metion that. Why the hell is he portrayed as a heapping bowl of jelly? Is it suppose to be symbolic of fulfillment in some way?

Im not realy good with Buddhist religion, but since he lived such a long time ago I believe that his actual form may not be that which you see in depictions of him (ie statues, paintings, etc.). The original Buddha may have very well have been skinny for all we know, but religious people obscured his image for the purposes of their religion (ie to represent something, etc.) and this may be why he is depicted as "portly" as you say. Again, I dont know if this is true, but it seems like a logical conclusion to me!

the real buddha, Siddharta, is always depicted as a more austere slender guy.

the chunky happy buddha, as Byrd mentioned is one of the better known disciples.

but why are you concerned with this aspect of the religion? if you read any of the writings, you should realize that image of the self comes from within not the physical.

Originally posted by worldwatcher
the real buddha, Siddharta, is always depicted as a more austere slender guy.

I think it all depends on which country you're in.
The Sri Lankan version of Buddha/Siddharta definitely looks like he's burgled a few pie shops.
Interestingly they also claim that he was 9 to 12 feet tall. A lot of the statues you see over there are meant to be direct physical representations.