What is the difference between the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) & the Laughing Buddha (Hotei)?

Answer 1

Siddhartha Gautama Lord Buddha is the Buddha of the present age
The forth of one thousand Buddhas who will visit this World as Teachers before our Sun goes Super Nova
He is always recognized with the right hand in the earth touching mudra
As He had no Teacher He called upon the Earth to witness His right to sit on the seat of Enlightenment in India almost 2600 ago

The Laughing Buddha is not a Buddha
He was a Monk who wondered about the countryside in China caring all He owned in a sack
He didn't look the way He is often depicted
In Chinese culture a huge grin represent a Person content with themselves
The huge stomach represents wealth but not material wealth
Often depicted with Children again in Chinese culture Having a love of Children is considered a great virtue
Often called Pu Tie I have mispelt that but that is how it is pronounced Which means Hemp Sack
A Person asked Him once to describe Buddhism
He simply let his sack fall to the ground When He could see that Person understood He picked up his sack and walked off without saying a word
That one single act is believed by many to explain the whole of Lord Buddha's 84000 Teachings "Letting Go"
When He was near death He revealed for the first time He was an emanation body of the Bodhisattva Maitreya who will be the next Buddha to come here to reveal the precious Dhamma
Some say in 10,000 others say as long as 30,000 years time

Answer 2

Hotei Laughing Buddha

Answer 3

Budai (Chinese: 布袋) or Budai Luohan, pronounced Hotei in Japanese, also known as the Laughing Buddha, is an interpretation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the predicted Buddha to succeed Gautama Buddha in the future.

He has become incorporated into Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto culture and is based on an eccentric Chinese Chán monk who lived in the time of the Liang Dynasty. His image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets, and businesses. Budai has become a deity of contentment and abundance, when adopted by religious Taoists and Buddhists. In Japan, Hotei persists in folklore as one of the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichi Fukujin). He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the "Happy Buddha".

Answer 4

I think, the difference between the two is only of enlightenment or Nirvana. I think, Nirvana for Buddha is attainment of a state of the being where there is no suffering. I think, Buddha himself was the method or the way for the attainment of the Nirvana and he taught this method to his disciples in various forms.

Answer 5

The Hotei is merely a chinese buddhist monk (along with the other chinese fat monks often mistaken to be the buddha)