The Laughing Buddha’s transformation into a global icon results from both the fascination with Chinese porcelain in 18th-century Europe and the 20th-century spread of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

The Laughing Buddha’s transformation into a global icon results from both the fascination with Chinese porcelain in 18th-century Europe and the 20th-century spread of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

The ‘Laughing Buddha’ shows how people have adapted Buddhism to different cultural and historical contexts.

After surviving Hurricanes Helene and Milton and getting a golden makeover, Sarasota’s Laughing Buddha will soon be back in his spot in the Central Cocoanut neighborhood.

An exhibition about the Laughing Buddha at the Sixth World Buddhist Forum, which runs through Thursday in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. [Photo by Zhang Wei/China Daily] According to legend, during ...