Ancient Chinese Gilt Bronze Maitreya Buddha Sculpture 16x13" inches, 30-lbs He is usually identified with or seen as an incarnation of Maitreya, the future Buddha, so much so that the Budai image is one of the main forms in which Maitreya is depicted in China.[3] He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the Laughing Buddha (Chinese: ??; pinyin: Xiào Fó).