The Buddhist Disciple Phra Sankachai

The Buddhist Disciple Phra Sankachai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is a much favored depiction of a famed Buddhist disciple, rotund and shaven, renowned for his gifts in teaching the dharma. He was introduced into later Southeast Asian Buddhism from China, where he is known as Budai. He has various hagiographies, but is widely understood as an incarnation of Maitreya, the Future Buddha. Popularly he is associated with contentment and prosperity.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Buddhist Disciple Phra SankachaiThe Buddhist Disciple Phra SankachaiThe Buddhist Disciple Phra SankachaiThe Buddhist Disciple Phra SankachaiThe Buddhist Disciple Phra Sankachai

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.