Source: www.buddhaimonia.com | Original Post Date: February 24, 2015 –
When I was little, my grandma had this little green Buddha statue.
It wasn’t a statue of the original Buddha, but rather a statue of what’s generally considered Maitreya, the “future” Buddha, usually represented as a hefty man sitting with his robe partly opened and often with beads around his neck. This particular statue was a pretty common image, one where his belly protruded out to reveal his belly button.
My grandma would always tell me, “Rub his tummy and you’ll have good luck!” So naturally, as a kid, I rubbed his tummy every chance I got. I was supposed to rub his bellybutton specifically, as I remember trying to lay my finger on his tiny belly button and rub in a circle, despite the fact that the belly button was a fraction of a millimeter in diameter.
