Buddha is commonly depicted as a bald, chubby figure who is smiling; or a sage figure sitting cross-legged, with coiled hair and elongated earlobes. The real Buddha probably looked emaciated because of all the fasting he did, and some early carvings show an old man with a robe and topknot, sitting in a meditation position. The “laughing Buddha” commonly associated with Buddhism is actually a depiction of a legendary Chinese monk called Budai, who lived 1300 years after Buddha died.