Actually this statue, what people in the West call the "Laughing Buddha", is actually of someone called Hotei or Budai. He was a Buddhist monk known for being happy-go-lucky, good-natured, and giving candy to children. Hotei was later thought to be a manifestation of Metteya, the future world Buddha. This is why people confuse Hotei for the historical Gautama Buddha (or just "The Buddha"). The size of his belly is a symbolic representation of his wisdom and kindheartedness and doesn't imply that he was actually fat. /offtopic