posted
If a pregnant woman refers to her enlarged abdomen as a "Buddha-belly", should "Buddha" be capitalized?
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posted
Thanks for the feedback. It is intended as a term of endearment. In a story the husband rubs his wife's tummy every morning before going to work because "it's good luck for the baby."; as a result the wife starts refering to her tummy as her "Buddha-belly".
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posted
I thought the one whose belly you rubbed for luck was a Chinese fellow named Ho Tai (or something like that).
So I went and checked on Google and found out he's a Zen monk as well as the Chinese god of Good Fortune and Guardian of Children (so that connection works for pregnant women, in a way).
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He's called "the Laughing Buddha" as well, and he carries a sack of goodies for children (reminds me of someone....)
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posted
That was my comment about capitalization, I believe. I thought it should be lower case, since buddha-belly was being descriptive and wasn't actually referring to Buddha. It jarred me, but perhaps it's just a personal preference. Sorry if that's the case.
Posts: 239 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
I suppose it would depend on what cultural point of view it was coming from. I generally see the spiritual leader referred to as "Buddah," but I've seen the statues referred to both as "little buddahs" and "little Buddahs."
When reference is made to the little statues of Jesus one sees around, I've never seen "Jesus" not capitalized.
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Ahavah, this isn't a matter of preference so much as correctness. Buddha, in this case, is referring to a man. We know that because we're talking about his belly. Let's say you wanted to compare someone else's belly to my belly:
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It's also the implication. The quality being described attaches to Buddha the person, not to buddhas.
There is a little bit of a...because Buddha's fat belly is symbolic of his contented state, just like his long ears show wisdom. But the implications of "Buddha-belly" as opposed to "buddha-belly" are still the important thing. Go with whichever one you want to use. I like "Buddha-belly" as having a straightforward and accessible meaning.
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