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13. Angida (or Angaja), called in Chinese Budai Luohan,
or "The Arhat with a Cloth Sack."
This is Angida who, because of the sack, may also be called Budai Luohan, or "Cloth Sack Arhat."
Tradition says he was a snake catcher in India. As an act of compassion, he would capture poisonous snakes, defang them, and release them again so they could not harm the populace.
The sack he carries functions a bit differently from the one carried by Maitreya, who brings good things out of his stack, but Angida takes away bad things in his.
Depictions of him vary: he is sometimes rotund like Maitreya, but can in fact appear with almost any physique.
Tradition says he was a snake catcher in India. As an act of compassion, he would capture poisonous snakes, defang them, and release them again so they could not harm the populace.
The sack he carries functions a bit differently from the one carried by Maitreya, who brings good things out of his stack, but Angida takes away bad things in his.
Depictions of him vary: he is sometimes rotund like Maitreya, but can in fact appear with almost any physique.