My friend is selling this figure on Craiglist, but I don't know which Buddha it is. Here are my guesses, going on how I feel cooped up by writing a sequel to my latest traditionally published novel and trapped by Covid 19 in an endless loop of Covid 19 data.


Laughing Buddha Laughing at you BuddhaLaughing at us BuddhaLaughing because it is funny BuddhaLaughing because it is not funny, but what else can I do? BuddhaThere's still joy: Laugh BuddhaI'm overdoing the wine BuddhaEat, Drink and be Merry because tomorrow may...BuddhaYou're not a Buddhist, so you shouldn't be guessing BuddhaI'm not a Buddhist, it's true, but I am fond of the writer Thich Nhat Hanh. So using that limited knowledge, I think the Buddha is laughing, in a metaphysical sense, at the idea that we are controlling the events around us, when in fact we are merely observing them as they occur. Focus on the breath, focus on the step, focus on this moment, this dish you are washing, this sentence you are writing, this character...
My next book is halfway completed using this method. I have survived the virus, eaten well, and continue to exercise. Life is good for us today, in this moment. But I do sneak out on the Internet every so often, and I am hounded by crazed control freaks on every side of the issue of viruses, transmission, fear, loathing...you name it. There is very little about this information that suggests we are not in control. In fact, quite the opposite. We are encouraged to imagine we are the very epicenter of control over protective supplies, plans, transmission of invisible particles, vaccines -- it is exhausting and no wonder the Buddha is laughing.
Ohm. My meditation mantra, since, as I mentioned, I am not a Buddhist is as follows:
God is love. Let God heal. 
In the present moment.