Maitreya Bodhisattva

Category: Bodhisattva

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• Chinese :  彌勒菩薩 mílèpúsa
• Japanese :  弥勒菩薩 Miroku Bosatsu
• Pali :  metteyya bodhisatta
• Sanskrit :  मैत्रेय maitreya bodhisattva
• Thai :  ศรีอรายะ Sriaraya
• Tibetan :  Byams-pa

Maitreya Bodhisattva is the future Buddha who will eventually appear on earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the same Dharma as taught by Gautama Buddha. He is predicted to be a world-ruler, uniting those who he rules over. The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya is found in the canonical literature of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

Characteristics

One of the earliest mention of Maitreya is a Sanskrit text, the Maitreyavyākaraṇa (The Prophecy of Maitreya), stating that Gods, men and other beings will worship Maitreya and:

"will lose their doubts, and the torrents of their cravings will be cut off: free from all misery they will manage to cross the ocean of becoming; and, as a result of Maitreya's teachings, they will lead a holy life. No longer will they regard anything as their own, they will have no possession, no gold or silver, no home, no relatives! But they will lead the holy life of chastity under Maitreya's guidance. They will have torn the net of the passions, they will manage to enter into trances, and theirs will be an abundance of joy and happiness, for they will lead a holy life under Maitreya's guidance." (Trans. in Conze 1959:241)

General description

Maitreya is typically pictured seated, with both feet on the ground, indicating that he has not yet completed ascending his throne, which is believed to be a style of western throne, not Indian as previously believed. He is dressed in the clothes of either a Bhiksu or Indian royalty. As a Bodhisattva, he would usually be standing, and dressed in jewels. Usually he wears a small stupa in his headdress, and could be holding a chakra wheel resting a lotus. A scarf is always tied around his waist.

In the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, in the first centuries AD in northern India, Maitreya is represented as a Central Asian or northern Indian nobleman, holding a water phial in his left hand.

He is flanked by his two acolytes, Asanga and his brother, Vasubandhu.

Maitreya's Tuṣita Heaven

Maitreya resides in the Tuṣita Heaven (Pāli: Tusita), said to be reachable through meditation, and which is considered to be much closer than the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha. Śākyamuni Buddha also lived here before he was born into the world.

Bodhisattvas live in the Tuṣita Heaven before they descend to the human realm as Buddhas. A bodhisattva may be thought of as an individual near to becoming Buddha. Because the Tusita heaven is still in the realm of desire, its beings still feel passions, but they require less to satisfy those passions, and are thus calmer and more refined beings.

The arrival of Maitreya

The Bodhisattva Maitreya (water bottle on left thigh), art of Mathura, 2nd century CE.

Maitreya’s coming will occur after the teachings of the current |Buddha Gautama, the Dharma, are no longer taught and are completely forgotten. Maitreya is predicted to attain Bodhi in seven days (which is the minimum period), by virtue of his many lives of preparation for Buddha-hood (similar to those reported in the Jataka stories of Shakyamuni Buddha).

Maitreya’s coming is characterized by a number of physical events. The oceans are predicted to decrease in size, allowing Maitreya to traverse them freely. The event will also allow the unveiling of the “true” dharma to the people, in turn allowing the construction of a new world. The coming also signifies the end of the middle time in which humans currently reside (characterized as a low point of human existence between the Gautama Buddha and Maitreya).

In order for the world to realize the coming of Maitreya, a number of conditions must be fulfilled. Gifts should be given to Buddhist monks, moral precepts must be followed, and offerings must be made at shrines.

Some of the events foretold at the coming of the second Buddha include an end to death, warfare, famine, and disease, as well as the ushering in of a new society of tolerance and love.

Origins

Maitreya, seated on a throne in the Western manner, with Kushan devotee. 2nd century Gandhara. Tokyo National Museum.

The name Maitreya or Metteyya is derived from the word maitrī (Sanskrit) or mettā (Pāli) meaning "loving-kindness", which is in turn derived from the noun mitra (Pāli: mitta) in the sense of "friend".

Maitreya, who is sometimes represented seated on a throne Western-style, and venerated both in Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna Buddhism, is sometimes considered to have been influenced by the Zoroastrian Mithra, a god of contracts, associated with the Sun. The primary resemblance between the two characters appears to be the chance similarity of their names.

Paul Williams claims that some Zoroastrian ideas influenced the cult of Maitreya, such as "expectations of a heavenly helper, the need to opt for positive righteousness, the future millennium, and universal salvation". Possible objections are that these characteristics are not unique to Zoroastrianism, nor are they necessarily characteristic of the belief in Maitreya.

In the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, in the first centuries CE in northern India, Maitreya was the most popular figure to be represented, together with the Buddha Śākyamuni. In China, the cult of Maitreya seems to have developed around the same time of that of Amitābha, as early as the 3rd century AD.

Maitreya Claimants

Since his death, the Chinese monk Hotei has been popularly regarded as an incarnation of the bodhisattva Maitreya. His depiction as the Laughing Buddha continues to be very popular in East Asian culture.

Gung Ye, a Korean warlord and king of short-lived state of Taebong during the 10th century, claimed himself as living incarnation of Maitreya and ordered his subjects to worship him. His claim was widely rejected by most Buddhist monks and later he was dethroned and killed by his own servants.

While a number of persons have proclaimed themselves to be Maitreya over the years following Sakyamuni Buddha’s death, none have been officially recognized by the sangha. A particular difficulty faced by any would-be claimant to Maitreya's title is the fact that the Buddha is considered to have made a number of fairly specific predictions regarding the circumstances that would occur prior to Maitreya's coming, such as that the teachings of the Buddha would be completely forgotten, and all of the remaining relics of Sakyamuni Buddha would be gathered in Bodh Gaya and cremated.

An example of a self-proclaimed incarnation of Maitreya is found in the I-Kuan Tao religious movement, which believes that Lu Zhong Yi, the 17th patriarch of I-Kuan Tao, who proclaimed himself to be an incarnation of Maitreya.

It has been suggested by some that Ram Bahadur Bomjon, a teenage monk in Nepal who began a long period of meditation on May 16, 2005, could be an incarnation of Maitreya.

Very often missionaries in predominantly Buddhist countries link the prophecy of Maitreya to their savior, such as Muhammad or Christ.

External links

• The Maitreya Project is building a 500ft/152m bronze statue of Maitreya Buddha near Kushinagar (previously planned in Bodhgaya).
• The Coming Buddha (Ariya Metteyya), Research Papers by Sayagyi U Chit Tin
• The Bodhisattva Ideal - Buddhism and the Aesthetics of Selflessness.
• A Contemplation on Maitreya - The Coming Buddha