Maitri teachings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Maitri Teachings of the "Maitri School" are a simple set of principles only.
It is a universal Prayer for Love and World Peace.
The Maitri (Love) Mantra Prayer:, it’s meaning and practice
Introduction to the Maitri Teaching and it's Mantra:
Mantra is a word tool that is used to affect the Body and mind through words. In order for Mantra to truly be effective one should receive it from a qualified source and it should be thoroughly understood to be useful, it should also be relevant to the cultural context of the students and their path towards enlightenment. There are many Mantras on the meditation of love and compassion, and all of them are very good. The Maitri Mantra is a new mantra for this time and place in the cultural and spiritual evolution of mankind. The purpose of the Maitri Mantra like all Mantra is to impress upon the mind virtuous qualities in practitioners the quiescent acquisition of enlightened mind by utterance and reflection in a contemplative meditation method. Historically speaking there are Mantra for many purposes, such as for personal power or gain, magical invocation, the subjugation of mental or emotional obstacles, and so the Maitri Mantra could be used for all of those reasons, the greatest purpose for the Maitri Mantra is for the full acquisition of the enlightened mind which is imbued with great compassion and love. For those with experience of the Tantra it is to consolidate it in the continuum of the practitioner to a degree that the personal arising of the transformation of a personality takes place. This associated with the qualities of an enlightened hero such as the Buddha or bodhisattva or saint, and so this is the purpose of the Maitri Mantra.
Simple practice:
There are many levels to the practice and understanding of the Maitri Mantra, let’s start with the first level; this is the repetition and the holding of the meaning of the Mantra in the mind with out self arising visualization, in other words just simple recitation of the Maitri Mantra keeping the meaning of words in mind and that alone. If in order to practice the Maitri Mantra it really is sufficient that one of only knows and has heard the Mantra, Aum Maitri Maitreya Maha Karuna Ye! (Aum, Love, Loving-One, Great Compassion Yea!). The recitation of Aum Maitri Maitreya Maha Karuna Ye! (Aum, Love, Loving-One, Great Compassion Yea!), is sufficient enough along with a sound foundation practice of refuge and Bodhicitta the firmly established one of on the actual bhumis of the mahayana . A simple method to practice would be the following:
Visualize in front of you object of refuge such as the Buddhas, Christ, ones living Gurus etc. For the purpose of this prayer they are all called the “enlightened Bliss body”.
Recite the following refuge and bodhicitta prayer 3 times:
(Refuge):
I take refuge in the most sacred Truth-Body (Dharmakaya, God, etc) I take refuge in all The Enlightened Bliss Bodies (Gurus, The Buddha, Christ, etc.) I take refuge in Doctrine of Truth/Dharma I take refuge in the community of saints, bodhisattvas, monks-nuns and Yogins
(Bodhicitta prayer/ Enlightened-mind prayer) For the Sake of all Sentient beings as vast as space And each who are like my own mother and dear to me as my own child, I vow to practice and perfect the stages of enlightenment for their and my own benefit
(then recite the 4 immeasurable thoughts once) May all Beings near and far have the cause for Love, Joy, Peace and Equinamity.
With this prayer being said, one then should recite the Maitri Mantra on a Mala or Rosary 100 times or as many as one can reflecting in the mind the deep meaning of the prayer and how the qualities are those you sincerely want for yourself and other.
Aum Maitri Maitreya Maha Karuna Ye!
When done, make an offering of your merits to others such as the following:
May what ever merit I may have gathered through my practice and reflection on this meditation I offer to all beings without exception. -Aum Ah Hum!-
This is a very simple example of how to practice this Meditation
Even if one is not a Buddhist and does not take refuge one will still receive great benefit from the meaning and the recitation and the understanding in the mind stream of the Maitri Mantra, Aum Maitri Maitreya Maha Karuna Ye! (Aum, Love, Loving-One, Great Compassion Yea!), the reason is that the Maitri Mantra does speak to the very heart of those whom seek wisdom founded on the acquisition of enlightenment mind. No matter if you were raised Christian, Hindu, Muslim or Jewish you do not need to be Buddhist to feel the genuine connection to the acquisition of compassion and love. This is a universal trait that by nature is inherent in the continuum of sentient beings and so therefore the mantra. Aum Maitri Maitreya Maha Karuna Ye! (Aum, Love, Loving-One, Great Compassion Yea!) even therefore transcends common religion or better yet in essence unites them. This is to imply that the Maitri Mantra actually is in line with the sentiments of genuine established religion and at its heart, the dogma of love and so therefore the Maitri Mantra is in compliance with the sentiments of all saints. It is a statement for anybody or oneself which is complimenting and in fact praising the virtuous qualities of all compassionate living beings in the expression of joy and hope of the great cultivation of this in this world. And so this is actually my advice to those that would like to practice of foundational stages of the Maitri Mantra is to recognize that the Maitri Mantra is to be inclusive of all of these respective Mahayana sentiments which are not exactly Buddhist. If you are Buddhist to recognize that these sentiments of the mahayana are to be inclusive. One should not hold Buddhism exclusive of other Mahayana traditions, in fact it is a violation of precepts and a Bodhisattva downfall. Therefore the genuine yogin which wishes to meditate upon the most excellent Maitri Mantra which will bring peace to this world and the continuity of one’s own mind stream should therefore always keep in mind that the Maitri Mantra is good for the welfare of all beings. In doing so there should be no sentiment of separatism, class struggle, caste, religious division, this is a mantra for everyone. This Mantra is not to be used as a tool to somehow convert or persuade people to the superiority of Buddhism. It should always be kept in mind that the Maitri Mantra is medicine for an ailing world and the dark age.
The general explanation:
The Maitri Mantra Aum Maitri Maitreya Maha Karuna Ye! (Aum, Love, Loving-One, Great Compassion Yea!). If we translate the Maitri Mantra it says: love, loving(one), great compassion yes! The very essence of the Maitri Mantra is love and great compassion. Maitreya in the center can be inferred as both the historical Maitreya as well as the concept of a Buddha to “come” which is the essence of one’s own mind stream awakening. Love and compassion is at the heart of the mahayana, and this is the emphasis of the Maitri Mantra. The cultivation of love and compassion is to be understood as perfected with wisdom by the last syllable Ye!/Yea or Yes!. This infers to the realization of perfection of wisdom about the absolute and relative nature of existence.. This union of love and compassion and the realization of the perfection of wisdom can be realized at one moment with a full understanding and significance of the Maitri Mantra. In such a way this realization is no less than the great perfection (Dzogchen) teaching, since the luminous awakening of mind can be achieved just upon the realization of the heart of the Maitri Mantra. Being that this mantra is a formula and is not some magical incantation it is by the real power of Love/Maitri that it is universal. Upon the genuine reflection, meditation and contemplation of the phenomenal nature of reality and the awakening mind. With great compassion and love and the realization of such in a joyful expressive manner is the modality of actual beings with the heart of enlightenment. This is unlike the self-awakened (selfish enlightened/pratyekabuddha) who in their meditative realizations and deep contemplation upon the void have abandoned the relative aspect of awakening mind which is love and compassion for actual beings.. This union of love and compassion and the great joy of realization is the first stage of the bodhisattva. The expression of the Ye!, can also be understood as the realization of the selfless, impermanent, suffering nature of existence and the selfless realization in the joyful recognition of the dharma which leads the way to nirvana. In this way the expression of yes at the end of the Maitri Mantra supports the middle way view . This view of higher realization is the selfless realization of all dharma. In this way, Aum Maitri Maitreya Maha Karuna Ye! (Aum, Love, Loving-One, Great Compassion Yea!)!, is much like the E.-Vam syllables in esoteric vajrayana, this Evam (Thus I) is a spontaneous self arisen joy of a selfless self and the expression of the realization that one has the loving-one qualities.. This same union enjoyed of self realization is not an intellectual realization but one will actually experience this either immediately, spontaneously and fully, or will traverse the stages of Mahamudra (great gesture of enlightenment through stages.). One may experience immediate benefits and results from the Maitri Mantra, or in any way, just from the meditation on love itself as a general concept. If one may consider themselves perfected in the acquisition of awakened mind, it is advised that one traverse the stages of moral meditative behavior and at all other times between sessions of meditation merge your meditation with your ordinary actions. The great perfection or the Mahamudra is when the mind stream has become so fully imbued with love and compassion that the aspirant yogin-bodhisattva becomes fully awake.
This is just a brief explanation of this prayer. Sarva Mangalam! (may all be blessed)
By Ngagkpa Lama Kunga Choedak:Luis Riesgo . 2004.