Maitreya

Maitreya Buddha

Maitreya from Gandhara, 2nd Century
Sanskrit मैत्रेय
(Maitreya)
Pāli Metteyya
Burmese အရိမေတ္တယျ
[ʔəɹḭmèdja̰]
Chinese 彌勒菩薩
(Mílè Púsa)
Japanese 弥勒菩薩
(Miroku Bosatsu)
Khmer ព្រះសិអារ្យមេត្រី
(Preah Se A Metrey)
Korean 미륵보살
(Mireuk Bosal)
Mongolian ᠮᠠᠶᠢᠳᠠᠷᠢ᠂ ᠠᠰᠠᠷᠠᠯᠲᠣ;
Майдар, Асралт;
Mayidari, Asaraltu
Okinawan 弥勒御迎
(Miruku Unkee)
Shan ဢရီႉမိတ်ႈတေႇယႃႉ
Sinhala මෛත්‍රී බුදුන්
(Maithri Budun)
Thai พระศรีอริยเมตไตรย
(Phra Si Ariya Mettrai)
Tibetan བྱམས་པ་
Vietnamese Di-lặc (bồ-tát)
Information
Venerated by Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana
Attributes Great Benevolence
Preceded by Gautama Buddha
Buddhism portal
A statue of the bodhisattva Maitreya, at Kōryū-ji

Maitreya (Sanskrit), Metteyya (Pali), Maithri (Sinhalese), Jampa (Wylie: byams pa ) or Di-lặc (Vietnamese), is regarded as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he is referred to as Ajita.

According to Buddhist tradition, Maitreya is a bodhisattva who will appear on Earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor to the present Buddha, Gautama Buddha (also known as Śākyamuni Buddha).[1][2] The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya refers to a time in the future when the dharma will have been forgotten by most on the terrestrial world.

Maitreya has also been adopted for his millenarian role by many non-Buddhist religions in the past, such as the White Lotus, as well as by modern new religious movements, such as Yiguandao.

Sources

The name Maitreya is derived from the Sanskrit word maitrī "loving-kindness", which is in turn derived from the noun mitra "friend". The Pali form Metteyya is mentioned in the Cakkavatti-Sīhanāda Sutta (Digha Nikaya 26) of the Pāli Canon, and also in chapter 28 of the Buddhavamsa.[1][2] Most of the Buddha's sermons are presented as having been presented in answer to a question, or in some other appropriate context, but this sutta has a beginning and ending in which the Buddha is talking to monks about something totally different. This leads scholar Richard Gombrich to conclude that either the whole sutta is apocryphal or that it has at least been tampered with.[3]

In the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, in the first centuries CE in northern India, Maitreya was the most popular figure to be represented along with Gautama Buddha (often called Śākyamuni "sage of the Shakya"). In 4th to 6th-century China, "Buddhist artisans used the names Shakyamuni and Maitreya interchangeably... indicating both that the distinction between the two had not yet been drawn and that their respective iconographies had not yet been firmly set".[4] An example is the stone sculpture found in the Qingzhou cache dedicated to Maitreya in 529 CE as recorded in the inscription (currently in the Qingzhou Museum, Shandong). The religious belief of Maitreya apparently developed around the same time as that of Amitābha, as early as the 3rd century CE.[5]

Characteristics

One mention of the prophecy of Maitreya is in the Maitreyavyākaraṇa. It implies that he is a teacher of meditative trance sādhanā and states that gods, men and other beings:

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 oneness 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.[6]

General description

Maitreya is typically pictured seated, with either both feet on the ground or crossed at the ankles, on a throne, waiting for his time. He is dressed in the clothes of either a bhikṣu or Indian royalty. As a bodhisattva, he would usually be standing and dressed in jewels. Usually he wears a small stupa in his headdress that represents the stupa with relics of Gautama Buddha to help him identify it when his turn comes to lay claim to his succession and can be holding a dharmachakra resting on a lotus. A khata is always tied around his waist as a girdle.

In the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, Maitreya is represented as a Central Asian or northern Indian nobleman, holding a kumbha in his left hand. Sometimes this is a "wisdom urn" (Tibetan: Bumpa). He is flanked by his two acolytes, the brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu.

The Maitreyasamiti was an extensive Buddhist play in pre-Islamic Central Asia.[7][8] The Maitreyavyakarana (in Sataka form) in Central Asia and the Anagatavamsa of South India also mention him.[9][10]

Maitreya's Tuṣita Heaven

Maitreya currently resides in the Tuṣita Heaven (Pāli: Tusita), said to be reachable through meditation. Gautama Buddha also lived here before he was born into the world as all bodhisattvas live in the Tuṣita Heaven before they descend to the human realm to become Buddhas. Although all bodhisattvas are destined to become Buddhas, the concept of a bodhisattva differs greatly in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. In Theravada Buddhism, a bodhisattva is one who is striving for full enlightenment (Arahantship in Pali), whereas in Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva is one who has already reached a very advanced state of grace or enlightenment but holds back from entering nirvana so that he may help others.

In Mahayana Buddhism, buddhas preside over pure lands, such as Amitābha over Sukhavati. Once Maitreya becomes a buddha, he will rule over the Ketumati pure land, an earthly paradise sometimes associated with the city of Varanasi (also known as Benares) in Uttar Pradesh, India.[11]

In Theravadin Buddhism, Buddhas are born as unenlightened humans, and are not rulers of any paradise or pure land. Maitreya's arising would be no different from the arising of Gautama Buddha, as he achieved full enlightenment as a human being and died, entering parinibbana.

Activity of Maitreya in the current age

In Mahayana schools, Maitreya is traditionally said to have revealed the Five Treatises of Maitreya through Asanga. These texts are the basis of the Yogacara tradition and constitute the majority of the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma.

Future coming of Maitreya

Statue of Maitreya Buddha in Patan Museum, Kathmandu

According to Buddhist tradition, each kalpa has 1,000 Buddhas.[12] The previous kalpa was the vyuhakalpa (Glorious aeon), and the present kalpa is called the bhadrakalpa (Auspicious aeon).[13] The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity (Saptatathāgata) are seven Buddhas which bridge the vyuhakalpa and the bhadrakalpa:[14]

  1. Vipassī (the 998th Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
  2. Sikhī (the 999th Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
  3. Vessabhū (the 1000th and final Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
  4. Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
  5. Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
  6. Kassapa (the third Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
  7. Gautama (the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)

Maitreya will be the fifth and future Buddha of the bhadrakalpa, and his arrival will occur after the teachings of Gautama Buddha are no longer practiced.

The coming of Maitreya will be characterized by a number of physical events. The oceans are predicted to decrease in size, allowing Maitreya to traverse them freely. Maitreya will then reintroduce true dharma to the world.

His arrival will signify the end of the middle time, the time between the fourth Buddha, Gautama Buddha, and the fifth Buddha, Maitreya, which is viewed as a low point of human existence. According to the Cakkavatti Sutta: The Wheel-turning Emperor, Digha Nikaya 26 of the Sutta Pitaka of the Pāli Canon), Maitreya Buddha will be born in a time when humans will live to an age of eighty thousand years, in the city of Ketumatī (present Varanasi), whose king will be the Cakkavattī Sankha. Sankha will live in the palace where once dwelt King Mahāpanadā, but later he will give the palace away and will himself become a follower of Maitreya Buddha.[15]

The scriptures say that Maitreya will attain bodhi in seven days (which is the minimum period), by virtue of his many lives of preparation for buddhahood similar to those reported in the Jataka tales.

At this time a notable teaching he will start giving is that of the ten non-virtuous deeds (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, idle speech, covetousness, harmful intent and wrong views) and the ten virtuous deeds (the abandonment of: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, idle speech, covetousness, harmful intent and wrong views).

The Arya Maitreya Mandala, founded by Anagarika Govinda is based on the idea of the future coming of Maitreya.

Pali sources say that beings in Maitreya's time will be much bigger than during the time of Sakyamuni. In one prophecy his disciples are contemptuous of Mahakasyapa, whose head is no larger than an insect to them. Buddhas robe barely covers two fingers making them wonder how tiny Buddha was. Mahākāśyapa is said to be small enough in comparison to cremate in the palm of Maitreya's hand.[16]

Nichiren Buddhism and Maitreya as metaphor

Maitreya - 33 metre symbol of peace facing Pakistan, Nubra Valley, India

According to the Lotus Sutra in Nichiren Buddhism, all people possess the potential to reveal an innate Buddha nature during their own lifetimes, a concept which may appear to contradict the concept of Buddha as savior or messiah.

Although Maitreya is a significant figure in the Lotus Sutra, the explanation of Nichiren is that Maitreya is a metaphor of stewardship and aid for the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, as written in the Lotus Sutra:

Moreover... all the bodhisattvas, Bodhisattva Maitreya... will guard and protect the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, so one may indeed rest assured.[17]

In much of his writing, Nichiren mentions the traditional Buddhist views on Maitreya but explains that the propagation of the Eternal Dharma of the Lotus Sutra was entrusted by Shakyamuni to the Bodhisattvas of earth:

The Buddha did not entrust these five characters to Maitreya, Medicine King, or the others of their group. Instead he summoned forth the bodhisattvas... from the great earth of Tranquil Light and transferred the five characters to them.[18]

Thus, each individual can embody the character of the Maitreya because he is a metaphor for compassion:

The name Maitreya means ‘Compassionate One’ and designates the Votaries of the Lotus Sutra.[19]

Maitreya claimants

Close-up of a statue depicting Maitreya at the Thikse Monastery in Ladakh, India. Depictions of Maitreya vary among Buddhist sects.

The following list is just a small selection of those people who claimed or claim to be the incarnation of Maitreya. Many have either used the Maitreya incarnation claim to form a new Buddhist sect or have used the name of Maitreya to form a new religious movement or cult.

Maitreya sects in China

Seated stone-carved Maitreya, Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan, China

Pre-Maitreyan Buddhist messianic rebellions

Southern and Northern Dynasties

Using drugs to send its members into a killing frenzy, and promoting them to Tenth-Stage Bodhisattva as soon as they killed ten enemies, the Mahayana sect seized a prefecture and murdered all the government officials in it. Their slogan was "A new Buddha has entered the world; eradicate the demons of the former age", and they would kill all monks and nuns in the monasteries that they captured, also burning all the sutras and icons. After defeating a government army and growing to a size of over 50,000, the rebel army was finally crushed by another government army of 100,000. Faqing, his wife, and tens of thousands of his followers were beheaded, and Li Guibo was also captured later and publicly executed in the capital city Luoyang.
The Fozu Tongji (Comprehensive Records of the Buddha), a chronicle of Buddhist history written by the monk Zhipan in 1269, also contains an account of the Mahayana Rebellion, but with significant deviations from the original account, such as dating the rebellion to 528 rather than 515.[23]

Although a "new Buddha" was mentioned, these rebellions are not considered "Maitreyan" by modern scholars.[23] However, they would be a later influence on the rebel religious leaders that made such claims. Therefore, it is important to mention these rebellions in this context.

Maitreyan rebellions

Sui Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

Song Dynasty

Yuan and Ming Dynasty

The leader of White Lotus sect, Han Shantong called himself Ming Wang (明王 – "King of Brightness"), while his son, Han Lin'er called himself Xiao Ming Wang (小明王 – "Small King of Brightness"), both names reflecting the sect's beliefs. Zhu Yuanzhang had been a member of the White lotus Sect, and admitted to have been a branch of the White Lotus rebel army (being at one time vice-marshal of Xiao Ming Wang). When Zhu Yuanzhang took power, he chose the dynastic name "Ming".[26]

This suggests that the Ming dynasty was named after the White Lotus figures of the "Big and Little Bright Kings".

Qing Dynasty

The Yi He Tuan (義和團), often called in English the "Society of Harmonious Fists" was a 19th-century martial-sect inspired in part by the White Lotus Society. Members of the "Harmonious Fists" became known as "Boxers" in the west because they practiced Chinese martial arts.

Albeit not in the name of Maitreya, both rebellions were perpetrated solely or in part by the White Lotus Society, a rebellious Maitreya sect.

Speculation

Some have speculated that inspiration for Maitreya may have come from Mithra, the ancient Indo-Iranian deity. The primary comparison between the two characters appears to be the similarity of their names.[28]

Paul Williams claims that some Zoroastrian ideas like Saoshyant influenced the beliefs about 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.

It is also possible that Maitreya Buddha originated with the Hindu Kalki, and that its similarities with the Iranian Mithra have to do with their common Indo-Iranian origin.

Non-Buddhist views

Theosophy

In theosophy, the theosophical Maitreya has multiple aspects signifying not just the future Buddha, but similar concepts from other religious or spiritual traditions.[29]

In early 20th century, leading theosophists became convinced that an appearance of the Maitreya as a so-called "World Teacher" was imminent. A South Indian boy, Jiddu Krishnamurti, was thought to be destined as the "vehicle" of the soon-to-manifest Maitreya; however the manifestation did not happen as predicted, and did not fulfil theosophists' expectations.[30]

Post-theosophical movements

Since the growth of the theosophical movement in the 19th century, and influenced by theosophy's articulations on the Maitreya, non-Buddhist religious and spiritual movements have adopted and reinterpreted the concept in their doctrines. Share International, which equates Maitreya with the prophesied figures of multiple religious traditions, claims that he is already present in the world, but is preparing to make an open declaration of his presence in the near future. They claim that he is here to inspire mankind to create a new era based on sharing and justice.[31]

In the beginning of the 1930s, the Ascended Master Teachings placed Maitreya in the "Office of World Teacher" until 1956, when he was described as moving on to the "Office of Planetary Buddha" and "Cosmic Christ" in their concept of a Spiritual Hierarchy.

Ahmadiyya

The Ahmadiyyas believe the 19th-century Mirza Ghulam Ahmad fulfilled expectations regarding the Maitreya Buddha.[32]

Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'ís believe that Bahá'u'lláh is the fulfillment of the prophecy of appearance of Maitreya.[33][34] Bahá'ís believe that the prophecy that Maitreya will usher in a new society of tolerance and love has been fulfilled by Bahá'u'lláh's teachings on world peace.[33]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Horner (1975), The minor anthologies of the Pali canon, p. 97. Regarding Metteyya, Bv XXVII, 19: "I [Gautama Buddha] at the present time am the Self-Awakened One, and there will be Metteyya...."
  2. 1 2 Buddha Dharma Education Association (2014). "Suttanta Pitaka: Khuddaka Nikāya: 14.Buddhavamsa-History of the Buddhas". Guide to Tipiṭaka. Tullera, NSW, Australia: Buddha Dharma Education Association. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  3. ↑ Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, pages 83–85.
  4. ↑ Angela Falco Howard et al., Chinese Sculpture, Yale University Press, 2006, p. 228
  5. ↑ 中國早期的彌勒信仰 (PDF) (in Chinese), TW: TT034
  6. ↑ (Trans. in Conze 1959:241
  7. ↑ 古代维吾尔语说唱文学《弥勒会见记》
  8. ↑ The Maitreya-samiti and Khotanese
  9. ↑ 刘震：从百颂体《弥勒授记经》来看中印及周边的文化交流
  10. ↑ The Teaching of the Elders – Thera-vada: 'Anagatavamsa Desana
  11. ↑ 《彌勒上生經》與《彌勒下生經》簡介
  12. ↑ "Chapter 36: The Buddhas in the three periods of time". Buddhism in a Nutshell Archives. Hong Kong: Buddhistdoor International. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  13. ↑ Buswell Jr., RE; Lopez Jr., DS (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (1st ed.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3.
  14. ↑ Buswell Jr., RE; Lopez Jr., DS (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (1st ed.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 776. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3.
  15. ↑ Vipassana.info, Pali Proper Names Dictionary: Metteyya
  16. ↑ John S. Strong (2007). Relics of the Buddha. p. 220. ISBN 0691117640.
  17. ↑ "SGI Library Online – The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin". Sgilibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  18. ↑ "SGI Library Online – The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin". Sgilibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  19. ↑ The Record of Orally Transmitted Teachings p 143.Translated by Burton Watson
  20. 1 2 3 Notable Maitreyan Rebellions, FYSM068—Collective Violence and Traumatic Memory in Asia. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  21. ↑ Tang Dynasty Empire 618–906, SAN-BECK. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  22. ↑ Carolyn Lee. Adi Da: The Promised God-Man Is Here by The Ruchira Sannyasin Order of Adidam Ruchiradam. Amazon.com. ISBN 1570971439.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [Yang Shao-yun, "Buddhist Political Ideology in the Mahayana Rebellion and Moonlight Child Incident of 6th century China" (Honors thesis, National University of Singapore, 2004).
  24. ↑ Song Dynasty Renaissance 960–1279, SAN-BECK. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  25. ↑ Is Qigong Political? A new look at Falun Gong QI: The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health & Fitness. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  26. ↑ "白莲教的首领韩山童称"明王"（他的儿子韩林儿称"小明王"），都体现其教义宗旨。朱元璋不仅曾经信仰白莲教，而且承认自己是白莲教起义军的一支（他曾为小明王左副元帅）。朱元璋取得政权后，国号称"明"。Beijing University
  27. ↑ White Lotus Rebellion, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. May 2001. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  28. ↑ Tiele, CP (1912). "Appendix: some Buddhistic parallels". The religion of the Iranian peoples. I. (from the German) with Darmesteter's sketch of "Persia" and Goldziher's "Influence of Parsism on Islam (1st ed.). Bombay: The Parsi Publishing Co. p. 159. No one who has studied the Zoroastrian doctrine of the Saoshyants or the coming saviour-prophets can fail to see their resemblance to the future Maitreya.
  29. ↑ Leadbeater, Charles W. (2007) [originally published 1925. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House]. The Masters and the Path (reprint ed.). New York: Cosimo Classics. ISBN 978-1-60206-333-4. The theosophical Maitreya features prominently in the entire work. Some instances pertinent here: pp. 4–5, 10, 31–32, 34, 36, 74; "Part IV: The Hierarchy" pp. 211–301. As it did with practically every major religious, philosophical, and cultural tradition, theosophy ascribed additional occult or esoteric significance to many Buddhist concepts. In the theosophical Spiritual Hierarchy the Maitreya is currently high in the ranks of the so-called "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom" where he also holds the "Office of the World Teacher". According to theosophical writers he has had a number of manifestations or incarnations in the physical plane, and he has been further identified with Christ; Besant, Annie & Leadbeater, Charles W. (1913). Man: How, Whence, and Whither; a record of clairvoyant investigation. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House. pp. 339, 520. OCLC 871602. Presumed prior Maitreya incarnations.
  30. ↑ Lutyens, Mary (1975). Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-18222-1. Biography (partial) of Jiddu Krishnamurti, the presumed "vehicle" of the Maitreya in the 20th century, describes the events in some detail.
  31. ↑ Share International.
  32. ↑ Review of Religions, 97 (3), March 2002, p. 24.
  33. 1 2 Momen, Moojan (1995). Buddhism And The Baha'i Faith: An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith for Theravada Buddhists. Oxford: George Ronald. pp. 50–52. ISBN 0-85398-384-4.
  34. ↑ Buck, Christopher (2004). "The eschatology of Globalization: The multiple-messiahship of Bahā'u'llāh revisited". In Sharon, Moshe. Studies in Modern Religions, Religious Movements and the Bābī-Bahā'ī Faiths. Boston: Brill. pp. 143–178. ISBN 90-04-13904-4.

References

  • Horner, IB, ed. (1975). The minor anthologies of the Pali canon. Volume III: Buddhavaṁsa (Chronicle of Buddhas) and Cariyāpiṭaka (Basket of Conduct). London: Pali Text Society. ISBN 0-86013-072-X. 
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