Maitreya

The name Maitreya is derived from the Sanskrit word maitrī "friendship", 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.[2][3] 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.[5]

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".[6] 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.[7]

One mention of the prophecy of Maitreya is in the Maitreyavyākaraṇa. It implies that Maitreya 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.[8]

In the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, Maitreya is represented as a 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, who founded the Yogacara tradition.

The Maitreyasamiti was an extensive Buddhist play in pre-Islamic Central Asia.[9][10] The Maitreyavyakarana (in Sataka form) in Central Asia and the Anagatavamsa of South India also mention him.[11][12]

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 vows to achieve enlightenment for the purpose of helping all sentient beings (a common misconception being that they delay their enlightenment, which is inaccurate according to the Nalanda tradition).

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,[13] and in other descriptions, the Shambhala.[14][15]

In Theravada 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 (nirvana-after-death).

Eight-armed male deity (Maitreya). Provenance Vat Ampil Tok, Kg. Chhnang. 10th century. Bronze with dark patina. Green traces on the feet. H. 75 cm. Inv. 2024. National Museum of Cambodia. Phnom Penh.

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 third turning within the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma.

According to Buddhist tradition, each kalpa has 1,000 Buddhas.[16] The previous kalpa was the vyuhakalpa (Glorious aeon), and the present kalpa is called the bhadrakalpa (Auspicious aeon).[17] The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity (Saptatathāgata) are seven Buddhas which bridge the vyuhakalpa and the bhadrakalpa:[18]

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)

A statue of the bodhisattva Maitreya, at Kōryū-ji

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.

Maitreya's 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.[19]

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).

Maitreya, 13th century, Kamakura period, Tokyo National Museum, Important Cultural Property of Japan.

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

Buddhist texts from several traditions 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. Buddha's 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.[20]

Maitreya - 33 metre symbol of Diskit Monastery facing facing down the Shyok River towards Nubra Valley, Ladakh

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 idea 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.[22]

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.[23]

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.[24]

Statue of Maitreya Buddha in Patan Museum, Kathmandu, Nepal

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.

• In 613 the monk Xiang Haiming claimed himself Maitreya and adopted an imperial title.[25]
• In 690 Wu Zetian, empress regnant of the Wu Zhou interregnum (690–705), proclaimed herself an incarnation of the future Buddha Maitreya, and made Luoyang the "holy capital." In 693 she temporarily replaced the compulsory Dao De Jing in the curriculum with her own Rules for Officials.[26]
• Gung Ye, a Korean warlord and king of the short-lived state of Taebong during the 10th century, claimed himself as the 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.
• Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892), the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, is recognized by Bahá’ís as the promised Maitreya Buddha and Promised One of all religions.[27]
• Lu Zhongyi (1849-1925), the 17th patriarch of Yiguandao, claimed to be an incarnation of Maitreya.
• L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the belief systems Dianetics and Scientology, suggested he was "Metteya" (Maitreya) in the 1955 poem Hymn of Asia. Numerous editors and followers of Hubbard claim that in the book's preface, specific physical characteristics said to be outlined—in unnamed Sanskrit sources—as properties of the coming Maitreya were properties with which Hubbard's appearance supposedly aligned.
• Samael Aun Weor (1917–1977) – stated in The Aquarian Message that "the Maitreya Buddha Samael is the Kalki Avatar of the New Age." The Kalkian Avatar and Maitreya Buddha, he claimed, are the same "White Rider" of the Book of Revelation.
• Adi Da was suggested by his devotees to be Maitreya:

  An All-Surpassing God-Man yet to come – a final Avatar, the ultimate Messiah, a consummate Prophet or Enlightened Sage, a Spiritual Deliverer who will appear in the 'late-time', the 'dark' epoch when humanity is lost, apparently cut off from Wisdom, Truth and God. Buddhists call that Expected One 'Maitreya'.[28]

• Followers of B.R. Ambedkar in the Dalit Buddhist Movement regard him as a bodhisattva, the Maitreya, although he never claimed it himself.[29][30]
• Many scholars and analysts claimed Hindu Avatar Kalki as Maitreya.[31][32][33][34][35]
• Some Muslim writers, including those of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, claimed Islamic prophet Muhammad as Maitreya.[36][37]

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, while a secondary comparison is that both were expected to come in the future.[43]

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.

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  Maitreya (water bottle on left thigh), art of Mathura, second century CE
• 
  A 9th-century Srivijayan art bronze Maitreya from South Sumatra, a stupa adorns his crown
• 
  The future Buddha Maitreya, Gandhara, 3rd century CE
• 
  Sitting Maitreya (holding kumbha), Gandhara, 3rd century CE
• 
  A statue of Maitreya Buddha inside Trikal Maitreya Buddha Vihara (Jamchen Lhakhang Monastery) at Bouddhanath premises, Kathmandu, Nepal
• 
  Seated Maitreya, Korean, 4-5th century CE. Guimet Museum
• 
  Seated Maitreya in meditation, Korean, 6-7th century CE.
• 
  The monk Budai as an incarnation of Maitreya
• 
  Maitreya and disciples in budai form, as depicted at the Feilai Feng grottos near Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, China
• 
  Monumental statue of Maitreya at Bingling Temple, China
• 
  Statue of the Tiger Subduing arhat, believed to be an incarnation of Maitreya
• 
  Statue of Maitreya of Gandhara, now in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

• Budai, a traditional manifestation of Maitreya
• Christ (title)
• Index of Buddhism-related articles
• Kalki
• Kalki Purana
• Leshan Giant Buddha
• Lord of Light
• Mahdi
• Maitreya (Benjamin Creme)
• Maitreya (Mahābhārata)
• Maitreya Project
• Maitreya (Theosophy)
• Messiah
• Paraclete
• Saoshyant
• Secular Buddhism
  • Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent

• 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.
• Mipham, Jamgon; Maitreya; Shenga, Khenpo; Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2013). Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature: Maitreya's Dharmadharmatavibhanga with Commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham. Snow Lion. ISBN 978-1-55939-502-1.
• Iida, Shōtarō; Goldston, Jane, trans. (2016). Descent of Maitreya Buddha and his Enlightenment, (Taishō Volume 14, Number 454), Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai.
• Mipham, Jamgon; Maitreya; Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2021). Middle Beyond Extremes: Maitreya's Madhyantavibhaga with Commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham. Snow Lion. ISBN 978-1-55939-501-4.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maitreya.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Maitreya.

• The Maitreya Project, building a huge statue of Maitreya in Kushinagar, India Archived 2012-04-09 at the Wayback Machine
• April 2010 Smithsonian Magazine Article Archived 2013-12-30 at the Wayback Machine
• About the Future Buddha Ariya Ajita Metteyya
• The Story of the Coming Buddha: Ariya Metteyya
• The Jonang Dharma on Maitreya
• "Maitreya" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.