Now the next thing, about all those who claimed that so and so
is equivalent to the Buddhist Maitreya, obviously never ever looked
into what the Buddha said about the Maitreya.
You can look at the prophecy made by Buddha below, and see does
which aspect does any of these so called 'Maitreyas' fulfill.
Almost none. Are people now living till an age of 84000 years? Is
the whole world now under the rule of a singer universal ruler that
rules not only this planet but 3 other planets? Are the people now
all completely freed from "Greed, anger, ignorance,
arrogance, suspicion�. killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false
speech, intoxication �.etc"? Is there no more oceans and mountains
but only flat land and rivers? Are there no more four seasons? Did
the 'Maitreya' teach more than 9 billion people at each of three
different dharma sessions? (making up 28.2 Billion people -- our
world population is currently just a small fraction of
that)
Is there
no more poverty and hunger today? Are there no more
illnesses and diseases? Are there no more natural disasters today?
Does palaces and houses miraculously appear and the grounds always
remain filth-free? Do our grounds
produce
different kinds of precious gems that can casually be handpicked by
anyone? Does the ground
automatically open up when we need to relieve ourselves to receive
our waste and then close up afterwords? Do our trees grow
celestial garments of different styles?
Does the Maitreya have the 32 major physical characters and 80
minor physical characters of a Buddha? Does that Maitreya have a
majestic golden skin colour? Did that Maitreya renounce worldly
life to cultivate as a monk and eventually attain Enlightenment
under a Bodhi Tree 7 days later?
Obviously, the world today is totally different from what the
Buddha prophecised when Maitreya would come. The Maitreya
prophecised is also completely different from all the so called
'Maitreyas' we know today. Maitreya would come only after 5.67
billion years later according to Buddhist scriptures.
The
next Buddha
Volume
8 Issue No. 3
On
January 14, 2005, a space probe landed on Titan, the largest moon
of the planet Saturn. The probe was launched in 1997 and arrived
some 8 years later through 744 million miles of space travel. And
still, this is only within our solar system. Indeed, the universe
is so immense that distances are measured in terms of light-years -
the distance travelled by light in a year. The speed of light in
vacuum is 299,792 km per second and when we multiply this number by
the number of seconds in a year, we get a sense of how immense the
universe is.
Equally
immense is the notion of time in the context of the universe. The
Buddha spoke of it in terms of "kalpas", or billions of years. In
the present kalpa, the Kalpa of Virtue, there are 1,000 Buddhas
born. The first Buddha was Krakucchanda Buddha, the second,
Kanakamuni Buddha, and the third, Kasyapa Buddha. The fourth Buddha
is our present Sakyamuni Buddha. The fifth Buddha will be Maitreya
Buddha. In this article, Venerable Shen-kai answers the often asked
question �
When will Maitreya Buddha be born into this
human world?
'Maitreya
Buddha' is the Bodhisattva whom the people of today address as the
'To-be-born Honoured Maitreya Buddha'. This Buddha is presently
still in the heavens above us. He resides in Tusita Heaven (兜 率 天
), the fourth level of the six World of Desire heavens, within the
Maitreya Inner Court of the palace of Tusita. He is the Dharma
Master of Tusita Heaven. It is known to all on heaven and earth
that he has not yet attained Buddhahood, but he is a Bodhisattva
who has cultivated to an extremely high level, one which is almost
the same level as that of Buddha. He is a great Bodhisattva who has
attained the 51st stage in the enlightenment of a Bodhisattva. This
level precedes the attainment of Buddhahood. He is currently in
Tusita Heaven waiting to be born into our human world to be the
next Buddha, thereby succeeding the present teacher of Buddhism,
Sakyamuni Buddha.
In
the Kalpa of Virtue, there are 1,000 Buddhas born. The first Buddha
was Krakucchanda Buddha, the second, Kanakamuni Buddha, and the
third, Kasyapa Buddha. The fourth Buddha is our present Sakyamuni
Buddha. The fifth Buddha will be Maitreya Buddha.
During
the time when Sakyamuni Buddha, the World-Honoured One, attained
Buddhahood, Maitreya was his disciple. Of the many disciples of the
World-Honoured One, Maitreya was a most remarkable and prominent
Great Bodhisattva, and was widely known as 'Maitreya
Bodhisattva'.
Images
of reverence for Maitreya Bodhisattva can be found at every corner
of the world in most Buddhist temples and monasteries, and in the
worshipping halls of Buddhist private homes. Maitreya Bodhisattva,
with his ever-laughing expression and all-accommodating round
belly, is a delightful sight to all. He embodies the virtues of
magnanimity and tolerance, and serves as guidance and inspiration
to all of us in the way we deal with people and the way we conduct
our daily affairs. This is one Bodhisattva whom we cannot do
without.
'Maitreya'
is his family name, which translates into 'loving-kindness' in
Chinese. Thus, there are people who know him as the 'Bodhisattva of
Loving-Kindness'. His given name is 'Ajita', which means 'second to
none'. And so, there are also people who call him 'Ajita
Bodhisattva' or 'The Unsurpassed Bodhisattva'.
After
Sakyamuni Buddha was born, this Bodhisattva was born to a Brahmin
family in a village called Kapil located at Varanasin in the
southern part of Olden India. Foreigners to his country take
'Ajita' to be his family name and Maitreya to be his given name, as
is the way in the West, where it is customary to have the given
name before the family name.
Maitreya
Bodhisattva has been cultivating through aeons of kalpas. Distant
kalpas ago, his name had been the 'Immortal of All Wisdom' (the
Immortal Sarvajna). During the time of the 'Ancient Maitreya
Buddha', he had been so deeply moved when he heard the discourse
delivered by the Ancient Maitreya Buddha on the sutra of
'Compassionate Mind Samadhi', that he immediately vowed to learn to
be like Maitreya, to become Maitreya, to emulate the predecessor
Buddha, to practise the Bodhisattva Way, to enlighten all sentient
beings, and even to become a Buddha in the future. For this reason,
he has retained the name 'Maitreya' through all these aeons of
kalpas past.
Just
before Sakyamuni Buddha entered into Nirvana, Maitreya Bodhisattva
returned to his own hometown, sat cross-legged at his birthplace
and passed away. At that moment, his body radiated a splendidly
brilliant purple golden aura rarely ever seen in this world. He was
then reborn into Tusita Heaven. 'Tusita' means 'contented'. Where
the five desires of pleasure are concerned, celestial beings born
in this heaven are contented and satisfied. However, Maitreya
Bodhisattva is not there to indulge himself in pleasure; rather, he
is the Dharma Master in the celestial palace, and he guides and
enlightens all the celestial beings living there.
Tusita
Heaven is of a different temporal dimension from that of our world.
One day and night in this heaven is 400 years in our human world on
Earth, and one year in Tusita Heaven is 140,000 Earth years. The
celestial life span of Maitreya Bodhisattva is 4,000 years, which
is equivalent to 5.67 billion years on Earth at that time. This
length of time is going to pass before Maitreya Bodhisattva returns
to this world to attain Buddhahood. This is the reason why all
Buddhists now address Maitreya Bodhisattva as the 'To-be-born
Honoured Maitreya Buddha'.
'To-be'
infers 'future'. It also implies that it will definitely be
Maitreya who comes, and no other Buddha! It refers to a future
event. But when exactly in the future and in which country will
this great Maitreya Bodhisattva be born into this world to attain
Buddhahood? Our Earth goes through four main stages of Formation,
Existence, Destruction and Void. These four stages comprise 80
normal kalpas which make one great kalpa. Each stage will take the
period of one medium kalpa, which is equivalent to 20 normal
kalpas. Starting from an average human life span of 84,000 years,
the life expectancy is reduced at a rate of one year per hundred
years until the average human life span is ten years. The process
then reverses: the average human life span is increased at a rate
of one year per hundred years until the average human life span
returns to 84,000 years. This cycle of a decreasing and then
increasing human life span constitutes one normal kalpa.
On
our Earth, during the 20 normal kalpas of the Formation Stage,
there were no Buddhas born. The arrival of Buddhas only started
during the eighth normal kalpa of the Existence Stage. Sakyamuni
Buddha came to this world during the ninth normal kalpa, and
Maitreya will only arrive in the tenth normal kalpa when the human
life span commences its descent from 84,000 years. When that
happens, he will be honoured 'Maitreya' and will be the successor
to Sakyamuni Buddha. At that time, the world will be a prosperous,
peaceful and happy place. This is the reason people will address
him as the 'Prosperous Buddha' or 'Happy Buddha'.
Maitreya
is a blessed Buddha. At the time when he arrives to be born, the
earth will have gone through many changes. Mountains, rivers,
cliffs and gorges will have disappeared, and most parts of the
Earth will have become flat plains. The seas will be calm and the
soil fertile, so there will be many natural recreational parks.
Favourable weather conditions will prevail throughout the four
seasons. Beautiful flowers will blossom everywhere and everything
will be pleasant. Crops and harvests will be plentiful. Fruits will
be beautiful and sweet. Grains will grow naturally and without
husk. They will be extremely fragrant and tasty. When matured, the
grains will be readily edible without the need for cooking. Feeding
on them, people will enjoy longevity and will be free from
sickness. There will be no natural disasters. Everyone will be
kind, good-natured, and free of evil thoughts and behaviour. Greed,
anger, ignorance, arrogance, suspicion�. killing, stealing, sexual
misconduct, false speech, intoxication �.etc, unwholesome thoughts
and bad conduct all will not exist. Everyone will realise the
wonderful practice of cultivating the three pure karmas of body,
speech and mind. They will exhibit equality in thinking and will
not discriminate. They will distance from disputes and will be
amicable and joyous with each another. They will utter good words
of encouragement, perform numerous virtuous deeds and refrain from
all evil deeds. There will be no need to worry about food and
drink. As for clothing, weaving will not be needed, since soft
delicate garments of different styles will grow from celestial
garment trees on earth. People can help themselves to these for
clothing. Palaces and houses will miraculously appear, and the
ground filth-free. As for latrines, whenever people need to relieve
themselves, the ground will automatically open up to receive their
waste and then close up afterward. The ground will produce
different kinds of precious gems that can casually be handpicked by
anyone. Admiring and playing with these gems, people will say,
"I've heard that in past kalpas (possibly referring to our present
kalpa) people hurt one another over such gems and precious stones.
They were imprisoned and suffered all sorts of distress. Now these
gems and precious stones are like tiles and stones which no one
needs to guard over. This really is a pure and peaceful
world."
At
that time, even though the world will consist of many normal
countries, only one big country will be the common ruler. On the
Earth will be a vast plain, covering four million Li (里 ), with
four great oceans located in each direction. There will exist a big
city named Ketumati City (鸡 头 城 ), spanning 500 Li from east to
west, and 280 Li from north to south. The land is flat and
expansive and well populated with people. The streets are neat and
orderly. In the sky above, there will be a dragon king named 'Water
Radiance', drizzling fragrant water at night and maintaining breezy
sunny weather during the day. In the city, a Yaksa (罗 杀 从 , Demon)
by the name of 'Leaf-Flower', will appear in the middle of the
night to serve the people; removing the filth from the city,
sweeping and cleaning, and sprinkling the ground with perfumes so
that the city will be very clean and fragrant. Dragons, deities and
ghosts will work for the benefit of human beings. They neither need
offerings to be made to them nor do they need to be worshipped, as
such superstitious practices will no longer exist. The climate and
environment will be favourable; the citizens gentle and amiable;
and ghosts and deities will provide their support and protection.
These conditions effect the birth of a 'Turning-Wheel Saint King'
(转 轮圣 王 ) named Rang-qu. Ketumati is his capital city. The King
will apply Buddha-dharma to govern and guide his subjects. He has
the Golden Wheel Treasure, Elephant Treasure, Horse Treasure, Pearl
Treasure, the Lady of Virtue and Beauty Treasure, the Minister of
Soldiers Treasure, and the Minister of Treasure. He will secure the
city with these treasures, rather than with conventional swords and
batons. The place will be carefree and joyous, and freedom, peace
and equality will prevail.
During
this time, the treasures of the world are gathered and stored in
four normal countries controlled by Saint King Rang-qu: the first
location is the Yi-luo-bo (伊罗钵)
great treasury of Qian-tuo-yue Country (乾陀 越 国 ), the second is the
Ban-chou (般 绸 )
great treasury of Mi-ti-luo Country (弥 提 罗 国), the third is the
great treasury of Xiang-lai-chi-da Country (项 赖 叱 达 国 ), and the
fourth is the Rang-qu great treasury of Bo-luo-na Country (波 罗 捺 国
). The quantities of precious gems and exquisite items stored in
these four treasuries are too numerous to be counted. All items
stored in the Rang-qu Treasury at Bo-luo-na Country are treasures
of tribute that King Rang-qu receives from all over the world.
Hence, the treasury is named after the Saint King in commemoration.
Nonetheless, everything in the four treasuries still belongs to the
humanity of the world. The King does not consider them his personal
possessions. The personnel managing the treasures are entrusted
with the responsibility of helping and aiding others. Whenever they
learn of poor people in the world, they report to the Saint King
and then the treasure is generously used for aid. Any such act of
generosity toward the people brings great joy to the Saint King's
heart. At this time, people in the world have no worry regarding
food, clothing, housing, transport, recreation, bearing and raising
children and education. Those considered 'poor' are only but those
living in the outskirts who do not have precious ornaments to adorn
themselves with. ('poor' only to this extent) Whenever the Saint
King sees men and women, young and old, regardless of racial skin
colour, with dignified, healthy bodies, upright, bright and
pleasant countenances, he will be very satisfied.
This
brilliant and virtuous Saint King has the best Prime Minister by
the name of 'Subrahmana' (修 梵 摩 ), a good friend of the Saint King
in his youth. He is very learned and outstanding in his talents,
and more knowledgeable than anyone else. He has a transcending
perspective and remarkable wisdom. And he is compassionate in
helping others. Both the Saint King and Subrahmana possess upright
countenance and healthy good-looking physiques. They are both young
and capable. Among the world's women of virtue and beauty,
Subrahmana's wife, Brahmavati (梵 摩 越 ), is the most intelligent,
wise, virtuous, moral, knowledgeable and capable. She is deeply
compassionate, dignified, and exquisite, unparalleled anywhere on
Earth, just like the Deva Sakka's (天 上 帝 释 ) wife in Heaven. Her
breath is fragrant as the 'You-po-luo Flower' (优 钵罗 华 ), and her
body exudes the natural scent of sandalwood. She has not any of the
84 types of pretentiousness of common womenfolk. In her entire
life, she is never sick nor does she suffer any pain or tragedy.
She is always free from any distracting and wild thoughts, distress
and bitter melancholy. All of this is the consequence of her
previous lives' cultivation of pure karma of body, speech and mind.
In their previous lifetimes throughout aeons of past kalpas,
everything of Subrahmana's and Brahmavati's thoughts, deeds and
speech, comprise moral work, cultivating, practising giving and
performing charity for the masses. This has resulted in their now
being the prime ministerial family. Not only are they well honoured
and respected by all the people, but even those living in heaven
praise them highly and consider them quite rare and
extraordinary.
As
Maitreya grows up, he profoundly senses that all worldly knowledge
is really only mundane and he would be better off renouncing the
world to cultivate as a monk. And so, at the outskirts of Ketumati
City, in the exceptionally resplendent scenery of Hua-lin Garden (华
林 园 ), he renounces his worldly life. In the garden is a big
Dragon-Flower Tree, named for its dragon-like branches and
dragonhead-like flowers. During the midnight of the first day of
his renunciation, Maitreya Bodhisattva enters into deep meditation
under the Dragon-Flower Tree and instantly attains supreme
enlightenment. Maitreya's attainment of Buddhahood quakes the Three
Thousand Great Chiliocosm. The earth deities take off in their
separate ways, spreading the news. Everyone in the Heaven of Four
Heavenly Kings, Thirty Three Heavens (Tavatimsa), Heaven of Devas
Yama, Tusita Heaven, Nirmanarati Heaven, Paranirmitavasavartin
Heaven, and even up in the higher heavens within the Brahma Devas
Heavens become aware that Maitreya has attained Buddhahood. He will
be the teacher of celestial and human beings! The Deva King of
Paranirmitavasavartin Heaven residing on the sixth level of the
World of Desire brings all his celestial followers down from heaven
to pay reverence to the Buddha. From that time onwards, Maitreya
Tathagata commences spreading the Dharma to all the human and
celestial beings, resulting in many human and celestial beings
renouncing.
Word
of such an event reaches Wheel-Turning Saint King Rang-qu, and he
is most astonished! He comes to Maitreya Buddha, requesting to be
taught the Dharma. Soon after, the Saint King passes his reign over
to his crown prince, and renounces to follow the Buddha. He becomes
a member of the Sangha community and attains Arahathood.
When
news of Maitreya Buddha reaches Maitreya's father, Subrahmana
Elder, he too leads a group of 84,000 cultivating Brahmins to
renounce the world, become members of Sangha and attain Arahathood.
Maitreya Buddha's mother, Lady Brahmavati also leads 84,000 court
ladies to renounce the world with the Buddha, become Bhiksuni
(Buddhist nuns), and attain Arahathood. The Buddha's mother's
renunciation has such a great influence on the women that tens of
thousands of other womenfolk come to Maitreya Buddha, requesting to
renounce and practise the Dharma. Most of those who are deeply
rooted in virtue gradually attain enlightenment. And as for the
many who are yet to attain enlightenment, Maitreya Buddha gives
them the Teachings of the Three-Vehicles: the Great Vehicle, Middle
Vehicle and Normal Vehicle.
Throughout
Maitreya Buddha's entire life of delivering discourses on the
Dharma, he guides and enlightens infinite numbers of sentient
beings. Among the various Dharma discourses, there are 3 great
assemblies: The first assembly teaches and guides 9.6 billion
people, the second assembly, 9.4 billion people, and the third
assembly, 9.2 billion people. These assemblies are the highly
renowned 'Dragon-Flower Triple Assemblies' of the
future.
Thus
during this period, the Saha world is transformed into the pure
land of Maitreya Buddha. All who have been guided and enlightened
attain Arahathood. The numbers of those who receive guidance and
deliverance in assemblies in the heavens, human realm and elsewhere
are infinitely many. It is not by chance that those who have been
guided and delivered by the Buddha attain enlightenment instantly.
Rather it is truly the result of their own cultivation of
blessings, morality and wisdom through aeons of kalpas. During the
Period of Pure Dharma, the Semblance Period, and the End of Dharma
Period of the era of Sakyamuni Buddha, most of them had planted
their virtuous roots, established extensive links with the Buddha,
Dharma and Sangha, learned and practised Buddhism, performed good
deeds for many others, observed the precepts and recited the
Buddha's name, and spread the Dharma and benefited sentient
beings.
When
Maitreya Buddha has lived a full life of 84,000 years, he enters
Nirvana. And the legacy of his Dharma continues for 84,000
years.
The
above scenario is an overview of the future, when Maitreya Buddha
arrives to be born in our human world and attains Buddhahood.
Sakyamuni Buddha narrated this at Anathapindika Park in Jetavana
Grove of Sravasti, to an assembly of 1,500 disciples. Ananda, with
a bare right shoulder, knelt upon his right knee, and asked with
sincerity and deliberation,
"Enlightened
Tathagata of profoundly penetrating wisdom, there is nothing
unknown to you. Of the past, present and the future, you understand
clearly and entirely. You are well aware of the names and
honourable titles of all the past Buddhas, and the numbers of
followers, disciples and Bodhisattvas. Whether it be one kalpa, or
a hundred, or innumerable kalpas, your observation is complete.
Further, you know the kings, ministers and citizens, telling them
apart by their individual names. As for today's world, you have
full knowledge of the present numbers of territories and the extent
of national boundaries. Disciples following you eagerly wish to
hear about the distant future to come, about Maitreya's appearance
and attainment of Buddhahood, all the changes that will occur, how
bountiful and joyous the state of the Buddha world will be, and how
much more time is to pass before then."
Time
and again, Ananda humbly requested. And in response to this plea
that Ananda made on behalf of all those present at the assembly,
the compassionate Buddha spoke this prophetic sutra. The 'Sutra of
the Coming of Maitreya' has been well documented and referenced in
many other sutras.
Taking
the Buddhism Tripitaka and Twelve Sections of the Buddhist
Scriptures as our guiding compass, let us all cultivate our minds
and actions, and diligently progress on the right path. We should
extensively establish virtuous links with the Buddha, distance
ourselves from evils, and perform virtuous deeds. Let us all come
together to implement Humanity Vehicle Buddhism, build a pure land
in this world, dignify the minds and bodies of all people, maintain
the conditions for rebirth in the human realm, and ready ourselves
for the period in the next 5.67 billion years, when we will all
come together to welcome the arrival of Maitreya Bodhisattva in our
human world, and celebrate his attainment of
Buddhahood.
References:
Glossary
of Terms:
Four Evolving Stages:
Three
Kalpa eras:
1.
Kalpa of Adornment 2. Kalpa of Virtue 3. Kalpa of
Stars
Three
periods of Buddha:
1.
Period of Pure Dharma of the Buddha 2. Semblance Period of the
Buddha 3. End of the Dharma Period
The 7
Buddhas of immediate past:
Last
3 Buddhas of Kalpa of Adornment:
- Vipasyin Buddha
- Sikhin Buddha
- Visvabhu Buddha
First
4 Buddhas of the present Kalpa of Virtue:
- Krakucchanda Buddha,
- Kanakamuni Buddha,
- Kasyapa Buddha,
- Sakyamuni Buddha
Kalpa:
- 1
normal kalpa = 16.8 million years
- 1 medium kalpa= 20 normal kalpas = 336 million years
- 1 great kalpa = 4 medium kalpas = 80 normal kalpas = 1.344
billion years
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2002.Jen Chen Buddhism Centre
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