Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
In the Lesser Vehicle, Maitreya is known only as the future
Buddha (not the Messiah, as he is sometimes designated by an
entirely misleading analogy). The first successor to Sakyamuni to
come on this earth, since the Wheel of the Law must once more be
set in motion, he is waiting at present, in the Heaven of the
Tusita Gods (the Satisfied), situated on the pinnacle of the
world, in the far north, the hour of his mission among men. His
character of Buddha-Bodhisattva and his very close link with
Sakyamuni, attested by a certain number of Indian statues, made of
him an intermediary of long standing between the Buddha of our
world and the Buddhas of the Pure Lands. In the Mahayana of the Far
East, the faith and the cult of which he was the object were
remodelled very soon, it seems, on the faith and cult which
concerned Amitabha. Thus we read in his Sutra, which was the object
of several translations in Chinese, especially in 402 and 455:
Were they guilty of every crime, those who, hearing the name of
Mi-lo-Fo, prostrate themselves and repent, will be immediately
purified. Those who have honoured him, by statues, flowers,
incense, etc., will see him appear at the moment of death in the
form of [b]Mahapurusha, with the tuft of white hair between his
eyebrows, accompanied by all the Gods; and they will obtain
immediate rebirth in the Tusita Heaven. And again: If a man, at
the moment of a thought, invokes the name of Mi-lo-Fo, he thus wins
exemption from sins equivalent to twelve hundred kalpas of births
and deaths; if, on hearing his name, he adores him joining his
palms together, he wins exemption from sins equivalent to the
duration of five hundred kalpas. 20
May I enquire what is Mahapurusha, and whether the tuft of white
hair is one of the 32 major marks or 80 minor marks? thanks[/b]
mahapurusha is supposed to be what is in the Amitabha Praise as
one of the
marks of Buddha
not 32 major ,it is a symbolism of erm.... i have to check abt that
