Maitreya Buddha: Pali Metteyya - Chinese Mi Lei Fo - Ajita Bodhisattva - The Honored Future Buddha

Maitreya, also known as Ajita, is one of the great Bodhisattva-disciples of the Buddha. He is foremost in the perfection of patience, and in a future age he will become the next Buddha. He is also the founder of the Consciousness-Only (Yogachara, Yogacara, Vijnanavada, Vijñanamaya) School of Mahayana Buddhism.

"Maitreya Bodhisattva is also known as Ajita. Maitreya is his family name. Ajita is his given name. Maitreya means 'compassionate clan.'" (Maitreya also means 'Maha Maitri' -- 'loving kindness' or 'universal unconditional love.') "Ajita means 'invincible.' Perhaps you have seen images of a fat monk in the dining hall in Buddhist temples. Maitreya is that monk. Maybe this Bodhisattva liked to eat good things and got fat that way. He also liked to laugh, but his laugh was not a coarse "Ha ha Ha !" Rather he always had a big smile on his face. He enjoyed playing with children, and so the children were all fond of him. He was always surrounded by them. After Shakyamuni Buddha retires as the teaching host of this world, Maitreya Bodhisattva will take over that position. Shakyamuni Buddha is known as the Red-Yang Buddha. When Maitreya Bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, he will be known as the White-Yang Buddha. This means that when Maitreya Bodhisattva comes to the world as a Buddha, people's blood will be white, not red. People are red blooded now because of the Red-Yang Buddha." (SS V 112)

As to Maitreya Bodhisattva's perfection of patience, "if someone scolded him, he pretended he hadn't heard it. How did he do that? His face was like rubber, as thick as an automobile tire. If someone scolded him he paid no attention. If someone hit him, he just pretended it didn't happen. He knew how to be patient. . . .

"Maitreya Bodhisattva's stomach was like the sea; you could float a boat in it. His heart was the heart of a Buddha, extremely compassionate. He has a short verse which . . . [I] will repeat for you now:

The old fool wears a tattered robe,
And fills his belly with plain food.
He mends the rags to keep his body warm,
And lets the myriad affairs just take their course.
Should someone scold the Old Fool,
The Old Fool just says, 'Fine.'
Should someone strike the Old Fool,
He just lies down to sleep.
'Spit right in my face,' he says,
'And I'll just let it dry.
That way I save energy
And you don't get afflicted.'
This kind of paramita
Is the jewel in the wonderful.
Now that you know this news,
How can you worry about not attaining the Way."
(DFS II 350-351)

In the Shurangama Sutra Maitreya explains the method of cultivation he used to realize enlightenment:

I remember when, as many kalpas ago as there are fine motes of dust, a Buddha named Light of Sun, Moon and Lamp appeared in the world. Under that Buddha I left the home-life; yet I was deeply committed to worldly fame and like to fraternize with people of good family.

Then that World-Honored One taught me to cultivate consciousness-only concentration, and I entered that samadhi. For many aeons I have made use of that samadhi as I performed deeds for as many Buddhas as there are sands in the Ganges River. My seeking for worldly fame and fortune ceased completely and never recurred.

When Burning Lamp Buddha appeared in the world, I finally realized the unsurpassed, wonderfully perfect samadhi of consciousness.

I went on until, to the ends of empty space, all the lands of the Thus Come Ones, whether pure or defiled, existent or non-existent, were transformations appearing from within my own mind.

World-Honored One, because I understand consciousness-only thus, the nature of consciousness reveals limitless Thus Come Ones. Now I have received the prediction that I will be the next to take the Buddha's place.

The Buddha asks about perfect penetration. I was intent upon the contemplation that the [ten] directions come only from consciousness. When the conscious mind is perfect and bright, one enters the perfection of the real. One leaves behind reliance on others and attachment to incessant calculating and attains the patience when no dharmas come into being. This the foremost method. (SS V 111-118)

1) Chinese Mandarin: mi lei/lo ; 2) Sanskrit: maitreya; 3) Pali: metteyya.

Buddhist Text Translation Society (http://www.BTTSonline.org) References: DFS II 156, 351ff; DFS IX 1584-87; AS 103-105; EDR VII 135; EDR VIII 19; SS V 111-119; VBS #172, p. 10.

Primary Original Source: The Tripitaka Sutra, Shastra and Vinaya teachings
(as found in the scripture storehouse of the Indian Sanskrit-Siddham, Chinese, Tibetan and Japanese traditions of the Nalanda Tradition of ancient Nalanda University) of Shakyamuni Buddha, and his Arya Sagely Bodhisattva Bhikshu Monk and Upasaka disciples.

These Good and Wise Advisors (Kaliyanamitra) Dharma Master teachers include Arya Venerables Nagarjuna, Ashvaghosha, Aryasura, Kumarajiva, Shantideva, Chandrakirti, Chandragomin, Vasubandhu, Asanga, Hui Neng, Atisha, Kamalashila, Dharmarakshita, Tsong Khapa, Thogme Zangpo, Patanjali, Sushruta, Charaka, Vagbhata, Nichiren, Hsu Yun, Hsuan Hua, Shen Kai, Tenzin Gyatso, Kyabje Zopa, Ajahn Chah, Vasant Lad, and other modern day masters. We consider them to be in accord with Master Hsuan Hua’s "Seven Guidelines for Recognizing Genuine Teachers"

Nalanda Online University's teachings are based especially on the Dharma Flower Lotus Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra, the Ksitigarbha Sutra, the Bhaisajya Guru Sutra, the Dharani Sutra, the Vajra Sutra, the Prajna Paramita Hridayam Sutra, the Guhyasamaja, the Kalachakra and their commentaries (shastras) by the above Arya Tripitakacharya Dharma Masters.

At Nalanda Online University we practice daily and introduce you to (via downloadable multimedia MP3 audio and WMV video lectures) the teachings and practices of the Five Traditions transmitted by the Buddha Shakyamuni:

1. Teaching School (Mahayana Sutrayana - Paramitayana - Hua Yan and Tian Tai, Yogachara, Nalanda Prasangika Madhyamika, Theravada Sutta)

See also: Tripitaka (1. Sutras, 2. Vinaya, 3. Shastras or Abhidharma, or Tantra), Taisho Catalog Numbering System, Dharma, and names of individual sutras (such as Shurangama Sutra, Avatamsaka Sutra [Flower Adornment Sutra], Lotus Sutra [Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra], Earth Store Sutra, Dharani Sutra, Brahma Net Sutra, Medicine Master Buddha Sutra, Sixth Patriarch Platform Sutra, Sutra in 42 Sections, Sutra on the Buddha's Bequeathed Teaching, et al.

2. Moral Regulations School (Vinaya Pratimoksha Shila - Bodhisattva Pranidhana - Vajrayana-Samaya - Yogic Yama)

3. Esoteric School (Vajrayana - Mantrayana - Tantrayana - Dharani - Secret School of the Mahayana)

4. Meditation School (Indian Dhyana Samadhi - Shamatha - Vipassana, Chinese Chan, Japanese Zen,
        Tibetan Mahamudra of Kagyupa, and Tibetan Dzogchen of Nyingmapa)

5. Pure Land Devotional School (Bhakti Puja - Buddha-Bodhisattva Mindfulness and Nama Japa --
         Name Recitation of Buddhas Amitabha-Amitayus, Medicine Buddha - Bhaisajya Guru - Akshobhya,
         and Bodhisattvas: Avalokiteshvara-Guanyin-Chenrezig-Mahakala, Tara, Samantabhadra Universal Worthy,
         Manjushri-Kalarupa Great Wisdom, Maitreya Great Loving-Kindness, Mahasthamaprapta Great Strength,
         Ksitigarbha - Earth Store Great Vows, Vajrapani, Vajrasattva,
         Chandraprabha Moonlight Radiance, Suryaprabha Sunlight Radiance, Medicine King Bodhisattva, Medicine Superior Bodhisattva
         and others Dharma Protecting Dharmapala Lokapala Bodhisattvas, Gods and Goddesses)

Compilation Sources for the Above Material on the Teachings of the Buddha:

Primary Compilation Source: Epstein, Ronald B., Ph.D, compiler, Buddhist Text Translation Society's Buddhism A to Z, Burlingame, California: Buddhist Text Translation Society, 2003. ISBN: 0881393533 Paperback: 284 pages. www.BTTSOnline.org www.Amazon.com
http://www.bttsonline.org/product.aspx?pid=118 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881393533/ref=ase_medicinebuddh-20

Secondary Compilation Source: The Seeker’s Glossary of Buddhism, 2nd ed., San Francisco, California: Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada, 1998: www.budaedu.org.tw

Secondary Compilation Source: Muller, Charles, editor, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism [DDB], Toyo Gakuen University, Japan, 2007: Username is "guest", with no password.
http://buddhism-dict.net/ddb - Based in large part on the Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms with Sanskrit and English Equivalents (by Soothill and Hodous) Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass, 1997.

Secondary Compilation Source: Ehrhard, Diener, Fischer, et al, The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, 1991. 296 pages. ISBN 978-0-87773-520-5 www.Shambhala.com, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0877735204/ref=ase_medicinebuddh-20,
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-0-87773-520-5.cfm

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Sarva Mangalam.
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Arya Bhikshu Shantideva’s Bodhisattvacharyavatara says:
Just as Manjushri works
To fulfill the aims of all limited beings
To the far reaches of space in the ten directions,
May my behavior become just like that.

For as long as space remains,
And for as long as wandering beings remain,
May I too remain for that long,
Dispelling the sufferings of wandering beings.

(Like Ananda says in the Shurangama Sutra introduction to the Shurangama Mantra,
"And even could the nature of shunyata melt away, my vajra-like Supreme Resolve would still remain unmoved.)

Whatever sufferings wandering beings might have,
May all of them ripen on me,
And through the Bodhisattva assembly,
May wandering beings enjoy happiness.

May the teachings,
the sole medicine for the sufferings of wandering beings
And the source of all happiness,
Continue to endure for a very long time,
With material support and shows of respect.

Updated July 17, 2008

Maitreya (Bodhisattva)