Do we have information on Metteya Buddha (presently in Tusita Heaven as Bodhisatta).
Please confirm, Metteya Buddha will attain bodhi (enlightenment) in 7 days, He will use high technology for discourse, the teachings will be same, The Four Noble Truths, N8P in relevant social order.
(From memory, unverified).
The opening post (OP) question is open-ended and broad , hence I am moving it to the discussion category.
In the four Nikayas, a future Buddha called Metteya is mentioned in DN26:
. The Arising of the Buddha Metteyya
And the Blessed One named Metteyya will arise in the worldâperfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those who wish to train, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessedâjust as I have arisen today.
He will realize with his own insight this worldâwith its gods, MÄras and BrahmÄs, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, gods and humansâand make it known to others, just as I do today. He will teach the Dhamma thatâs good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased.
And he will reveal a spiritual practice thatâs entirely full and pure, just as I do today.
He will look after a Saáš gha of many thousand mendicants, just as I look after a Saáš gha of many hundreds today.
Then King Saáš kha will have the sacrificial post that had been built by King MahÄpanÄda raised up.
After staying there, he will give it away to ascetics and brahmins, paupers, vagrants, travelers, and beggars.
Then, having shaved off his hair and beard and dressed in ocher robes, he will go forth from the lay life to homelessness in the Buddha Metteyyaâs presence.
Soon after going forth, living withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute, he will realize the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life.
He will live having achieved with his own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.
An interesting article on D&D on the topic is found here. It takes you on an astonishing journey through several other collections of the canon with relations to mythical stories of old âŚ
This is a mural about 3 metres long on the wall of a Cambodian cremation centre. I asked a junior monk who could speak English what it represents and the information given was the one with the bull (ox) is Gautama Buddha, and with the tiger is Metteyya. The animals were said to be those that helped them in their lives. The Buddha often used the bull or pasture as an analogy in the suttas. Only the tortoise is an animal not from Chinese astrology. Also the mudras are different with Gautama Buddha showing the earth touching mode, and the bull is an earth sign in western astrology. The halo is yellow ochre which is known as an earth colour since it derives from minerals.
Cool art style, and I like the colors. Itâs interesting to see how consistent the bodhisattva type iconography is. Just some cultural differences in the type of crown, ornaments, etc.
Iâll also mention that historically Maitreya Buddha also seems to have been associated with some texts in the Sutta Nipata:
At least in some Mahayana texts, Ajita is another name for Maitreya. Iâm not sure if there is any clear connection between Snp 5.3 and DN 26. Maybe just the name Metteyya?
There have also been some speculations among scholars about Mitra / Mithra / Mithras / Maitreya, and possible Iranian connections or syncretism. In Indian Buddhism, Maitreya seems to have been most popular in the Northwest.
Thatâs the name of the monk whoâs given the prediction that heâll become Maitreya in the future in the Madhyama Agama (MA 66).
Snp 5.2 doesnât currently have any Chinese parallels identified, but I wonder if the verses arenât found somewhere in the Avadana collections. If so, Iâd wager it is connected to Maitreya.
I am not sure if I may be qualified to quote Visuddhimagga (Bhadantachariya Buddhaghosa, translation by Ăanamoli Thera), there is a Postscript (after Conclusion, page 837) where Metteyya Buddha is mentioned with utmosr veneration:
âBy the performance of such merit
As has been gained by me through this
And any other still in hand
So may I in my next becoming
Behold the joys of Tavatimsa,
Glad in the qualities of virtue
And unattached to sense desires
By having reached the first fruition,
And having in my last life seen
Metteyya, Lord of sages, Highest
Of persons in the World, and Helper
Delighting in all beingsâ welfare
And heard that Holy One proclaim
The Teaching of the Noble Law,
May I grace the Victorâs Dispensation
By realizing its Highest Fruit
Anyone know why this passage is referring to Trayastrimsa Heaven, and then to Maitreya? Canonically, isnât it the case that Maitreya abides in Tusita Heaven?
I cannot speak to his motivations in writing that, but perhaps it would be alleviate some confusion to point out that beings in higher realms are said to be capable of manifesting in lower realms, and it is suggested they do so with some frequency in nearby realms, such as Sakka commanding the Four Great Kings, or Brahma appearing in the 33âs âhall of justiceâ