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[GrahamR]

Greetings

My sister in law is quite interested in this 'Buddha'

To me it seem to be something else to obscure Buddha's teaching.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitreya

What have other people heard, what are your views please?

With metta Graham

[huli]

I believe I heard on this forum from a major contributor, that it is recorded once in the sutras where Buddha himself predicted the coming of this next future Buddha in 5000 years. The quotation is considered suspect by many, since Buddha repeated important teachings over and over, and he was not a prophet who predicted historical events. The story may have been added by someone in antiquity.

I agree with your take on the significance of Maitreya..

Various people have claimed to be Maitreya, or have been proclaimed by others to be Maitreya. For a good while there, many of the Theosophical folks considered Krishnamurti to be Maitreya. He never claimed such a thing, however.

[camerata]

As far as Theravada Buddhism goes, the coming of Metteya (Maitreya is the Sanskrit spelling), the Buddha-to-be, has been emphasized mostly in non-canonical texts aimed mainly at the common people. The idea is that if you do good and make enough merit you will be reborn in the time of the next Buddha and have the direct benefit of his teachings. However, salvation via Metteya seemed to have lost its appeal in the 20th century, possibly as a result of King Mongkut's reforms.

[GrahamR]

camerata, on Yesterday, 18:00 , said:

As far as Theravada Buddhism goes, the coming of Metteya (Maitreya is the Sanskrit spelling), the Buddha-to-be, has been emphasized mostly in non-canonical texts aimed mainly at the common people. The idea is that if you do good and make enough merit you will be reborn in the time of the next Buddha and have the direct benefit of his teachings. However, salvation via Metteya seemed to have lost its appeal in the 20th century, possibly as a result of King Mongkut's reforms.

To me the obsession with merit making is another form of attachment and a problem in itself.

Graham

[huli]

GrahamR, on Yesterday, 19:25 , said:

camerata, on Yesterday, 18:00 , said:

As far as Theravada Buddhism goes, the coming of Metteya (Maitreya is the Sanskrit spelling), the Buddha-to-be, has been emphasized mostly in non-canonical texts aimed mainly at the common people. The idea is that if you do good and make enough merit you will be reborn in the time of the next Buddha and have the direct benefit of his teachings. However, salvation via Metteya seemed to have lost its appeal in the 20th century, possibly as a result of King Mongkut's reforms.

To me the obsession with merit making is another form of attachment and a problem in itself.

Graham

Lay Buddhists are supposed to have boundless friendliness, and to practice generosity, at a minimum. Institutionalizing the practice of merit-making by giving alms or money to the temple etc, is a good way to keep the lay people practicing generosity. They are just obsessed with being generous, which is a good thing.

[NoorE]

If I may add to the conversation:

If you accept the Buddha's prediction of Maitreya's appearance in 5,000 years, you also have to include the rest of the story.  I am copying this from maitreya . org / english / PBuddhism . htm (remove spaces) and would encourage you to go there to study further:

“If, Ananda, women had not retired from the household life to the houseless one, under the doctrine and discipline announced by the Tathagata, Dharma Ananda would long endure; a thousand years would the good Dharma abide.  But since, Ananda, women have now retired from the household life to the houseless one, under the doctrine and the discipline announced by the Tathagata, not long Ananda, will Dharma endure; but five hundred years Ananda, until the Dharma abide” (Vinya Pitaka II. 253 ff).

Buddha had previously promised that the Dharma would last for 5,000 years, which if broken down is really five periods of one thousand years, each period representing one of the five disappearances.  After the fifth period, that is five thousand years, the Dharma would disappear and the true message of Buddha would be lost.

However, Buddha contests that because He has allowed women to participate in the fullness of Buddhist life, He would halve the time until the Dharma's expiration from five periods of one-thousand years (5,000 years), to five periods of five-hundred years (2,500 years).

According to Buddha, and explanation above, the Dharma would disappear 2,500 years after His Dispensation began (1957 A.D.), and shortly after the five disappearances, the Maitreya would come.

This interpretation of Scripture is supported by a number of ancient Chinese's Buddhist commentaries, here is one such example:

"The monks and stream attainers (followers) will be strong in their union with Dharma for 500 years after the Blessed One's Parinirvana.  In the second 500 years they will be strong in meditation; in the third period of 500 years they will be strong in erudition.  In the fourth 500 years period they will only be occupied with gift giving.  The final or fifth period of 500 years will see only fighting and reproving among the monks and followers.  The pure Dharma will then become invisible (disappear)" (Abhidharmakosha, 4.12c. III. p. 41).



Even if you do not accept that Buddha predicted the coming of Maitreya, you can consider that another Prophet or teacher must come, as Buddha's teachings have not brought unity to humanity even after 2,500 years, so His could not have been the final.  You also have to ask yourself, why so many religions, if there is only one Truth?  Are the others all just wrong?  And in all the other religions of the world, they are also expecting a Prophet (return of Christ, Kalki Avatar, Mahdi, He Whom God Shall Make Manifest, Blue Kachina/Pahana/True White Brother from the East, etc.) and the prophecies of their coming are also being fulfilled at this time.

So I indeed submit to you that the coming of Maitreya is not meant to obscure or reduce Buddha's teaching, but indeed to glorify it, and bring even greater Truth that even was not revealed to Buddha.

In fact I submit to you that Maitreya is already here.  He has fulfilled Prophecies from all world religions and cultures, and brought a teaching that unifies all the religions of the world and for the first time shows clearly how all are from the same, One God, each sent as part of an overall Plan which is now coming to fruition.  Maitreya's teaching also unifies the West and the East, science and spirit, and shows how the two are not contradictory but complementary.

You are correct that many have claimed to be Maitreya - that is why it is important to be diligent and study the claims of each to see which are based on falsehood (connect you to themselves, no prophecies fulfilled, illogical teachings, etc.) and which are based on truth.  If you reject all claimants, you will not fall for the false prophets, but you may also miss the True One!

Therefore, do not take my word for it - I challenge you to study Maitreya's literature, prophecies fulfilled, etc. and prove it to yourself that he is indeed the True Maitreya, the Prophet of God: maitreya . org (remove spaces)

Edited by NoorE, Today, 00:17 .

[huli]

NoorE, on Today, 00:12 , said:

If I may add to the conversation:

If you accept the Buddha's prediction of Maitreya's appearance in 5,000 years, you also have to include the rest of the story.  I am copying this from maitreya . org / english / PBuddhism . htm (remove spaces) and would encourage you to go there to study further:

“If, Ananda, women had not retired from the household life to the houseless one, under the doctrine and discipline announced by the Tathagata, Dharma Ananda would long endure; a thousand years would the good Dharma abide.  But since, Ananda, women have now retired from the household life to the houseless one, under the doctrine and the discipline announced by the Tathagata, not long Ananda, will Dharma endure; but five hundred years Ananda, until the Dharma abide” (Vinya Pitaka II. 253 ff).

Buddha had previously promised that the Dharma would last for 5,000 years, which if broken down is really five periods of one thousand years, each period representing one of the five disappearances.  After the fifth period, that is five thousand years, the Dharma would disappear and the true message of Buddha would be lost.

However, Buddha contests that because He has allowed women to participate in the fullness of Buddhist life, He would halve the time until the Dharma's expiration from five periods of one-thousand years (5,000 years), to five periods of five-hundred years (2,500 years).

According to Buddha, and explanation above, the Dharma would disappear 2,500 years after His Dispensation began (1957 A.D.), and shortly after the five disappearances, the Maitreya would come.

This interpretation of Scripture is supported by a number of ancient Chinese's Buddhist commentaries, here is one such example:

"The monks and stream attainers (followers) will be strong in their union with Dharma for 500 years after the Blessed One's Parinirvana.  In the second 500 years they will be strong in meditation; in the third period of 500 years they will be strong in erudition.  In the fourth 500 years period they will only be occupied with gift giving.  The final or fifth period of 500 years will see only fighting and reproving among the monks and followers.  The pure Dharma will then become invisible (disappear)" (Abhidharmakosha, 4.12c. III. p. 41).



Even if you do not accept that Buddha predicted the coming of Maitreya, you can consider that another Prophet or teacher must come, as Buddha's teachings have not brought unity to humanity even after 2,500 years, so His could not have been the final.  You also have to ask yourself, why so many religions, if there is only one Truth?  Are the others all just wrong?  And in all the other religions of the world, they are also expecting a Prophet (return of Christ, Kalki Avatar, Mahdi, He Whom God Shall Make Manifest, Blue Kachina/Pahana/True White Brother from the East, etc.) and the prophecies of their coming are also being fulfilled at this time.

So I indeed submit to you that the coming of Maitreya is not meant to obscure or reduce Buddha's teaching, but indeed to glorify it, and bring even greater Truth that even was not revealed to Buddha.

In fact I submit to you that Maitreya is already here.  He has fulfilled Prophecies from all world religions and cultures, and brought a teaching that unifies all the religions of the world and for the first time shows clearly how all are from the same, One God, each sent as part of an overall Plan which is now coming to fruition.  Maitreya's teaching also unifies the West and the East, science and spirit, and shows how the two are not contradictory but complementary.

You are correct that many have claimed to be Maitreya - that is why it is important to be diligent and study the claims of each to see which are based on falsehood (connect you to themselves, no prophecies fulfilled, illogical teachings, etc.) and which are based on truth.  If you reject all claimants, you will not fall for the false prophets, but you may also miss the True One!

Therefore, do not take my word for it - I challenge you to study Maitreya's literature, prophecies fulfilled, etc. and prove it to yourself that he is indeed the True Maitreya, the Prophet of God: maitreya . org (remove spaces)

You are being disingenuous by not further stating that you are Bahai and your Maitreya is Baha'u'llah.

It is certainly a familiar idea that all religions are one, but Bahai has been around a long time and none of the other religious traditions have given up to join Bahai instead. So, Bahai is really just another religion with their own prophet, even tho they claim include the other religions, to Buddhism in this case.

Doesn't Bahai have their own forum somewhere?

[NoorE]

huli, on Today, 06:26 , said:

You are being disingenuous by not further stating that you are Bahai and your Maitreya is Baha'u'llah.

It is certainly a familiar idea that all religions are one, but Bahai has been around a long time and none of the other religious traditions have given up to join Bahai instead. So, Bahai is really just another religion with their own prophet, even tho they claim include the other religions, to Buddhism in this case.

Doesn't Bahai have their own forum somewhere?

We are not Baha'i.  Baha'i is a part of our teachings, but even they have only 1/7 of the whole truth.  What Maitreya brings is even greater than Bab/Baha'u'llah's message.  Also, Maitreya's teaching is not that all religions are the same, but that each was sent to emphasize a specific message, one part of the whole truth.

The followers of every religion have claimed that theirs is the last, and refused to accept anything after it (even if their Prophet never said such a thing).  But none of the religions so far (including Buddhism and Baha'i) have brought what they aspire to or claim they will bring - peace on earth, unification, a teaching that all can find a place in and reach Salvation through, etc.  This can only be understood by seeing that God already prophesied (most clearly in Revelation in the Bible, but it can be found in other places as well) that there would be many teachings sent, and only when the Seventh Angel comes will the mystery of God be finished and the full truth be revealed, which unifies all (everyone can find their place within it, as all are part of it).

So I ask you to study the teachings sincerely, and know what Maitreya teaches, before jumping to conclusions.  It is a good practice to follow no matter what you are discussing.