Maitreya Main Page - Updated
Maitreya, the bodhisattva of loving kindness and the Buddha of the next and future eon after the age of Shakyamuni Buddha. Maitreya is believed to currently reside in the Tushita Heaven and is typically depicted as having either a Bodhisattva Appearance or Buddha Appearance with all the typical characteristics.
Maitreya belongs to three iconographic groups: the Eight and Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas. He also belongs to the group known as the Buddhas of the Three Times - past, present and future (Dipamkara, Shakyamuni, Maitreya). These three Buddhas also belong to the larger group of One Thousand Buddhas of this Age.
In painting Maitreya is commonly depicted in bodhisattva appearance and is commonly found along with the other Eight Great Bodhisattvas in compositions with either Shakyamuni or Amitabha Buddha as the central figure.
"With the fire of great love burning the fuel of anger,
The light of pristine awareness removes the darkness of ignorance.
Heir to the Conqueror's Dharma, upcoming leader of beings;
To the one residing in Tushita, I bow." (Buddhist liturgical verse).
Groups & Number Sets:
- Buddhas of the Three Times
- Eight Great Bodhisattvas (& Sixteen)
- One Thousand Buddhas of the Age
Forms & Types:
- Maitreya in Bodhisattva Appearance (seated, vajra posture, standing)
- Maitreya in Buddha Appearance
- Maitreya as a Meditational Deity: Three Faces, Four Arms