adrian
September 29, 2018, 11:50pm
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I often see the image of a laughing, pot-bellied monk and I didn’t know that it was of Maitreya Buddha until I started learning Buddhism.
Here is Master Sheng Yen giving some explanation on why Maitreya Buddha is portrayed in this manner and other interesting snippets of information on the next Buddha:
adrian
October 3, 2018, 11:58pm
2
the wiki entry here…for more info:
— Events —
Maitreya (Sanskrit), Metteyya (Pali), is regarded as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he is referred to as Ajita.
According to Buddhist tradition, Maitreya is a bodhisattva who will appear on Earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor to the present Buddha, Gautama Buddha (also known as Śākyamuni ...
