Shi Miaowei - Correct Answers for Level 4 Juren
Maitreya Mantra
Zongsarai Hamoladou
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Maitreya is the transliteration and free translation of Sanskrit Maitreya Cishi is a surname, and the first name is Ayiduo. Maitreya Bodhisattva is a disciple of the Buddha. He lived in the Tusita Heavenly Palace in the Six Desire Heaven and preached the Dharma there. Because Sakyamuni Buddha foretells that he will be reborn in the human world at the end of his life in the Tusita Heaven, he will continue to live in the Tusita Palace. He is a Buddha, so he is also called the Bodhisattva who can make up for the Buddha in his next life. Since he will definitely become a Buddha in the future, he is also called Maitreya Buddha.
Maitreya’s name already appeared in the early Agama Sutra. In the Agama Sutra, Maitreya is the future Buddha born after Sakyamuni. When Maitreya Buddha was born, the land was flat, filled with seven treasures, the flowers were fragrant, the fruits were sweet, the land was prosperous, the people were kind, and the human life span reached Eighty-four thousand years old, and a woman does not get married until she is five hundred years old. Maitreya Buddha's father's name is Xiu Fanmo, who is a minister, and his mother's name is Fanmo Yue, who is a princess. This shows that he is of noble birth. After Maitreya was reborn, he sat in meditation under the Longhua tree and became enlightened. He set up three sessions to save all sentient beings. The first session saved 9.6 billion people, the second session saved 9.4 billion people, and the third session saved 9.2 billion people.
On the one hand, the appearance of the image of Maitreya may be based on a certain historical figure. On the other hand, it also expresses people’s dissatisfaction with the emptiness of their faith objects after the death of Sakyamuni Buddha and their expectations for a better future. . Maitreya belief was introduced to China with Buddhism. Mahayana Prajna classics translated from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty, such as "Tao Xing Prajna Sutra", "Radiant Prajna Sutra", "Maha Prajna Sutra", "Vimalakia Sutra", etc. all have Maitreya belief. Others include "Maitreya Bodhisattva's Original Vow Sutra" and "Zhixin Brahma's Question Sutra" translated by Zhu Fahu in the Western Jin Dynasty, "Bodhisattva's Pregnancy Sutra" translated by Zhu Fo Nian in the former Qin Dynasty, and "The Sutra of the Virgin Mary" translated by Kumarajiva in the later Qin Dynasty. "Siyi Brahma Asked Sutra" and so on also have similar content. The ones that focus on expressing the content of Maitreya belief include "The Sutra of Maitreya's Rebirth" translated by Zhu Fahu, "The Sutra of Maitreya Becoming a Buddha" translated by Kumarajiva, and "The Sutra of Contemplating the Ascension of Maitreya Bodhisattva Tushita" translated by Juqu Jingsheng Three parts, known as the "Three Parts of Maitreya Sutra".
Maitreya belief mainly includes two kinds: belief in upper life and belief in lower life. Sutras such as the Tushita Sutra of Contemplating the Ascension of Maitreya Bodhisattva express the belief in the Ascension. Maitreya Bodhisattva was originally a disciple of Sakyamuni Buddha and was highly regarded by the Buddha. However, his life span was not long and he died before Sakyamuni passed away. Before Maitreya died, the Buddha made a prophecy for him, predicting that he would be reborn in the Tusita Heavenly Palace after his death. Buddhism divides the world into three realms: the realm of desire, the realm of color, and the realm of formless realm. There are six heavens in the realm of desire, from bottom to top: the four heavens of kings, the thirty-three heavens, the flame-mounted heaven, the tusita heaven, the paradise of transformation, and the paradise of other transformations. sky. In the Tushita sky, there is a jade palace with magnificent golden walls, lotus flowers in bloom, fairy music playing, and goddesses surrounding it, and maidens dancing gracefully. It is a paradise that is envied by the world. However, Maitreya Bodhisattva lives in the inner courtyard of the heavenly palace, which is solemn, pure, and incomparable. All sensual pleasures are different from the outer courtyard where the gods live. This place is also called the Pure Land of Maitreya. As long as people in the world observe the precepts, practice meditation, accumulate merit, or recite Maitreya's name, they can be reborn in the Pure Land of Maitreya after death. Entering Maitreya's Pure Land not only prevents reincarnation, but also allows you to listen to Maitreya's sermons frequently. In the future, you can be reborn with Maitreya in the world and achieve liberation and enlightenment. Belief in the upper life is mainly belief in Maitreya Bodhisattva, and it is also a goal that can be reached in the near future (rebirth after death), but this is only an intermediate link or transit station for liberation, not the final destination.
The belief in the next life can be found in the Sutra of Maitreya’s Next Rebirth, the Sutra of Maitreya’s Incarnation as a Buddha, etc. According to Buddhist scriptures, Maitreya's lifespan in Tusita Heaven was four thousand years, which translates to 5.6 billion years in the human world. After his death, he was reborn in the human world and became a Buddha. After Maitreya was reborn, the people not only lived happily, but also had the opportunity to receive liberation. This was very attractive to the people living in a dark world, even though the Buddhist scriptures clearly stipulated that Maitreya must wait 5.6 billion years. However, the common people who were suffering a lot were eager for the early arrival of Maitreya. Therefore, the belief in lower life soon replaced the early popular belief in upper life and became the mainstream of Maitreya belief.
Maitreya faith has experienced the process of secularization and nationalization in China.
The initial Maitreya belief was basically a complete copy of Indian Buddhism, especially the belief in the upper life. It was basically based on Indian Buddhist scriptures without much innovation. Its believers were mainly eminent monks with firm beliefs and high cultural levels. Virtue. Since Maitreya is still a Bodhisattva at this time, the belief in the superior life is the belief in Maitreya Bodhisattva and Maitreya Pure Land. As shown in the statues, the original Maitreya was mostly a Bodhisattva wearing a crown and a necklace. His posture was basically sitting cross-legged, and his shape had a strong Indian style. Later, the image of Maitreya Buddha also appeared. Many of China's giant Buddhas are related to Maitreya, such as Zhejiang Xinchang Giant Buddha, Nanjing Qixia Mountain Giant Buddha, Henan Junxian Giant Buddha, Sichuan Leshan Giant Buddha, Rongxian Giant Buddha, Ningxumi Mountain Yuanguang Temple Giant Buddha, etc. The early images of Maitreya were made strictly in accordance with the thirty-two phases and eighty qualities required by the Buddhist scriptures. It can be said to be a kind of "golden body Maitreya", and there are not many traces of Chineseization in it.
The Chinese nation is a nation that is good at absorbing and digesting foreign culture, especially in its acceptance and transformation of Buddhism, and Maitreya belief is no exception. As the belief in Maitreya's next life gradually becomes more popular, the transformation of Maitreya's image is also quietly underway. Since the people are eager for Maitreya to be reborn as soon as possible, this religious enthusiasm is often exploited by others. Many people use the banner of "Maitreya is born" to instigate uprisings. The situation is relatively complicated, with both peasant uprisings and people with ulterior motives confusing the masses. , taking the opportunity to rebel, or taking advantage of it to make money and cheat for sex and other illegal behaviors. From the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, some troublemakers often pretended to be reborn as Maitreya, appearing in the image of white clothes and long hair. This shows that "white clothes and long hair" became the new image of Maitreya recognized by the society at that time, and can be called "white clothes Maitreya".
Maitreya in white means the localization and secularization of the image of Maitreya. Although it cannot be said that Maitreya in white has no basis in scriptures, as a standard image of Maitreya, it has not appeared in India. White clothing not only means being white, but more importantly, it represents the identity of a lay believer, that is, a layman. The fact that he has long hair is a further indication of this feature. The white-clothed layman can also be the incarnation of Maitreya Buddha, starting from Fu Dashi during the Southern and Northern Dynasties of China.
Master Fu, named Fu Hong or Fu Xi, was a famous lay scholar in the Liang Dynasty. He claimed to be "the good and wise master who came to liberate himself from under the Shuanglin tree", that is, the incarnation of Maitreya. He often showed supernatural powers and returned to Taoism and secularism. Even Emperor Wu of Liang was confused by him, and he had a great influence for a while. But he also used the excuse to atone for the sins of the people of the world and asked many disciples to burn their bodies on his behalf.
It is unknown whether the image of Maitreya in white clothes and long hair was influenced by Master Fu. But whether it is Master Fu who pretends to be mysterious or the evil thieves who cause trouble in name, they are no longer the majestic image of the golden Maitreya in India, but have become a common man with emotions and desires, and they are all Chinese in this world. This shows that the image of Maitreya has become localized, secularized and popularized.
Although Maitreya in White is a product of China’s local Buddhism, its image is weird and his behavior is eccentric. It does not meet the requirements of orthodox Buddhism and does not receive official support. It can only be circulated secretly among the people. It represents the interests and demands of the broad masses of the people, so it has no influence even for a while. After all, it cannot become a universally accepted image of Maitreya. After the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the "Big Belly Maitreya" based on the traveling monks became popular and became the long-lasting and universally popular Chinese Maitreya Buddha.
According to this, he was a native of Fenghua County, Mingzhou (now Fenghua, Ningbo), and lived in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. He is a low-level wandering monk. Because he often wears a cloth bag, he is also called the bag monk. His appearance is very characteristic, "shaped with a round belly, a frown and a broad belly", a wrinkled nose, a big belly, and a very fat body. His behavior is also very strange. When it is about to be dry, he wears high-toothed wooden clogs, and when it is about to be flooded, he wears wet straw sandals, so that people can know the weather. Moreover, he sleeps everywhere, even in the snow in winter, without touching anything on his body. He did not have a fixed residence and often went to the market to beg for food. He ate the food regardless of whether it was good or bad, and even put some of it in his cloth bag. What was even more peculiar was that wherever he begged, business was particularly good. He usually did not speak much. In the second year of Zhenming in the Later Liang Dynasty (916), he passed away under the east corridor of Yuelin Temple in Fenghua. Before his death, he said four sentences: "Maitreya is the true Maitreya, with tens of billions of incarnations. He always shows it to people, but people don't know it." After reading the verse, people realized that he was the incarnation of Maitreya Buddha.
As a traveling monk, Qi Shi is very close to the people, so he is very popular among ordinary people. His image is affable. Although he is not as solemn and solemn as the golden Maitreya, it adds a kind of affinity.
Although he showed supernatural powers, he only hinted at others and did not use it for his own benefit. It was not until his death that he hinted that he was the incarnation of Maitreya. This was in line with Master Fu's public declaration that he was the incarnation of Maitreya, which alarmed the government and the public. , in sharp contrast to the great fame and fortune, and completely different from those fake Maitreyas in white clothes and long hair who use this to confuse the masses and incite rebellion.
Qi Su is valued not only because of his unique image, but also because of his detached thoughts. There are not many poems and verses left by him, but they are all full of characteristics. He has a verse: "One bowl of food for a thousand families, traveling thousands of miles alone. Qing sees few people, and asks for directions with a white cloud head." This verse reflects the life of the wandering monks at that time. Qingmu is used in the sentence "Jikang" and "Qing Baiyan" to treat close friends. The allusions to common people show his unknown loneliness and isolation. He also composed a song, emphasizing that only the heart is the most real and "the most spiritual thing in the world of the ten directions". Monks only need to be at ease and do nothing, without distinguishing between mortals and saints, and without clinging to sutras, which is consistent with the style of Zen Buddhism. .
The matching big belly and cloth bag have become a symbol of generosity and tolerance. He has a verse:
I hate the world more than I do right and wrong, so I have to think carefully about what I can do.
You must endure humiliation if you are broad-minded and willing to obey him.
If you meet a close friend, you must respect each other; even if you meet an enemy, you will always make peace.
If you can solve this problem in your mind, you will naturally achieve the six paranas.
He emphasized the need to be generous and tolerant, not to worry about the rights and wrongs of the world, and to be "broad-minded" and "open-minded." By living in peace, one can even achieve enlightenment and become a Buddha, attaining the six perfections.
Based on this as the prototype, later generations added the characteristic of always smiling, thus forming the typical image of Maitreya Buddha with a short body and a big belly, a wrinkled nose and a smiling mouth. Maitreya in the Big Belly combines magic in plainness, beauty in ugliness, solemnity in humor, and compassion in metaphors. He represents the spirit of tolerance, kindness, wisdom, humor, and happiness of the Chinese nation. He has not only become the image ambassador of Chinese Buddhism, but also the image of Buddhism in China. The image representative of the Chinese nation.
The big-bellied Maitreya has attracted more and more attention from the world. In June 2000, the Maitreya Culture Festival was held in Fenghua, Zhejiang Province, Qi's hometown, and an academic seminar on Maitreya culture was held at the Yuelin Temple where Qi's death occurred. , participating experts and eminent monks in the religious field called for making Yuelin Mountain, the ashram of Maitreya Buddha, the fifth most famous mountain in Chinese Buddhism, promoting Maitreya culture and spirit, promoting it to the world, and contributing to world peace and development.