Where is Maitreya?

Among the people in China, the most familiar Buddha and Bodhisattva is Maitreya, because of its distinctive features. He has an open-minded mind on his stomach, a very happy smiling face in his heart, and a first-class innocent smiling face full of endless happiness. At first glance, he never forgets anything, but he is close, he likes it, but he can't help it. In the end, he will be invited to his home-not for fame and fortune, but for joy.

Maitreya is a transliteration of Maitreya in Sanskrit, a free translation of cishi, whose surname is Aydo, a native of Nantianzhu. More than 2,500 years ago, he was a disciple of Sakyamuni Buddha and was highly valued by the Buddha, but he died before Sakyamuni went extinct. Before Maitreya's death, Sakyamuni wrote a memorial for him, predicting that he would go to the inner court (pure land) for a lifetime and give lectures after his death. According to Buddhist scriptures, Maitreya Bodhisattva will stay for 4,000 years, which is 5.6 billion years when converted into an adult. Then he will become a Buddha in his next life. According to Agama, when Maitreya was born, the land was flat, the seven treasures were full, the flowers were many, the fruit was sweet, the land was rich, and people were kind. People's life expectancy reaches 84,000 years, and women get married at 500 years old. When Maitreya was born, his father's name was Xiu Mo Fan, a minister, and his mother's name was Fan Moyue, a princess. After Maitreya was born, he meditated under the Longhua tree and became a Buddha. He also set up three liberation sessions, the first 9.6 billion, the second 9.4 billion and the third 9.2 billion.

The original image of Maitreya is primitive, mostly in the form of bodhisattvas wearing crowns and garlands. The posture is basically squatting, and naturally there is no big belly and smiling face. Later, the image of Maitreya appeared. There are many Maitreya-related giant buddhas in China, such as Xinchang Giant Buddha in Zhejiang, Qixia Mountain Giant Buddha in Nanjing, Xunxian Giant Buddha in Henan, Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan, Rongxian Giant Buddha in Ningxumi Mountain and Yuanguang Temple Giant Buddha. The image is made in strict accordance with the 32 phases and 80 kinds of goodness required by Buddhist scriptures, and it is still not a potbellied, smiling.

After the Jin Dynasty, some people claimed to be Maitreya Buddha (all those who claimed to be reincarnated buddhas and bodhisattvas were false, and if they were reincarnated bodhisattvas, they would die soon after their identity was exposed), including peasant uprisings and people with ulterior motives who confused the masses, took the opportunity to rebel, or used this to collect money and deceive people. Later, the image of Maitreya in white appeared, but it was not generally accepted.

Today, the image of Maitreya, which is widely loved by the public, comes from the five generations of Hou Liang monks, and is called the cloth bag monk.

Qi, whose real name is Zhang, is from Changting Village, Fenghua (now Fenghua, Ningbo). He lived in the late Tang and Five Dynasties. He is a monk who travels and lives everywhere. Because he often carries a cloth bag, he is also called a cloth bag monk. Its appearance is very distinctive, "cut in shape, wrinkled in belly", wrinkled nose and fat belly. Its behavior is also very strange. People know the weather by wearing high-toothed clogs when dry and wet sandals when wet. He sleeps everywhere and sleeps in the snow in winter, but he doesn't touch the snow. He often goes to the market to beg for food. No matter whether the meat is good or bad, he eats it in his mouth and puts a little into the cloth bag. What's more strange is that the business in the place where he begs is particularly good. In the third year of Liang Zhenming's reign (9 17), he sat on a rock under the east porch of Lin Yue Temple in Mingzhou. Before he died, he said, "Maitreya Buddha is really a Maitreya Buddha. There are thousands of followers in two places, but people don't know it from time to time." Then sit down safely. At this point, everyone knows that the bag monk who walked wildly turned out to be the embodiment of Maitreya. Soon, someone saw the monk walking around with a cloth bag on his back in other States, so the whole world competed to draw his image and offer it at home. It is said that his whole body relic is still well preserved in the East Hall of Lin Yue Temple.

As a traveling monk, Qi is very popular with ordinary people. His image is amiable. Although he showed his magic power, he only hinted at others, not for his own benefit. Until his death, he hinted that he was the incarnation of Maitreya, which was completely different from those Maitreya who confused the masses and incited rebellion.

This is very important, not only because of its peculiar image, but also because of its ideological detachment. There are not many poems left by him, but they are all very distinctive. He has one thing:

"A bowl of rice, Wan Li alone. There are few witnesses and ask for directions. " (Mu Qing used the allusion of Ji Kang's blue eyes to treat confidants and laymen. )

He also wrote a song, emphasizing that only the heart is the most real thing, and it is "the most spiritual thing in the world of ten sides". Monks only need to be comfortable and idle, not different, not obsessed with Confucian classics, which is consistent with the style of Zen. The big belly and cloth bags here have become a symbol of generosity and tolerance. He has one thing:

There are too many people in this world who hate and love each other, so I think carefully about what I can do.

If you are broad-minded, you must bear the burden of humiliation and be willing to follow him.

When you meet a bosom friend, you should score points, and when you meet an enemy, you should make up.

If you can do this, you will naturally get six polo.

He stressed the need to be generous and tolerant, not to care about the right and wrong in the world, to be "broad-minded" and "open-minded and happy". As long as we are magnanimous and broad-minded, we can live in peace with the enemy, and even become a Buddha and get six degrees.

Bag monk transplanting rice:

When you hold the young crops in your hand, you will see the water in the sky, and the six clean roots will become rice (road). Backward is forward.

Taking this as the prototype, later generations added the feature of smiling frequently, thus forming a typical image of Maitreya Buddha with short stature, paunchy belly and frowning nose and smiling face. Maitreya with a big belly combines magic and simplicity, beauty and ugliness, solemnity and humor, compassion and metaphor, representing the spirit of tolerance, kindness, wisdom, humor and happiness of the Chinese nation and becoming the image ambassador of Buddhism in China.

Related to Maitreya:

People who are destined to meet eventually, why not;

There are many unbearable things in the world, so why not tolerate them?

A big belly can hold things that are difficult to hold in the world;

Open your mouth and laugh at the ridiculous people in the world.