Question asked by James
Hi Pastor,
Buddha Shakyamuni appeared in our world approx over 2500 years ago. What are your thoughts on why the next Buddha, Buddha Maitreya will take so long to appear in our world. Why not appear now and start rescuing sentient beings?
I am curious as to why there are infinite number of Buddhas/Buddhas to become in all the 10 directions, why wait for Maitreya, why doesn't any next Buddha appear in our world now?
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Dear James,
Both Buddha Shakyamuni and Buddha Maitreya are included in a list of 1,000 Buddhas of this aeon. As such they are known to be Samyaksam Buddhas or ‘Universal Buddhas’. This means that in an age when there is no Dharma or teachings leading to enlightenment, they expound the Dharma out of compassion for the benefit of sentient beings. One of the reasons that there is such a long gap between the two is that the Dharma and all its traces will completely vanish before Matireya manifests to teach the Dharma again. From another angle, we may view this is a very long time but from a cosmic perspective, given time existent in each universe in each aeon this timing is very short.
You are right that there are innumerable Buddhas, and in fact they do manifest to lead people along the path towards enlightenment. They can appear in many forms, such as high lamas, normal monks and nuns, secular teachers, friends, family and even inanimate objects. They are around us, it’s just that you may not necessarily know who or what they are. Therefore it is not that practitioners are waiting for Matireya but that Maitreya is simply listed as a Buddha that will expound the Dharma when we it no longer exists.
In some practices we do give importance to Maitreya. We pray that we have the good merits to receive the Dharma directly from him in the future. Those who receive the Dharma directly from a Samyaksam Buddha are very fortunate and more likely to have quick attainments along the path, due to the blessings from the particular Sakyaksam form that the Buddha has taken. For example in the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa, we create a strong link with Maitreya. After our deaths, if we have not created the causes to be reborn in Tushita in front of Maitreya, we have created the causes to be born during the time when Maitreya will appear, so we have the chance to benefit from his teachings on our path towards enlightenment. I hope this helps.