Buddha Maitreya
Introduction
Description
Buddha Maitreya is in the middle of the venerated Maitreya Trinity, with the Bodhisattva Dharma Garden Grove on the left and the Bodhisattva Great Wondrous Appearance on the right.
The majestic Buddha Maitreya was initially modelled after a similar Tang period statue at Fo Guang Si at Mount Wutai, Shanxi, China.
The BTRTM Buddha Maitreya was carved from a single log and painstakingly hand painted using grounded natural stones and vegetable dyes. The Buddha Maitreya sits in a typical Tang Bhadrasana (auspicious) posture, also called Pralambapadasana (European pose), with each foot on a lotus flower, symbolic of authority.
The right hand is raised in the Abhaya mudra (protection, benevolence, peace and dispelling of fear), with the left hand in the Varada mudra (offering, giving, welcome, charity and compassion ), with a golden water bottle (Kundika) containing the amrita, placed in the left palm.
A gilt crown (Mukuta) sits on the forehead to symbolise the royal status.
The Buddha Maitreya is seated on the rectangular Singhasana (lion) throne, a symbol of the Buddha's royal ancestry and the great strength of His Teachings. Lion thrones are commonly seen in early China Buddhist statues.
The aureole (nimbus or mandorla) is shaped like a lotus petal curved towards the head. It has colourful swirling aura and clouds radiating from the head, with a small stupa at the top.
More information is available in this link:
https://www.buddhatoothrelictemple.org.sg/buddha-maitreya-trinity
Like the majestic Buddha Maitreya above, these sculptures were also modelled after a similar Tang period statue at Fo Guang Si at Mount Wutai, Shanxi, China. These images of the Buddha Maitreya were featured on the posters of the Sacred Buddha Tooth Exhibitions held at Suntec Convention City in 2002 and at the Singapore Expo in 2004.
BTRTM Prototypes for the Main Buddha
Description
In 2006, at the Sago Lane Exhibition a scaled model of the proposed Buddha Maitreya for the new temple and a full-size scale Buddha Maitreya image on the Thangka were featured, the latter was commissioned to ascertain the visual impact. The Buddha Maitreya image on the Thangka was based on the sculpture on the left, which was commissioned to the Chin Ting Enterprise Co Ltd, Fuzhouin China.
Other Maitreya antiques in our Museum are shown in the following pages.
Historical Background
The name Maitreya is derived from the Sanskrit 'Maitrī' (Loving Kindness). In Pali the name becomes Metteyya, in Chinese Milefo, in Japanese Miroku, and in Mongolian Maidari; in Tibetan Byams-pa ("Kind," or "Loving").
The Buddha Maitreya makes his first appearance in Buddhist scriptures in the Cakkavatti Sutta of the Pali Tipitika (Digha Nikaya 26), making him the earliest Bodhisattva and the only one mentioned in the text of both Mahayana and Theravada traditions. In some Buddhist literature, the Buddha Maitreya is referred to as Ajita, in the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra.
The life story of Maitreya is found in the Maitreyavyakarana Sutra. 1 p23
Maitreya is a name of double implications, He is the most renowned of Bodhisattvas who is now in the Tusita Heaven and will lead the coming era; as a Buddha. He would attain Enlightenment, an ideal stage of intellectual and highest ethical perfection. He will come for the deliverance of all conscious beings. Therefore, He is the positive hope for the suffering humanity of the coming age and He is the most excellent & renowned of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas in the Buddhist pantheon.
Some of the first images of Maitreya were sculpted in Gandhara and displayed together with early representations of the Buddha in small shrines, along the edges of sacred areas, facing central relic stupas.3, pg.94 Such Buddhist art continued to spread from the centre of ancient India to other parts of civilisations (South-East Asia: Thailand, Myanmar; Central Asia: China, Mongolia, South Korea and Japan, the Himalayas: Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet), along the famed Silk Route towards the Tarim Basin.
One of the distinguishing attributes of the Buddha Maitreya is the Pralambapadasana (European-seated posture). Pralambapadasana has a long-standing history, which can be traced back to Ancient India, during 1st Century CE. In addition to this term, other Sanskrit names - bhadrāsana, maitreyāsana, sattvāsana, and even paryaṅkāsana - are sometimes used to refer to this posture. 1 fg 134;
During that time, Kusana kings were the rulers of Northern India. The figure of Wima Kadphises, the second ruler of the Kushan Kingdom, was found to be depicted as a king sitting in pendant posture. Amaravati, the Buddhist Kingdom in Satavahana Dynasty of Southern India, also made similar sculptures. From the 3rd CE to 5th CE, many carvings and mural paintings with pendant posture appeared in the famous Ajanta Caves in Central India. Maitreya depicted in pendant posture might have originated from Khotan (ancient Iranian Saka Buddhist kingdom) and was introduced into China together with scriptures on Buddha Maitreya descending as Cakravartin (wheel-ruler).
The other unique attribute of the Maitreya is the cross-legged position. In the Yungang phase of Northern Wei Buddhist art (450 - 490), the art style draws closely to its Indian and Central Asian prototypes, specifically the royal portraiture of kings of the Indian Kushan dynasty (late 1st CE - 3rd CE).6
The first Maitreya images appeared in important early Buddhist sites from the first few centuries of the Common Era, including Gandhara, Mathura, Sanchi, Ajanta, Elora, Ladakh in India; Bamiyan in Afghanistan; Dun Huang, Long Men and Yun Gang in China.
Many colossal sculptures set up in this period were statues of Maitreya. Noteworthy are the two 33-m and 54-m high statues of Maitreya in Bamiyan of Afghanistan (destroyed by Taliban forces in 2001), the colossal 71-m high statue of Maitreya known as Leshan Giant Buddha in Xumishan, China, or the 26-m high bronze statue of Jampa (Maitreya) Buddha atTashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, Tibet, to name a few.
Bibliography:
Inchang Kim, The Future Buddha Maitreya, 1997, D. K. Printworld, ISBN 81-246-0082-1
Sir John Marshall, The Buddhist Art of Gandara, 3rd edition 2008, ISBN 978-81-215-0967-1
Das Asha, Maitreya Buddha in Literature - History and Art, 2003, ISBN-10: 8186791388
Kurt Behrendt, How to Read Buddhist Art, 2020, ISBN: 978-1-58839-673-0
Dorothy C. Wong, Chinese Steles: Pre-Buddhist and Buddhist Use of a Symbolic Form, 2004, ISBN-13:978-0824827830
Tissot Francine, The Art of Gandhara, 1986, ISBN-10: 2220026299
Kurt Behrendt, Pia Brancaccio, Gandhara Buddhism: Archaeology, Art, and Texts, 2006, ISBN-13 : 978-0774810807
Wong, Dorothy C., Maitreya Buddha Statues at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Orientations 32, 2001, no.2.