弥勒

(彌勒, 弥勒)

Maitreya, friendly, benevolent. The Buddhist Messiah, or next Buddha, now in the Tuṣita heaven, who is to come 5,000 years after the (sa) nirvāṇa of Śākyamuni, or according to other reckoning after 4,000 heavenly years, i.e. 5,670,000,000 human years. According to tradition he was born in Southern India of a Brahman family. His two epithets are [lang id =1028]慈氏 Benevolent, and Ajita [lang id =1028]阿逸多 'Invincible'. He presides over the spread of the church, protects its members and will usher in ultimate victory for Buddhism. His image is usually in the hall of the four guardians facing outward, where he is represented as the fat laughing Buddha, but in some places his image is tall, e.g. in Peking in the Yung Ho Kung. Other forms are[lang id =1028]彌帝M075962; [lang id =1028]迷諦隸; [lang id =1028]梅低梨; [lang id =1028]梅怛麗 ([lang id =1028]梅怛藥 or [lang id =1028]梅怛邪); [lang id =1028]每怛哩; [lang id =1028]昧怛 M067070[lang id =1028]曳; [lang id =1028]彌羅. There are numerous Maitreya (sa) sūtras.