Maitreya-natha
Encyclopedia
Maitreya-nātha is a name whose use was pioneered by Buddhist scholars Erich Frauwallner
, Giuseppe Tucci
, and Hakiju Ui to distinguish one of the three founders of the Yogācāra
school of Buddhist philosophy
, along with Asaṅga
and Vasubandhu
. Some scholars believe this "Maitreya" to be a historical person in India. The traditions themselves have held that it is referring to the bodhisattva
Maitreya
Louis de La Vallée Poussin stated that Maitreya-nātha is not the name of a man, but rather "He who is protected by Maitreya". He considers Natha to be a synonym of buddha, or more precisely bhagavat.
heaven. Asaṅga is said to have spent many years in intense meditation, during which time tradition says that he often visited Tuṣita
Heaven to receive teachings from the bodhisattva Maitreya. Heavens such as Tuṣita Heaven are said to be accessible through meditation
. Xuanzang tells the account of these events:
Confusion over the idea of "supernaturally" visiting heavens may be due to the unfamiliarity of scholars with the Indian concept of heavens as being accessible through samādhi
. Other advanced meditators recorded similar experiences of visiting Tuṣita Heaven at night. One such example of this is Hanshan Deqing
during the Ming Dynasty
. In his autobiography, Hanshan describes the palace of Maitreya in Tuṣita, and hearing a lecture given by Bodhisattva Maitreya to a large group of his disciples. He recounts Maitreya as having said:
and Chinese Buddhism, but variously include:
The last five works are often referred to, collectively as the Five Dharmas of Maitreya, and their authorship is given variously to Maitreyanatha, Asaṅga or a combination thereof.
Erich Frauwallner
Erich Frauwallner was an Austrian professor, a pioneer in the field of Buddhist studies.-Career and life:...
, Giuseppe Tucci
Giuseppe Tucci
Giuseppe Tucci was an Italian scholar of oriental cultures, specialising in Tibet and history of Buddhism. During its zenith, Tucci was a supporter of Italian Fascism, and he used idealized portrayals of Asian traditions to support Italian ideological campaigns...
, and Hakiju Ui to distinguish one of the three founders of the Yogācāra
Yogacara
Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
school of Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy deals extensively with problems in metaphysics, phenomenology, ethics, and epistemology.Some scholars assert that early Buddhist philosophy did not engage in ontological or metaphysical speculation, but was based instead on empirical evidence gained by the sense organs...
, along with Asaṅga
Asanga
Asaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...
and Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu was an Indian Buddhist monk, and along with his half-brother Asanga, one of the main founders of the Indian Yogācāra school. However, some scholars consider Vasubandhu to be two distinct people. Vasubandhu is one of the most influential figures in the entire history of Buddhism...
. Some scholars believe this "Maitreya" to be a historical person in India. The traditions themselves have held that it is referring to the bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
Maitreya
Maitreya
Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
Academic views
Scholars are divided in opinion whether the name denotes a historical human teacher of Asaṅga or the bodhisattva Maitreya.Louis de La Vallée Poussin stated that Maitreya-nātha is not the name of a man, but rather "He who is protected by Maitreya". He considers Natha to be a synonym of buddha, or more precisely bhagavat.
Traditional view
The Buddhist traditions themselves have always held that Asaṅga received the texts in question from Bodhisattva Maitreya directly in TuṣitaTushita
' or Tusita is one of the six deva-worlds of the Kāmadhātu, located between the Yāma heaven and the heaven. Like the other heavens, is said to be reachable through meditation...
heaven. Asaṅga is said to have spent many years in intense meditation, during which time tradition says that he often visited Tuṣita
Tushita
' or Tusita is one of the six deva-worlds of the Kāmadhātu, located between the Yāma heaven and the heaven. Like the other heavens, is said to be reachable through meditation...
Heaven to receive teachings from the bodhisattva Maitreya. Heavens such as Tuṣita Heaven are said to be accessible through meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
. Xuanzang tells the account of these events:
Confusion over the idea of "supernaturally" visiting heavens may be due to the unfamiliarity of scholars with the Indian concept of heavens as being accessible through samādhi
Samadhi
Samadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
. Other advanced meditators recorded similar experiences of visiting Tuṣita Heaven at night. One such example of this is Hanshan Deqing
Hanshan Deqing
Hanshan Deqing was a leading Buddhist monk of Ming Dynasty China who widely propagated the teachings of Chán and Pure Land Buddhism.-Overview:...
during the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. In his autobiography, Hanshan describes the palace of Maitreya in Tuṣita, and hearing a lecture given by Bodhisattva Maitreya to a large group of his disciples. He recounts Maitreya as having said:
Attributed works
The number of works attributed to him vary in the traditions of Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
and Chinese Buddhism, but variously include:
- the Yogācāra-bhūmi-śāstraYogacarabhumi-sastraYogācārabhūmi-śāstra, also known as"Discourse on the Stages of Yogic Practice" is the encyclopaedic and definitive text of the Yogācāra school of Buddhism...
- the Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra-kārikā
- the Dharma-dharmatā-vibhāgaDharma-dharmata-vibhagaDharma-dharmatā-vibhāga is a short Yogācāra work, attributed to Maitreya-nātha, which discusses the distinction and correlation between phenomena and reality ; the work exists in both a prose and a verse version and survives only in Tibetan translation...
- the Madhyānta-vibhāga-kārikāMadhyanta-vibhaga-karikaMadhyānta-vibhāga-kārikā is a key work in Yogācāra Buddhist philosophy, which was written by Maitreya-nātha...
- the Abhisamaya-alamkāra
- the Ratna-gotra-vibhagaRatna-gotra-vibhagaRatnagotravibhāga and its vyākhyā commentary are important Buddhist texts of the tathāgatagarbha literature which expound the Buddhist philosophy doctrine known as Buddha-nature which is generally understood as belonging to the Third Turning of the Dharmacakra...
, also known as the Uttaratantrashastra
The last five works are often referred to, collectively as the Five Dharmas of Maitreya, and their authorship is given variously to Maitreyanatha, Asaṅga or a combination thereof.