Toh 1096The Prayer of Maitreya

The Prayer Sūtra of Maitreya

Background

The Prayer Sūtra of Maitreya (Toh 1096) is a canonical work belonging to the Northern Transmission canon, preserved in the Kangyur, the collection of official Buddhist scriptures of the Tibetan tradition. In the Mahāyāna tradition, Maitreya (Pāli: Metteya, Sanskrit: Maitreya) is venerated as the King of Bodhisattvas, the one who will become the next Buddha in the future when the Dharma of Śākyamuni has completely declined.

This sūtra is not an ordinary scripture of doctrinal instruction, but a prayer: the expression of Maitreya’s profound aspiration. In the Mahāyāna, especially in the Northern Transmission, the prayers of bodhisattvas are regarded as powerful spiritual guides, helping practitioners to establish the aim of their practice and create auspicious conditions for birth in an age of flourishing.

Main Content

Although the specific contents of this sūtra have not yet been fully translated in the available materials, according to the context of the Northern Transmission Mahāyāna tradition, Maitreya’s Prayer generally centers on the sublime aspirations that Maitreya made in the past over immeasurable kalpas.

Typical prayers of Maitreya in the Mahāyāna sūtras include the aspiration to accomplish buddhahood in order to teach sentient beings, the aspiration to guide those beings who are most difficult to tame, and the aspiration to return to this planet when the Dharma of Śākyamuni has completely declined in order to address the needs of those beings.

In the Northern Transmission, especially according to the Gelug tradition and other schools, Maitreya is regarded as the Bodhisattva of Compassion (karuṇā), the one who represents a bright future and complete deliverance. His prayer is often recited repeatedly as a means of establishing wholesome conditions with that future age.

Practical Meaning

In present-day Mahāyāna practice, the Prayer Sūtra of Maitreya has extremely important significance.