佛說彌勒來時經

The Venerable Śāriputra was the foremost disciple of the Buddha in wisdom.

Out of his compassion and pity for sentient beings, he went before the Buddha, knelt upon both knees, joined his palms, and respectfully inquired, saying:

"The Buddha has often said that, after the Buddha enters parinirvāṇa, the Maitreya will thereafter appear in the world. I now greatly wish to hear of this matter from the Buddha."

The Buddha said:

"When the Buddha Maitreya is about to appear in the world, at that time the land, the mountains, and the grasses and trees within the Continent of Jambudvīpa will all be burnt away. As the area of the surface of the land in Jambudvīpa is now 600,000 leagues, when the Buddha Maitreya appears in the world, the land of Jambudvīpa will be 400,000 leagues long from east to west, and 320,000 leagues wide from south to north. Upon the land there will grow five kinds of fruit, and everywhere there will be no hills, no streams, and no valleys; the surface of the land will be level like a whetstone, and the trees will be large and tall.

At that time there will be a great many people, and they will have no greed, no anger, and no delusion. The villages will be close to one another, separated only by as far as the crowing of a rooster can be heard. Human beings will live to 84,000 years. When a woman reaches 500 years of age, only then will she be given in marriage. The people will all be free of the suffering of illness.

Throughout that land there will be only three ailments:

1. the need to relieve oneself

2. the need to eat and drink

3. having to grow old and weak

Their faces will have a color like that of peach blossoms, and each and every one of them will respect one another.

At that time there will be a walled city named Subtle Banner Sign, which will be the capital of that land. The city wall will have a circumference of 480 leagues, made of earth and covered with wooden planks. That city wall will further be adorned with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, and precious jewels. On each side of the four sides of the city there will be 12 gates. Upon the gates there will be engravings and carvings, and they too will be adorned with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, and precious jewels.

At that time there will be a Wheel-Turning King named Conch, who will rule over the four continents of the world. Whenever he wishes to go to any place, the king will fly there at once, and the people, the ghosts, and the spirits will all step aside to make way.

At that time there will be four treasure stores.

The first treasure store will be entirely of gold, with a dragon guarding it, named Elāpattra, who will protect the gold there. The dwelling place of the dragon will be upon a mountain peak in the land of Fragrant Forest.

The second treasure store will be entirely of silver. In that land there will likewise be a dragon guarding it, named Pāṇḍuka.

The third treasure store will be entirely of bright-moon wish-fulfilling jewels, in the land of Suraṣṭra, and there will be a dragon guarding the precious jewels there, named Piṅgala.

The fourth treasure store will be entirely of lapis lazuli, and it will be in the land of Deer Park.

At that time there will be a Brahmin named Wholesome Purity. He will be the father of the Maitreya. As for the mother of the Maitreya, she will be named Pure and Subtle. The Maitreya will be born into the lineage of the Brahmins and become their son.

The Maitreya will have the 32 marks of excellence and the 80 forms of beauty. His body will be 16 zhang tall. When the Maitreya is born within that city, his eyesight will be able to see everywhere for 10,000 leagues. Upon his head there will be a halo of radiant light shining forth for 4,000 leagues.

At that time, the Maitreya will go and sit beneath the Dragon-Flower Bodhi tree. That tree will be 40 leagues tall and also 40 leagues wide. On the eighth day of the fourth month, when dawn is about to break, he will attain the Way and become a Buddha. At that time there will be 84,000 Brahmins who will come to the place of the Buddha Maitreya to serve him. They will all leave their families and ask to become śramaṇas.

When King Conch hears that the Maitreya has become a Buddha, he will at once lead 84 minor kings, and they will all abandon their states and royal positions, entrusting their kingdoms to their crown princes, and together they will come to the place of the Buddha Maitreya. They will all shave off their beards and hair and become śramaṇas.

There will also be 1,800 Brahmins who will all come to the place of the Buddha Maitreya and ask to become śramaṇas. The father and mother of the Buddha Maitreya will also be among them.

There will also be 1,084 holy Brahmins who will all likewise come to the place of the Buddha Maitreya and ask to become śramaṇas.

In that land there will be a great wealthy elder, whom everyone calls Wholesome Giving. He too will bid the people bring gold to offer up to the Buddha Maitreya and to the Saṅgha. At that time, the name of the Buddha will spread ever farther and wider everywhere. The elder Wholesome Giving will further lead 14,000 sons of good families to the place of the Buddha Maitreya and ask to become śramaṇas.

There will also be two brothers. The elder brother will be named Foremost Longevity. The younger brother will be named Long-Established.

The two brothers will both say:

'What are we doing in this world? We had better go together to the place of the Buddha and ask to become śramaṇas.'

The two brothers will further say:

'Then let us quickly go to the place of the Buddha Maitreya and ask to become śramaṇas.'

There will also be 84,000 young maidens. They will all wear beautiful garments, and they will further wear white pearls, gold and silver, and strings of jeweled necklaces upon their bodies.

When they have all come together to the place of the Buddha Maitreya, they will all take off the adornments upon their bodies and address the Buddha, saying:

'We wish to offer up these precious jewels to the Buddha and to the Saṅgha. We also wish to follow the Buddha and ask to become bhikṣuṇīs.'

The Buddha will then accept them so that they may become bhikṣuṇīs.

At that time the Buddha Maitreya, in the midst of the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, will say:

'Whosoever among the assembly of disciples of the Buddha Śākyamuni in former times recited the scriptures; whosoever had a heart of loving-kindness, was diligent in giving, or was free of anger; whosoever built monasteries and stūpas, or took up the relics of the Buddha and placed them within a stūpa; whosoever burned incense, lit lamps, hung canopies, scattered flowers, recited the scriptures, upheld the precepts, or gave rise to a sincere and earnest mind—now let them all come and dwell within this Dharma assembly.'

After hearing the Buddha expound the Dharma, they will all attain the Way beneath the Dragon-Flower Bodhi tree.

When the Buddha Maitreya expounds the Dharma at the first assembly, 9.6 billion people will attain the Way of the Adept Beyond Training.

When the Buddha Maitreya expounds the Dharma at the second assembly, 9.4 billion people will attain the Way of the Adept Beyond Training.

When the Buddha Maitreya expounds the Dharma at the third assembly, 9.2 billion people will attain the Way of the Adept Beyond Training.

At that time, the devas throughout the sky will all take up flowers and scatter them upon the body of the Buddha Maitreya.

After that, the Buddha Maitreya will lead the Worthy Ones into the city of Subtle Banner Sign, the capital of the Wheel-Turning King. At that time, the king will set out food and drink to make offerings to the Buddha within the inner palace. Then the entire city will shine brilliantly, and even in the dark it will be as bright as daytime.

When seated upon the Dharma throne within the palace, the Buddha Maitreya will teach, saying:

'Words cannot but be spoken. The Way cannot but be cultivated and learned. The scriptures cannot but be praised and extolled.'

When the Buddha Maitreya has finished expounding the Dharma, the bhikṣus together with the king's hundred officials will all uphold the scriptures and precepts of the Buddha, and they will all transcend the world."

The Buddha further said thus:

"It will be about 6 billion and 600,000 years more before the Buddha Maitreya descends to be born."

The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Time of the Maitreya Bodhisattva's Appearance in the World