Maitreya’s Descent (Mile Xiasheng Jing)
The Mile Xiasheng Jing (彌勒下生經, “Sutra on Maitreya’s Descent and Lower Birth”) is the Chinese canonical text of Maitreya descending from Tusita heaven, taking birth, attaining enlightenment, and teaching the Dharma. It is the Mahayana/Chinese equivalent of the Theravada DN 26 and the Sanskrit Maitreya-vyakarana.
Chinese Canon Family (T0452-T0456)
The descent sutra exists in multiple Chinese translations in the Taisho Tripitaka:
| Text | Title | Date |
|---|---|---|
| T0452 | 佛說觀彌勒菩薩上生兜率天經 - Sutra on Maitreya’s Ascending Birth in Tusita | 455 CE |
| T0453 | 佛說彌勒下生經 - Sutra on Maitreya’s Descent (Dharmaraksha) | c. 308 CE |
| T0454 | 佛說彌勒下生成佛經 - Sutra on Maitreya’s Descent and Buddhahood (Kumarajiva) | c. 402 CE |
| T0455 | 佛說彌勒大成佛經 - Sutra on Maitreya’s Great Buddhahood | date unknown |
| T0456 | 佛說彌勒來時經 - Sutra on the Time of Maitreya’s Coming | date unknown |
English Translations
T0454 (Kumarajiva): Translated by Shōtarō Iida and Jane Goldstone for BDK America, 2016. The Sutra That Expounds the Descent of Maitreya Buddha and His Enlightenment. License: All rights reserved - not freely reproducible. Available for purchase at BDK America.
No complete open-license English translation is currently available for this sutra family.
Pali and Sanskrit Parallels (open texts)
- DN 26 - Cakkavatti-Sihanada Sutta - canonical Pali parallel, full text (CC0)
- Arya-Maitreya-vyakarana - Sanskrit 108-verse prophecy
- Anagata-vamsa - post-canonical Pali chronicle
- Toh 198: Maitreya’s Setting Out - Tibetan canon parallel (CC BY-NC-ND)