Arya-Maitreya-vyakarana
The Arya-Maitreya-vyakarana (“The Noble Prophecy of Maitreya”) is the canonical Sanskrit text of the Maitreya prophecy tradition - 108 verses in which Sariputra asks the Buddha about the future age of Maitreya.
Content
The sutra describes:
- Sariputra’s question to the Buddha about the future teacher
- The cosmic signs of Maitreya’s age: oceans recede 100 yojana, the earth is vast and level, humans live 80,000 years
- Maitreya’s qualities, his Tusita residence, his descent and enlightenment under the Nagapushpa tree
- The assembly of Maitreya - those who will be present at his first teaching
- How to practice now to be reborn in Maitreya’s age: keep precepts, make offerings, hear the Dharma
The Prophecy (selected verses)
“In his day, the oceans will dry up, receding 100 yojana along the shore…” (v. 5)
“Therefore, those who, here and now, are desirous of emancipation and long for magnanimity should remember the teachings of the Buddha and make the good doctrine their teacher.” (v. 108)
Sources
Sanskrit original: Majumder 1959 critical edition (Public Domain).
English translations:
- Nathaniel (Than) Grove 2021 - from Sanskrit with Tibetan cross-reference (Lhasa and Narthang editions). Available at UVA Mandala Collections. License: All rights reserved. Full text not reproduced here.
- E. Conze 1954 - older translation, under copyright until 2049.
Tibetan Canon Parallels
The Tibetan canon contains two parallel texts translated here:
- Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198) - 84000.co CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
- Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy (Toh 199) - 84000.co CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Cross-References
- DN 26 - Metteyya (Pali parallel)
- Lotus Sutra Ch. 1 - Maitreya named in opening assembly