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Maitreya
by
Claire Labrie,
Ex level 3*
raelian for several years.
Do you want to know if
« Rael » is really Maitreya[1],
the Messiah awaited by some Buddhists?
The raelians may think they know the answer to this
question simply because Raël has told them. Besides, he has
given them certain arguments enticing them to believe him.
But ESPECIALLY and first of all, they trusted him. I know
very well how great this trust can be, having spent many
years of my life within the Raelian Movement.
But that blind trust, fortunately, can be transformed in
knowledge. In fact, the result of my
research demonstrates that between believing and knowing
the difference is very well known.
In order to bring light to the question of «Maitreya
Rael », I have made a deep research in order to
discover the volumes dealing with ancient documents on
Buddhism. The writings that I have found
were done by the greatest specialists on the subject. I
studied them meticulously to find the essential proofs that
I needed before I could present them to you in a very clear
way.
I thought that many of you would be happy to share a small
part of the result of my research which was done during the
two following years after my departure from the Movement.
Important
notice: The numbers between
[ ] refer
to
Annotations situated at the end of the
text.
While the
numbers between ( ) refer to notes that
the reader will be able to find in the part titled
« Annotated list of the works
consulted»,
at the very end of
this text.
Introduction
To give a direction to my
research, I have studied one by one each of the elements
coming from the following Raelian websites in relation to
Maitreya:
www.maitreya.co.kr/eng/index.htm
,
et
http://www.answers.com/topic/ra-l#wp-_note-7
I wanted to know if each of the elements mentioned were
presented in a just and pertinent way.
Were we told the truth…all the truth?
Reading the following research will give you an answer.
Then, it will be up to you to consider or not what you have
learned on the subject.
Bad
leads end up to false conclusions…
I have
discovered that the content of the Korean Raelian
Movement’s website declaring that « Rael» is Maitreya
brings us on false paths and therefore towards false
conclusions.
On
these websites, it is said:
1.
Rael asserts that the Extra-Terrestrials gave him
confirmation that he is Maitreya ;
2. That Rael is the «King of Cock»; (You will understand
further along.)
3. That France is the country in the west
where Maitreya must
appear according to the Buddhists writings;
4. That the coming of Maitreya is predicted for 3,000 years
after the Buddha (the pretension being that the Buddha was
born in - 1,027.)
The
results of my research demonstrate that:
1. The
Extra-Terrestrials could not have confirmed to Claude
Vorilhon that he is Maitreya;
2. He is not «the King of the
Cock» ;
3.
When it is mentioned of the West
in the Buddhist
writings, it is not referring to France
but to
India;
4. The century of the birth of the Buddha
[2] is in
the -500, the century where Buddhism started, and not
-1027. Consequently, the date of the arrival of «Maitreya
Rael» predicted for 1973, being so-called 3,000 after the
Buddha is inexact.
To save some space and to
render this text less bushy, I have chosen to present you
only the essential elements exposed on the Raelian Internet
sites. But, be assured that I have the answers to the
questions that reading this text could bring about.
[3]
What I have discovered through my researches is
fascinating. So I propose to you a structured step that, I
hope, will be enlightening. So, I present you excerpts from
the Raelian sites mentioned before. Then, I expose for you
my results showing this way that my discoveries go contrary
to the affirmations mentioned on the Raelian sites.
1
« KING
of the COCK » or BIRD’S
FLIGHT?
When reading I discovered that the Buddha did not spent the
most of his time to talk about Maitreya. The only reference
to Maitreya
in the Pali
Canon
[4] is found
in the sutra
[5] under
the name: Cakkavatti-sihanada-suttanta
(4).
The name is
released! I had to write it since it is the only place
where it is spoken of Maitreya in the most ancient known
Buddhism. It is also only there that we find mention of
the cock
in relation with
Maitreya so important to the heart of the Korean Raelians
who have elaborated the website on
Maitreya.
You are about to find out why…
I start by 2 points mentioned on the Korean Raelian
website:
1. Rael asserts that the
Extra-Terrestrials confirmed to him that he is
Maitreya
born in the West
and
2. a Buddha named Maitreya will
come from the « country governed by the
“King of the cock” ».
First
demonstration
Let’s
take the second point, that is « King of the
Cock » and let’s examine the
difference between:
1.
The citation of the Raelian Movement that comes from a
Sanskrit text translated in Chinese written later in the
history of Buddhism.
And
2. The text found in a much
more ancient document and part of the Pali Canon
(The
Long discourses of the Buddha).
You will discover that there was
no question in the more ancient text of a
«King of the Cock» but rather of the distance of a bird's
flight between the cities and villages
of India, at the time when Maitreya is awaited. This
discovery is not a simple detail. It is one of the elements
of the Raelian site that is quickly seen non suit and so
constitutes the first element of my
proof.
So here we can talk of a bad translation and/or an ulterior
manipulation by Buddhist sects. It seems evident that the
Korean Raelians did not verify the more ancient texts...
Citation
from the Korean Raelian site:
« The
Extra-Terrestrials Elohim are confirming that the Prophet
Rael is indeed the Buddha born in the West. »
(13)
« A long time ago Buddhism started in India and came
to China via western regions…». They also add:
« The Buddhist belief that the Buddha will appear from
the West is based on what is recorded in the Buddhist
Sutras. »
We also find a sutra from the Agon period
[6]:
« In the future a Buddha named Maitreya will appear in
the world and he will be from the country ruled by the
″King of the Cock″».
A
revealing abstract from the Pali Canon
(1)
Sutra 26, 23-25) In the time of those people
this continent of Jambudipa (India) will be powerful and
prosperous, and villages, towns and cities will be but
a
cock’s flight one from the next. This
Jambudipa, will be as thick with people as the jungle is…
At that time the Varanasi (now Benares) of today will be a
royal city called Ketumati…and in the time of the people
with an eighty thousand-year life-span, there will arise in
the world a Blessed Lord, an Arahant
[8] fully-enlightened
Buddha named Metteyya(Maitreya in
Sanskrit).
No
«King of the Cock»
So the
only place where there is talk of Maitreya in the Buddhism
canonical Pali scriptures, there is no question of a
country governed by the «King of the
cock»,
but of a cock's flight.
This was the first element
of my proof.
**********
Briefly, it is important to consider that the writing of
the Pali Canon was spaced over three periods.
(5 p.
24). The
first period of writing is marked by a simple teaching of
the Buddha. In those days he was seen as what he really
was: a human being.
Arrived at
the 3rd period of writing of the Pali
Canon (so later), it is said of the Buddha that he makes
miracles (which was not the case in the older texts). It is
at this period that there is finally
mention of the
Buddha Metteyya (Maitreya).
(5 p.
24)
Extract
from the flight of the cock; a fable!
That
text, that sutra of the Long Discourses of the
Buddha is considered by the translator
as a fable...
[9]
Just like me, you notice that «the Cock»
(King of the
Cock) of the Sanskrit text,
translated in Chinese, of which it is question on the
Korean Raelian site is not the same as the cock
(flight of the
cock) mentioned in the Pali Canon!
For their demonstration, the Korean Raelians used a Chinese
text in which was introduced some inexistent elements in
the Pali text, that, let’s recall, is more ancient.
Here I allow myself to specify again that the
Raelian site mentions a text talking of a «King of the
Cock» and the more ancient Pali Canon does not talk about
it.
What is
already considered a fable basically (in the Pali Canon),
becomes a fairy tale yet more colorful when written in
Sanskrit and later in Chinese...
2
FRANCE, COUNTRY of the COCK and of «MAITREYA RAEL»?
False! Maitreya and «the Cock» are found in
India!
Maitreya
awaited in India
It is
in ancient India
(14b),
North-East of Dali
(14a) that
Maitreya is awaited, according to tradition
(14b).
There we find
a mountain of the
cock that bears different names.
So he is not awaited in France as «Rael» asserts it.
The mountain of the future Buddha Maitreya
I
present you the
Cock’s Foot Mountain that also bears the
following names: Jizushan
(14),
The
Chicken Foot
Mountain,
Mount
Tali, Mount
Gurupadaka (the Honoured Foot
Mountain )
(14b)), Chicken Leg
Mountain, Foot Mountain,
Rooster’s Feet
Mount,
and finally Kukkutapada
Mount.
A temple was built there.
(14
Maitreya;
a tale amongst those invented by the Buddhist monks
A
collection of Buddhist tales informs us that
«Metteyya»
(Maitreya) will be reborn... in the park
of the Isapatana Gazelles near Ketumati
(India),... he will approach the Bodhi
tree
[10],… He
will spend seven weeks there
(3) and… in
the midst of the assembly…, he will set the Wheel of Law in
motion
[11] in the
presence of the king Sankha
(3) »
And finally, as a last source, it was written that
«Maitreya will descend from the heaven of Tusita
[12] to
return to his Garden of Eden of Ketumati»
(India)
(3 (p. 133).
This is the second element
of my proof.
**********
In the light of what precedes,
the Buddhists are well awaiting Maitreya in India and not
in France; even if Claude Vorilhon «Rael» asserts that he
very well is «the» Maitreya. Certain Buddhist tales even
mention the location: «Near Ketumati» (city in the North of
India).
As far as the tales are concerned, they have been invented
by Buddhist monks to motivate the secular to act in the
direction that they wished with the goal of recruiting more
followers and also to illustrate certain words of the
Buddha.
3
THE WEST LINKED TO «RAEL»?
Wrong!
Always from the excerpts of the Raelian site, let’s examine
the following point:
The
WEST is
supposed to represent France, where Claude Vorilhon was
born, and also represent the country of birth of Maitreya.
On the subject, here are the affirmations, and I quote
them, from the Korean Raelian text (the bold characters are my
own):
« The Extra-Terrestrials Elohim are confirming that
the Prophet Rael is indeed the Buddha born in the West .
»
(13)
« A long time ago Buddhism started in India and came
to China
via western regions… ».
« The Buddhist belief that
the
Buddha will appear from the West is based on what is recorded in
the Buddhist Sutras. »
And we also find a Sutra from the Agon period.
Again another proof of the inaccuracy of the content of the
Raelian site! As a matter of fact, the following
demonstration proves that those statements are totally
false.
Where is the west?
Where is the west being mentioned here?
And who says that Maitreya will come from the west?
Here's
what I discovered...
First, the citations brought forth by the Korean Raelians
where there is mention of the Maitreya to come, are from
the Chinese texts. The fact that they mention the
Agon
and
Kegon
period proves it to
us.
Second, I found some passages that show us clearly what is
that
place considered as being West by the Chinese of the
ancient world.
Those excerpts were collected from different authors.
Again, it is demonstrated that the Korean Raelian site is
on the wrong tract when talking about France as being the
West.
Here are the excerpts:
« The last twenty three centuries have seen a
continuing cultural inter flow between
the Western Paradise that is
India and the Celestial Kingdom that
is China.
…
To the Chinese,
Central Asia was the way to the
Western World of India. »
(17)
« (Chinese name) came to Sravasti
(India) ... well known for his long
seventeen year voyage in
India(17a)
... On top of his
translation of scriptures ... the most essentials, he is
the author of « Records of the
Western Regions… »
(17b)
« (Chinese
name) visited Sravasti
(India)
in 407
AD.
He was one
of
China's greatest travelers of the fifth
century.
He walked… from central China (AD 399) …through
India in the county of…From there,
…reaching Chienkand (China) in AD 413. He was bringing with
him books of the
Buddhist Canon ».
(18)
And the last, but not the least: « …while later works
are credited
to nearly one
hundred Chinese monks who had been to the
West for education in the
Buddhist tenets. »
(19)
Now! Let’s see… What is this country from the
West that the monks and the Chinese
travelers conjure up in their travels and where must
Maitreya show up?
India.
This was the third element
of my proof.
**********
THE
FALSE CALENDER OF THE YEAR 3,000
Finally, I present you the
determining excerpt from which is based my next element of
proof and where, always starting from the Korean Raelian
site, it is said that the year 3,000 of the Buddhist
calendar, a new Buddha will appear. Implied
« Rael », of course! The Raelians make their
calculations starting from the date of a certain Beddou
born in 1,027 B.C.
Excerpt from the Raelian site
« A new Buddha will appear
from
the West in
the year 3,000 of the Buddhist Calendar. »
« Buddhist sutras predict that the new Buddha will
appear in the Buddhist year 3,000.
« Kegon-Kyon
[13] Sutra : In 3,000 years
from now, …, show us the sign of the sea which is the basis
of all creations. »
(6),
(7),
(11)
« In an Agon sutra, it is predicted that in the
Buddhist year 3,000 the truth that reveals the fire of the
three worlds, which are the past, the present and the
future will appear and 7 days after the Maitreya will
appear. »
We find also: … « The Northern Branch calendar
of Buddhism (they forget to mention that this
Branch corresponds to Japan, China, Korea...) and the
Christian Calendar have a difference of approximately 1,027
years. This would put the birth of Buddha at the year 1027
BC, the same year of the claimed birth of Beddou (Fot),
who, according to Chinese legend, was a “god” of a virgin.
».
Beddou and Sakyamuni: the same Buddha ?
Wow!
What is Beddou doing here in regards with THE Buddha whom
we all heard of? Is this here mentioned Beddou the one and
only person with « our » Buddha Sakyamuni, the Buddha who
had an impact on the whole world, the Buddha who gave out
his speeches in Northern India? The answer is: NO!! It is
not the same person!! Here is the proof.
For this I have traced the century of birth of Buddha
Sakyamuni, from the Buddhist calendar beginning
after his death. Here, the exact date
of his birth is superfluous, because all that is needed is
to prove that he was not born in the year 1,027 B.C. as the
Raelians would like us to believe, but more like -500.
Do I have to specify any longer that if I proved to you
that the Buddha was born about -500, instead of -1,027, the
scaffolding set up by the Raelians collapses? That Claude
Vorilhon cannot be Maitreya of the year 3,000 of the
Buddhist Era?
The means I have used for tracing the period in which the
Buddha was born was to have several of his contemporaries,
whom I have traced the dates of birth, « talk ».
If the following information seems tedious for you, I
suggest you only skim through the bold characters. They
will serve to show you the century of birth of the Buddha,
which consists of my proof.
The
contemporaries: witnesses of the Buddha
At the
time when Siddharta (first name of the Buddha before his
illumination) began his wandering ascetic life, six well
known characters were at the head of disciplinary groups in
the North of India.
Purana
Kassapa, Makkhali Gosala, Mahavira. Ajita
Keshakambala
(22f),
Pakudha Kacchayana
(22f),
Sanjaya Bellathiputta (influential thinkers
during the time of Buddha Sakyamuni.)
« Purana
Kassapa, …during
Sakyamuni’s time »
(22d)
« Mahavira travelled with Gosala for six years
and
Gautama (Buddha) joined them for three or four years
».
« Gosala
died
in the year 484 B.C., one year before the
Buddha.»
« Mahavira
lived until
- 467 ».
(21)
« He
was a
contemporary of Siddhartha
Gautama, the Buddha »
(22b).
« Mahavira was
older than the Buddha and died two years
earlier. »
(22c)
« Ajita Kesakambali, …
6th century B.C.
(22) He was
mentioned in the Pitakas (part of the Pali Canon) as
being
contemporaneous with the Buddha ».
(22a)
Other
contemporaries…
« The Buddha…could be seen
in Magadha approximately
in the year -500 »
(2a)
(5, p. 47) « …contemporaneous
with the Buddha. It is about the familiar
relations of the Buddha with the king of Kosala (the
Pasenadi king whose
conversion was made in the second year of the
Buddha(5a)
…and mentions the
war between Pasenadi and Ajatasattu. King Pasenadi of
Kosala
predeceased
the Buddha.
(23b)
« Ajatashatru , King of Northern
India,
ruled:
491-461 BCE.
His father, Bimbisara (558-49BCE)
was a king
from 543
BCE to
his death and was a
contemporary of Gautama the
Buddha.
(23).
Ajatasattu was also a
contemporary of Lord Buddha…(23a)
The Buddha is thought to have died in the
8th
year of Ajatasatru’s reign.
(5, p.377) In the Buddhist Pali Canon (the
Nikayas) only 2 names of persons appear as having taught
the Buddha. They are Alara Kalama (died
on december 1st
531 B.C.
(24))
and Uddaka (or
Rudraka) Ramaputta.
During
the
5th
century B.C., Anathapindika was one of the
best known secular disciples of the Buddha.
(25)
Several
references as proof.
Yes,
true, I have searched and found several references. But the
subject being serious (and not cinema),
I wanted to guard myself against any possible doubt as to
the pertinence of my proof.
Thanks to the preceding data, I think I have found the
proper century for the birth of the Buddha... and you? It
appears to me that it has been proven that to calculate
from 1,027 B.C. to find the birthday of the Buddha is a
grotesque « mistake ». So it is not surprising that the
calendar of the «Southern Branch» of Buddhism has taken
over on the calendar of the «Northern Branch» which is
China , Korea, Japan... for the purpose of discussing the
time of birth of Buddha... This simply makes good sense!
Consequently, the date of the future Buddha Maitreya should
have been calculated starting from the -500 years. That's
it!
This is the first part of
my fourth element of proof.
**********
But in case this would not be
sufficient ... I have traced divers birth dates attributed
to the Buddha.
Anniversary dates for Buddha
-
Between 563 and 483 B.C. The oriental traditions offer a
choice of different dates, the favorite in Sri-Lanka and in
the South-East of Asia being
623-543.
(1a)
- Between
563-483
B.C.(5,
p.371)
- Wikipedia situates it in the same period being
563 B.C.
- On the
full moon of may of the year
623 B.C.
(26)
- Between
563 and 483
B.C. Although certain
Buddhist legends
say that he was
born on April 8, 1029 B.C., and that he died on February
15, 949.
(27)
- Around
560 B.C. (28)
-
In
563 B.C. (29)
-
Which locates the birth of the Buddha in the year
544 B.C. (30)
The birth dates listed are coherent with those of the
contemporaries of Buddha. Personally I have no more doubts.
It is not possible to calculate the birth of Maitreya
starting from Beddou as the Korean Raelian site prompts us
to do. Because Beddou is not the Buddha Sakyamuni from whom
the next coming of Maitreya should have been calculated.
This constitutes the second
part of my fourth element of proof.
**********
A bit of history...
In a
text, I have read that Buddhism, as a movement, was forced
to make up a second coming of the Buddha Maitreya
(12) In
order to attract followers and compete with two other
religions that each had their own « savior »…
The Chinese have gathered in their «canon» the Buddhist
texts stemming from different schools through
time...Also, the content of their
«canon» never ceased to grow during several
centuries.
Conclusion
What
is there left of the invention «Maitreya Rael» to attract
disciples? NOTHING!
The Raelians did not check
either (as I had not done myself until I left the Raelian
Movement) in the most ancient texts, before becoming
Raelian, if it was really possible that Rael was a
«prophet»... Those texts stemming from Sumerian clay
tablets date from way back before the Bible written in
Hebrew. If they had done it... they would never have become
Raelians. NOW, I KNOW.
Knowledge brings forth freedom...
The
Buddha said that he could have been lax to all his precepts
except for truth...
**********
Note:
Jean-Denis Saint-Cyr, My ex-companion (from 1970 to
1988) and ex-national guide, level 5, for the Raelian
Movement (1984-1990) is about to publish a shocking book
unveiling THE big secret never reveled to the
public until now, concerning « Rael » Claude
Vorilhon.
**********
Annotations
* Their are
6 levels of responsibility amongst the raelians, Rael being
level 6.
[1] You
can't say THE Maitreya (as inscribed on the front cover of
the French volume)... you must say Maitreya (without the
THE) because Maitreya is not a title, it is a name.
Maitreya is written the same way in French as it is in
English and not Maitraya as it is inscribed on the cover of
the French version.
See Wikipedia.org and all writings (books) on Buddhism...
Here are a few examples found in a few volumes where it is
talked about Maitreya and is it well demonstrated that
Maitreya is a name. 1. « The Buddha called
Maitreya… » (p. 133, The
Sasavatthuppakarana) » 2. « He ascended to the
Tusita heaven where Maitreya...» (p.7 The message of the future
Buddha) 3. « …starting with
Maitreya » (Words of the Buddha p. 128)
4. « Maitreya will
teach… » (Words of the Buddha)
[2]
The Buddha
(The awakened), always with the article. (Wikipedia)
[3]
The concerned
reader can eventually (SOME TIME IN JUNE OR JULY) peruse
more details of my research on Internet by
clicking Claire
Labrie on Google, for example.
[4] Pali
Canon : the entirety of the texts known to be the word of
the Buddha . This complete Canon is the most ancient Canon
that we posses to this day.
[5]
The suttas or
sutras are the written works in which are transcribed the
words of the Buddha and his different teachings. The sutras
of the Theravada school (or medium of the elders) found in
the Pali Canon, are amongst the oldest because they were
compiled shortly after the death of the Buddha Sakyamuni.
(To picture this, maybe we could compare the Buddhist
sutras to the verses of the Bible...)
[6]
In China, during
the VI th century, the teachings of «the Buddha» were
categorized in 5 periods; of which the Kegon and Agon
periods. Nevertheless, those sutras contain enormous
differences compared to the sutras of the Pali Canon (more
ancient).
[8]
Arahant (Pali)
Arhat (Sanskrit), the one who has attained Nirvana, the
highest level of spiritual life. It is the level described
by the Buddha as mentioned in the Pali Canon.
[9]
« We seem to
be back in the ‘fairy-tale’ world of some previous
Suttas…this fable (which is what, it really is, rather than
a fairy-tale,). (1) note 781.
[10]
The tree where
Buddha attained illumination.
[11]
Wheel of Law: The
path to illumination taught by the Buddha.
[12]
Tusita, the place
according to the legend, where Maitreya awaits his return
on earth.
[13]
THE FLOWER ORNAMENT
SCRITPTURE (7) (11, p. 215). It appeared around 400 in
China and added to the sermons of the Buddha by the
Buddhist school of the Mahayana (prier to the school of the
elders (early school)) as if it was his teaching and also
his first sermon. Look at the first sermon:
(8)
(pp. 24-25)
(8b)
(8c).
No school in India
can be linked to that Sutra.
List
of consulted works
(1) THE LONG
DISCOURSES OF THE BUDDHA, THE DIGHA NIKAYA, Pali Canon,
translated by Maurice Walshe, Wisdom Publications, 1987,
1995. The Pali Tipitaka is the only canon of an early
school that is preserved completely. You can
also find the
sutra 26 at the number 23 on this site:
http://www.kmspks.org/activities/bbc/bbc10.htm
).
(1a) Introduction p. 19-20,
(2) THE
LARGE SUTRA OF PERFECT WISDOM
(Mahayana) P.306, 111 9) :
Translated from Sanskrit and edited by Edward Conze.
University of California Press 1975. A series of cosmic miracles
preceded the teaching of this, as of other
Mahayana sutras.
(2a)
Introduction
Mahayana,
chapters 1-21 p. 1,
2).
(3) The
DASAVATTHUPPAKARANA,p. 133-34 : Edited and translated
by Jacqueline Ver EEcke, French School of the Far East,
Paris, 1976:
Collection of Buddhist tales
written in
Pali. All are
written by monks illustrating tirelessly the
great themes of the Buddhist moral in use by the faithful
secular. Few are originals; most remind us of the well
known tales elsewhere in the Canon
commentaries. As in all popular stories, a
large place is given to the marvelous. Its role is to
nourish the dream and the imagination of the listener. So
the storyteller digs into the mythology legends his best
arguments and describes the paradises, palaces, dancers,
musicians, parcs, and basins of lotuses that reward the
donors. P. 132 To illustrate the gift of a dwelling
place, Jetthanalakaradevaputta (Pali).
This tale is made from the DIGHA-NIKAYA (The Long
Discourses of the Buddha, Sutta 26, Cakkavatti-Sihanada
Sutta : the Lion’s Roar on the Turning of the Wheel ,
See the Long Discourses of the Buddha above…
(4)
ANAGATAVAMSA DESANA
The Sermon of the Choronicle – To-Be,
Translated from the
Sinhala by Udaya Meddegama.
(5) STUDIES
IN THE ORIGINS OF BUDDHISM, G.C. Pande thinker, scholar,
historian, regarded internationally as an authority on
Buddhism and ancient Indian culture. Recipient of many
honorary degrees and awards. P.98 According to Winternitz.
5a) Rockhill, p.49
(6)
THE MESSAGE OF THE
FUTURE BUDDHA, François Chénique : theology and the
history of religions, at the same time as he was furthering
his linguistic knowledge of Hebrew Sanskrit and Tibet.
Translated from Sanskrit and Tibet, 2001, Editions Dervy,
Maitreya-Asanga : Fa-tsang
643-712),
collaborated to
the
translation of the Avatamsaka. P. 7
Maitreya
and Asanga. Asanga was born on the 1Vth century of our era,
a monk, son of a Brahman and new follower of Buddhism;
however the doctrine of Vacuity as taught by the schools of
the time was not suitable for him. Thanks to the powers
that he had acquired through yoga, he went to the heavens
of Tushita where Maitreya taught him a deeper and more
precise outlook of the teaching of the Buddha Shakyamouni.
Asanga transmitted the revelation that he had received from
Maitreya and
this is how was born what is agreed to call the
Large Vehicle of Buddhism
(Mahayana). (Introduction p.
7.2
Asanga has recorded the message received from the Buddha
Maitreya in Sanskrit verses). P. 12.1 :
Asanga is the founder of the Vijnanavada
or Yogacara School
with his brother Vasubandhu (wikipedia) (school of
Buddhism
Mahayana). He was born on the 1Vth century
of our era in North-West of India, himself and his
brother
converted to Buddhism were first part of the Sarvastivadin
School (This school originated in the times of the king
Asoka, 273-222).
P.13.2
We can certainly question ourselves on the spiritual
experience of Asanga at the heaven of Tusita and on his
relations, real or imaginary, with the Bodhisattva
Maitreya. The modern commentators don’t
believe much so, or not at all, especially since
the evidence of the composite character of the RGB
( P.7.2) The treaty
contains several names. In Sanskrit it is the ultimate
treaty of the Large Vehicle on the Spiritual Lineage of the
Three Jewell's, and it is currently designated ( in recent
works) by the abbreviation
RGV (Ratna-Gotra-Vibhaga).
(7)
THE FLOWER ORNAMENT
SCRITPTURE or AVATAMSAKA. Thomas Cleary’s definite
translation of all 39 books of the Sutra, 1993, Shambala
Publications. He holds a doctorate in East Asian Languages
and Civilizations from Harvard University.
Introduction p. 1.
It is not known when or by whom this scripture was
composed.
It is thought to have issued from different hands in the
Indian cultural sphere during the first and second
centuries AD.
p. 1 The Flower Ornament Scripture
presents a
compendium of Buddhist teachings.
Historicity as such is certainly of little account
in the flower Ornament Scripture. This
is generally true of the Mahayana Buddhist
scriptures,
although they usually present their teachings as having
been revealed or occasioned by the meditations of the
historical Buddha Shakyamuni. In the case of the Flower
Ornament Scripture, most of the discourse is done by
transhistorical, symbolic beings that represent aspects of
universal enlightenment.
The Buddha shifts from an individual to a cosmic
principle and manifestations of that cosmic
principle. p. 3
The discipline of the Flower Ornament Scripture is not the
same as the teaching of the lesser vehicle (Pali
Canon). p.
45
The final book (39) of the Fower Ornament
Scripture.
Known in Sanskrit as an individual scripture
called
Gandavyuha, this book describes the
development of enlightenment through
TALES
OF A PILGRIMAGE. The central character, Sudhana,
calls on a number of spiritual guides, each of whom sends
him on to another for further enlightenment.
Eventually Sudhana comes to the abode of
Maitreya…
Translator’s Introduction p. 1546: The range of this
scripture and the multitude of far-flung branches of the
school it comprehends places it in a class by
itself.
It appears to be the product of an esoteric
association.
(8
p24-25) THE
MIDDLE LENGHT DISCOURSES OF THE BUDDHA, A Translation of
the
MAJJHIMA NIKAYA, 1995, by Bhikkhu (monk)
Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, Wisdom Publications. (8b) 4.31,
36.42 (8c) 141.2
(9)
THE LOTUS OF THE
TRUE LAW (Saddharma-Pundarika)
(11) ON
INDIAN MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
p. 22.1
The first Mahayana phase, completed by about A.D.
150, corresponds to what is
traditionally known as
“the second turning of the wheel of the Dharma”
(the sermon of Benares being the first). …p.
23 the
Buddha attains omniscience, i.e., nothing less than the
knowledge of everything, both in general and in
detail.
This is obviously quite a late development of the
doctrine, p. 215 The
Gandavyuha
belong in the Chinese Tripitaka to the Mahayana
collection known as the Kegon-gyo.:
The Sanskrit title of the Kegon-gyo is Avatamsaka.
(12)
THREE GANDHARI
EKOTTARIKAGAMA-TYPE SUTRAS, Mark Allon, Gandharan Buddhist
Texts 2, Series editor: Richard Salomon, University of
Washington Press, Seattle and London, 2001
P. 36 …3 canonical Sanskrit Sutras belonging to the
Sarvastivadin school, von Simson (1965)
showed that the prose of these Skt. Texts is frequently
more elaborate than that of the corresponding Pali
texts.
(13) http://www.maitreya.co.kr/ENG/INDEX.HTM
(14)
http://www.tmcnabb.com/lgchina.html
Cock’s Foot
Mountain
(14a)
View of
Jizushan
(Chicken Foot
Mountain) near Dali http://fr1.chinabroadcast.cn/1/2004/08/23/57@39385.htm
(14b)
Kukkutapada, Mount
(Skt) (Jpn.: Keisoku-sen)
(15) ANGUTTARA-NIKAYA THE BOOK OF
THE GRADUAL SAYINGS Book 3, p. 48,
(15a) Volume
5 p. 220.
(17)
http://ignca.nic.in/ks_41023.htm
(17a)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanzang
(17b)
http://www.iep.utm.edu/x/xuanzang.htm
(18)
http://www.silk-road.com/artl/fahsien.shtml
(19) http://www.erudit.org/revue/meta/1999/v44/n1/004591ar.html
(20)
http://www.answers.com/topic/ra-1#wp-_note-7
(21) ALAIN
DANIELOU, While the Gods Play, Inner Traditions
International, Rochester, Vermont 1987. http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:aLCQ0XwDC1oJ:users.cyberone.com.au/myers/danielou2.html+Makkhali+Gosala&hl=fr&ct=clnk&cd=35
(22a)
http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/am/ajitakesakambala.htm
(22b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahavira
Mahavira or Mahavir
(the "Great Hero").
(22c) http://www.jainisme.com/jainisme/mahavira/
(22d)
http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/dictionary/define?tid=1557
(22f)
www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/dictionary
(23)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimbisara
).
(23a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajatasattu
.
(23b) http://www.bps.lk/bp_library/bp_102s/page_11.html
(24)
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alara_Kalama
(25)
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/disciples11.htm
(26)
http://www.serve.com/~cmtan/LifeBuddha/buddha1.htm
(27)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha
(28)
www.reward-english.com/warehouse/May/rw027-buddhaE.pdf#search=’buddha’s%20birthday’
(29) http://www.uua.org/clf/connections/World%20Religion/buddha.html
(30)
http://www.chinatownhi.com/buddah.asp
Claire
Labrie
