maitreya brochure

8/10/2019 Maitreya Brochure

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A T F B M

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nam-shik dor-je-den gyi dzin-may tser

At the apex of the world, the Vajra Seat,

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Aspiration Prayer Commentary

The aspiration to be born at the time of the future Buddha Maitreya (on the front page) is recited

at the monasteries of Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa. It expresses the ive perfect conditions of Buddha

Maitreya: the perfect teacher, teaching, time, place, and retinue. As to the irst line, the Vajra Seat is the

very place in Bodh Gaya, India, where Maitreya will achieve awakening like all one thousand buddhas of

this current eon. In Buddhist cosmology, this seat is called the apex of the world, as only it can support

the one thousand buddhas defeat of obscurations and attainment of enlightenment. In the second line,

Maitreyas performance of the twelve deeds of a buddha is symbolized by his red radiance; as the

embodiment of loving kindness, Maitreyas color and halo will be a brilliant red -gold. The third line

refers to the very time when Maitreya teaches the sacred Dharma, illuminating all like the rising sun.

With the concluding line, we aspire to be born as Maitreyas chief disciple among his retinue, thus

facilitating that his teachings on loving kindness reach every corner of the world.

Maitreya in the heaven realm of Tushita(often translated as Joyful). Image (c) Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

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Sponsor the Statue of Maitreya, the Buddha of Loving Kindness,and Your Donation Will Be Doubled!

Please join us in sponsoring the thirty-two foot statue of the future Buddha Maitreya that will be

the crowning jewel of the Maitreya Center. The Maitreya Center is a new shrine hall and community

space being built on the grounds of Kagyu Thubten Choling (KTC) Monastery in Wappingers Falls, New

York. It will be a branch of the Palpung congregation under the auspices of Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa,

the direct emanation of Buddha Maitreya and the main teacher to the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa.

A generous donor has offered a $150,000 matching grant to help sponsor the Maitreya

statue, provided that we raise the same amount by June 13, 2014 , the sacred day the Buddha

Shakyamuni attained awakening and, at age eighty, passed into parinirvana. Any amount you give

between now and June 13 will be doubled and help ensure that we secure these necessary funds.

Please see below for sponsor opportunities and Dharma gifts in recognition of your tax-deductible

contribution. Donations may be made by installment. To donate, please use the accompanying donor

formor donate online at kagyu.com/maitreya-statue.

KTCs abbot, Lama Norlha Rinpoche, is one of the few living Buddhist masters who completed his

full training in Tibet before leeing to India due to the political and cultural upheaval in his homeland.

Rinpoche has taught that by making an offering to sponsor the Maitreya statue with great faith and

devotion, this creates the condition to be born as a disciple of Maitreya when he appears in this world as

the next buddha. On the front page of this brochure is an aspiration prayer to be born at the time

of Maitreya that is recited at Tai Situ Rinpoches monasteries and that Lama Norlha Rinpoche has

encouraged us to recite. Through this prayer, may the suffering of all beings be paciied, and may all

enjoy happiness and an increase in Dharma activity in this Year of the Wood Horse.

For inquiries relating tothe Maitreya Center,

call (845) 297-3843 or [email protected]

Kagyu Thubten ChlingMonastery & Retreat Center

245 Sheafe RoadWappingers Falls, NY 12590

His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa (right) and Lama Norlha Rinpoche

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D G

S O

In recognition of your generous contribution, your

name will be recorded in the registry of Maitreya Center

sponsors. Also, you may select a name of your choice (such

as your name or the name of a living or deceased loved one)

to be displayed on a permanent plaque in the Maitreya

Center.

Maitreya Statue Donor Recognition Plaque

For your contribution of $3,000

Your plaque will be displayed in the Maitreya Center

Your Choice of a Dzogchen Great Perfection Plaque

or Mahamudra Supreme Seal Plaque


Your plaque will be prominently displayed

in the Maitreya Center

Sponsor the Gold Leaf of the Entire Maitreya Statue

For your contribution of $50,000, you will be honored

with two plaques that you may dedicate to living or

deceased loved ones or friends. Both plaques will be

prominently displayed in the Maitreya Center!

Receive a Blessed Sandalwood, Rosewood, or Bodhi Seed Rosary (Mala)

For your contribution of $128 (small size), $168 (medium size), or $200 (large size)

A mala is used to count the recitation of prayers, mantras, or prostrations. Each 108-bead mala we are

offering our donors has been blessed by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche, and

Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche. Pictured below are large-and small-size sandalwood malas. Please note,

mala styles may vary depending on availability.

Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche (1905 1989),

the foremost meditation master of the Kagyu

lineage during his lifetime, appointed Lama

Norlha Rinpoche as the director of his east

coast centers in the United States. The source

of KTC Monasterys spiritual practices, Kalu

Rinpoche initiated the irst three-year retreat

in North America at KTC in 1982.

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To donate, please use the donor formor donate online

at kagyu.com/maitreya-statue
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Receive a Mala Bead

from Tai Situ Rinpoches

Personal Mala

For your contribution

of $500

Tai Situ Rinpoche used this

mala for about ten years in

his personal practice, and a

copy of his authentication

letter (with his signature and

seal) will be enclosed with

your gift. To ensure that this

special blessing can beneit many practitioners, we are offering each bead individually. You may place

the bead as an offering on your home shrine, string it on your mala, wear it on a chain or protection cord,

or place it in your car or over your door for protection.

Receive a Wealth Treasure Vase


Treasure vases are powerful vessels for magnetizing

blessings, prosperity, health, and wisdom. Lama Norlha

Rinpoche has consecrated the vases with special

prayers, as well as herbs and the sacred substances as

prescribed by Guru Rinpoche. Included among the rare

blessings are: 1) substances from the previous buddhas,

bodhisattvas, and lineage masters such as the Gyalwang

Karmapas, Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche, Dudjom

Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche,

and Dezhung Rinpoche; 2) the mantras and printed

mandalas of wealth deities; and 3) a collection of jewels,

metals, earth, and other substances from sacred sites all

over the world. After carefully preparing the treasure vases, Lama Norlha Rinpoche consecrated and

empowered them over the course of a three-day ceremony. The vase may be placed in your home,

business, or other important site to bring auspicious conditions.

Receive an Original Calligraphy by Tai Situ Rinpoche

---An Expression of Mahamudra, nature of mind

For your contribution of $6,800 each or $46,800 for entire set of seven (unframed)

On Christmas Eve in 1994, Tai Situ Rinpoche painted a set of Tibetan calligraphies during his visit to KTC

Monastery. Each one is a rare and sacred piece of contemporary Tibetan artwork by one of the foremost

Kagyu lineage holders. The calligraphy and signature are in black ink, imprinted with Tai Situ Rinpoches

seal in red ink. Please see the next page for the calligraphy images and names.

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Self-arisen

38" wide x 71" long

Self-liberation

35 1/4" wide x 38" long

Lord of the Family

35 1/2" wide x 19" long

Vajra Mind

35 1/2" wide x 19" long

Calligraphy by Chamgon Tai Situ Rinpoche

Self-awareness

35 1/2" wide x 19" long

Kuntuzangpo

(Samantabhadra)

38" wide x 71" long

Tashi Delek

35 1/4" wide x 38" long

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A F B M

Maitreya, whose name is derived from the Sanskrit word

for loving-kindness, is revered in all Buddhist traditions as the

future buddha. In some of the Buddhas discourses, he is known

as the bodhisattva Ajita, which means unconquerable or

unsurpassed. He will take birth thousands of years from now

and teach the Dharma anew when the teachings of Buddha

Shakyamuni (who was born as Prince Siddhartha in the sixth

century BCE) have disappeared from this world.

Buddhist scripture provides a rich description of

Maitreyas commitment to beneit others: Many eons ago, he was

born as one of the thousand sons of a great world ruler. Each

vowed to achieve complete spiritual awakening and are known as

the one thousand buddhas of this current eon. Maitreya will

appear at a time when humankind, seduced by luxury and leisure,

will have very long lifespans and little inclination to practicevirtue or compassion. His teachings will beneit countless beings

and were prophesied by Buddha Shakyamuni to last thousands of

years longer than his own.

As the successor of Buddha Shakyamuni, Maitreya

currently resides in Tushita, the celestial realm where all buddhas

reside before taking birth in our world to achieve awakening.

Before Buddha Shakyamuni took birth as Prince Siddhartha, he,

too, resided in this realm and empowered Maitreya as his regent.

Embodiment of the bodhisattva path

Like all buddhas, Maitreya spent countless lifetimes

dedicated to beneiting others, progressing on the bodhisattva

path. Essential to the bodhisattva path is the intention and

practice of bodhicittathe heart of awakening. In the Ornament

of Clear Realization, Maitreya taught that aspiration bodhicitta is

desiring complete, perfect enlightenment for the sake of others.

As explained by Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche, a bodhisattvas

intentions continuously translate into actions to help all beings

recognize the limitations of and suffering in samsara(the cycle of

rebirth and death), and the possibility of transforming that

experience into the bliss of liberation and enlightenment.

Maitreya emphasized meditation on loving-kindness as a

practice for both himself and others. It is said that those who

simply met him would awaken loving-kindness toward others. In

this way, Maitreya is a noble example for us in these dificult

times.

Maitreya in a Palpung tradition painting. In

this image, Maitreya holds a reliquary

monument (stupa) containing the relics of

Buddha Shakyamuni. Maitreya is often

depicted with a stupa in his headdress or held

in his hands as a sign of pure devotion to

Shakyamuni. Image (c) Shelley & Donald RubinFoundation.

The 12th Tai Situpa, the emanation of

Buddha Maitreya, performing the red crown

ceremony. The 9th Gyalwang Karmapa, the

black-crown holder, bestowed this red crown

on the 5th Tai Situpa in recognition of his

great spiritual accomplishments and the

inseparability of the Karmapa and Tai Situpa

as Dharma master and disciple.

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The Teachings of Maitreya

Although Maitreya is known as the future buddha, his

teachings are accessible to practitioners right now, as they were

recorded by the fourth-century Indian master Asanga. A student

of the Mahayana discipline, Asanga spent twelve years

meditating on Maitreya, hoping to see him face to face, but saw

no result. Discouraged, he left his retreat and encountered a dogwhose body was covered with maggot-infested sores. Filled

with compassion, Asanga sought to help the dog but not harm

the maggots; he thus attempted to remove them from the dogs

body with his own tongue. As he bent down, he closed his eyes

and extended his tongue, but his tongue hit the earth instead.

Surprised, he opened his eyes to see Maitreya, radiant in glory.

Asanga asked Maitreya why he had not appeared during the

twelve years he practiced with diligence and devotion. To which

Maitreya replied, I was there the whole time, but your love and

compassion was not strong enough until now.

For the next ifty years, Maitreya bestowed teachings to

Asanga, who transcribed them into a collection of works known

as the Five Treatises of Maitreya, which are widely studied in

Buddhist monasteries to this day. These texts are titled: The

Ornament of Clear Realization; The Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras; Distinguishing the Middle from the

Extremes; Distinguishing Dharma and Dharmata; and The Sublime Continuum. These teachings include a

description of the entire bodhisattva path, as well as an extensive explanation of buddha naturethe pure

essence inherent in all beings that, when all obscurations are cleared, manifests as complete buddhahood.

Maitreya in Sacred Art

Through the centuries, Maitreya appears as one of the earliest igures depicted in sacred Buddhist art.

Keeping with tradition, the Maitreya statue that will grace the main hall of the Maitreya Center will feature the

future buddha seated on a throne in royal posture, with his feet resting on a lotus at the base of the throne. His

hands are at his heart in the hand gesture of teaching the Dharma, holding the stems of two lotuses that lower

at either side of him. On the lotus to his left is a sacred vase illed with nectar, satisfying the needs of all beings

and pacifying their suffering. On the lotus to his right is the Dharma wheel, representing the teachings to come

in Maitreyas time.

Inspiration for universal community

By providing a place to study and practice the bodhisattva ideal embodied by Maitreya, the Maitreya

Center offers the unique opportunity to cultivate skills to bring about positive change in this world. The

practices of a bodhisattvagenerosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, wisdom, and, most of all,

loving-kindnessare genuine antidotes to suffering and its causes. For inspiration to undertake and sustain

this commitment, we look to the four-line prayer recited daily by Mahayana Buddhists around the world:

May all beings be happy and have the causes of happiness.

May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May all beings never be without the supreme bliss that is free from suffering.

May they abide in the great equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.

Maitreya statue at Chamgon Tai Situpas

monastery in India, Palpung Sherab Ling.

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