How Maitreya received his name

1.116 When the Blessed One had uttered these verses, the bodhisattva great being Playfulness asked, “Blessed One, why is the bodhisattva great being Maitreya named ‘Maitreya’? How did he receive this name?” 1.117 “Noble son,” replied the Blessed One, “in the past, countless eons ago, so long ago that the amount of time cannot be measured, a thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha appeared in the world. He was endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct. He was a well-gone one, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide who tames beings, a teacher of both gods and humans. That buddha, that blessed one, was named Ratnacchatra. Noble son, when the Thus-Gone One Ratnacchatra walked seven steps just after being born, [F.293.a] the gods of the pure abodes held a parasol made of the seven precious substances in the sky above him. That precious parasol illuminated the entire great trichiliocosm. The Thus-Gone One Ratnacchatra received his name from these gods who proclaimed, ‘Oh! This child will be known as the Thus-Gone One Ratnacchatra!’ 1.118 “At that time, there was a monk named Dṛḍhamati who had renounced life as a member of his merchant caste to become a monastic under the teachings of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Ratnacchatra. Noble son, at the time of the Thus-Gone One Ratnacchatra’s doctrine, when the monk Dṛḍhamati went begging for alms, there were in this world eighty-four thousand villages, eighty-four thousand cities, eighty-four thousand towns, eighty-four thousand countries, and eighty-four thousand marketplaces. The monk Dṛḍhamati wandered around in all those villages, cities, towns, countries, and marketplaces to beg for alms. During his wanderings, he promised himself, ‘I will not eat any food until I establish a total of one hundred beings in the five fundamental precepts.’ Noble son, with such a commitment, the monk Dṛḍhamati wandered around in those villages, cities, towns, countries, and marketplaces to beg for alms, and he never ate any food before he had established a total of one hundred beings in the five fundamental precepts. Noble son, on some occasions it took him one day to establish one hundred beings in the five fundamental precepts. On other occasions it took him two days. [F.293.b] In the latter case, he would fast until the third day, when he would then eat again. Sometimes it took him three days to establish one hundred beings in the five fundamental precepts. Noble son, sometimes it took him four, five, six, or seven days. Even if he had to fast for seven full days, he never lost courage due to his compassion for sentient beings. He would simply eat food on the eighth day. Noble son, for eighty-four thousand years the monk Dṛḍhamati followed this principle and wandered in those big towns, villages, cities, towns, countries, and marketplaces, establishing sentient beings in the five fundamental precepts without ever loosing courage. Noble son, when those eighty-four thousand years had passed, the monk Dṛḍhamati had established thirty-six quintillion men, women, boys, and girls in the five fundamental precepts. 1.119 “Noble son, the monk Dṛḍhamati then thought, ‘I have established all those beings in the five fundamental precepts. Now, I must definitely lead them to the level of unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’ For forty-two thousand years, he proclaimed in front of them the praises of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, and the Great Vehicle. Among those sentient beings who had been established in the five fundamental precepts, there were three hundred million who had generated roots of virtue with the buddhas of the past and were inspired by the vast approach. Over another eighty-four thousand years he led those three hundred million [F.294.a] into unsurpassed and perfect awakening. The rest of them were inspired by the inferior approach, and by the power of such conditions they gave rise to the mind set on the solitary buddhas’ awakening and the vehicle of the hearers. 1.120 “Noble son, the monk Dṛḍhamati then thought, ‘I have inspired those sentient beings to engage with the three vehicles. Now I will teach them how to enter into absorption so that they can observe conscientiousness.’ Noble son, for twenty-one thousand years, the monk Dṛḍhamati conferred transmissions on how to remain in absorption to all thirty-six quintillion beings. Noble son, the monk Dṛḍhamati gave them oral instructions to make sure they would all practice the absorption on loving kindness. Noble son, when the monk Dṛḍhamati went to a town, he would enter absorption on loving kindness. Within that absorption, he would go for alms in the villages, cities, towns, countries, and marketplaces. The very moment he stepped onto a threshold, those beings observing loving kindness would enter absorption on loving kindness. Noble son, this was due to the special qualities of an extraordinary resolve, trust in the roots of virtue, and interest in emptiness. Therefore, whenever the monk Dṛḍhamati placed his feet on the steps of an entrance, those sentient beings entered the absorption on loving kindness, just as he had shown them. [F.294.b] 1.121 “Then, seeing the miraculous displays of the monk Dṛḍhamati’s absorption on loving kindness, the gods residing above the earth proclaimed aloud, ‘How wonderful! This bodhisattva great being is Maitreya, because sentient beings enter the absorption on loving kindness when he passes through their villages, cities, towns, countries, and marketplaces!’ 1.122 “The celestial gods heard the proclamation of the gods residing above the earth, and they repeated the message. Thus, the gods of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Heaven Free from Strife, the Heaven of Joy, the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations, and the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations, up to the gods of the pure realms, successively passed the message that they had heard from one to the other: ‘How wonderful! This bodhisattva great being is Maitreya, because sentient beings enter the absorption on loving kindness when he passes through their villages, cities, towns, countries, and marketplaces!’ 1.123 “When he heard that name, the blessed one, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Ratnacchatra, rejoiced and made this prophecy: ‘Throughout the entire succession of his deaths, transmigrations, and rebirths in cyclic existence, this bodhisattva, this monk Dṛḍhamati, will be known everywhere as the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, and he will keep the same name when he reaches awakening. In the world, within the gathering of an immeasurable saṅgha of hearers and of sentient beings endowed with all the bliss of the buddha field of the Buddha Ratnavyūha, he will become the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Maitreya.’ 1.124 “Noble son, [F.295.a] you might be skeptical and have hesitations or doubts about this, thinking that the monk named Dṛḍhamati at that point and time was someone else. Yet from now on and throughout all his lifetimes, he will be known exclusively by the name Maitreya. When he reaches awakening, he will also be known precisely as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Maitreya. Noble son, these are the causes and conditions due to which the bodhisattva great being Maitreya received his name.” 1.125 As soon as the Blessed One had told the story of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, this great trichiliocosm started to shake in six different ways. Divine songs were heard, and a rain of flowers fell from the sky. At that moment, the Four Great Kings, Śakra, lord of the gods, Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world, and many hundreds of thousands of sons of gods strewed the divine mandārava flowers they were carrying in the direction of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya. They said, “Oh! The bodhisattva great being Maitreya has engaged himself for the benefit of many beings. He brings them happiness and has love for the world. He has donned the great armor of diligence to provide tremendous benefit, assistance, and happiness to gods and humans. Even without having reached the level of omniscience, he has accomplished the objectives of myriads of sentient beings. If those who merely hear the name of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya obtain such supreme gains, there is no need to mention the joy of those who see him directly with their own eyes. Venerable One, Blessed One, [F.295.b] we pay homage to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya!” 1.126 As soon as the divine sons of gods had said those words, the great assembly of beings and the world with its gods, humans, and asuras exclaimed in unison, “We pay homage to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya! We pay homage to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya! We pay homage!” 1.127 When this Dharma teaching was uttered, twelve thousand beings’ Dharma eyes with respect to phenomena were purified, becoming immaculate and stainless. The minds of five thousand monks were liberated from their defilements with no further grasping. The Blessed One also made this prophecy: “The roots of virtue of many thousands of beings have been brought to maturity, and they will actualize the level of worthy ones within the second retinue of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Maitreya.”