Empowerment of Buddha Maitreya

2025 Spring Festival

2025-05-24

What Geshe-la said at the beginning of this empowerment 2009:

  I believe that this empowerment will be very important for your inner peace. If our mind is peaceful we are really happy. But if our mind is not peaceful, we are not happy. Outer peace is not enough. In reality we need mental peace, a peaceful and happy mind. To develop this mind we need Dharma. Otherwise, how else can we make our mind peaceful, calm and happy? Therefore receiving empowerments again and again with faith is very important.

Maitreya is the manifestation of the realisation of loving kindness of all Buddhas. The realisation of loving kindness of all Buddhas appears in the form of Buddha Maitreya, and Buddha Maitreya’s function is to bestow the realisation of loving kindness on living beings.

Buddha Shakyamuni had 8 main disciples. They are the holders of the lineages of Buddha’s Mahayana teachings. Bodhisattva Maitreya’s function is to hold and spread the teachings of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. The hidden meaning of these sutras is the stages of the path to enlightenment, or Lamrim.

  By making the determination to rely on Buddha Maitreya with faith, we will come under his special care in this life, and in all our countless future lives. We are doing a big important job, making a special connection with Buddha Maitreya. We now have a best friend for all our future lives - the Buddha of loving kindness. When we die this special spiritual friend will look after us. No one and nothing can help us except for this kind of special friend who is an enlightened being. At this time we will come under his special care. He will bestow upon us the realisation of the stages of the path, or Kadam Lamrim. Through this we can solve all our own and others’ problems, and fulfil our own and others’ wishes.

The great Asanga had a sincere wish to receive teachings on the POW sutra, so he could find the instructions on the SOTPTE. So he looked for a teacher who could teach him the hidden meaning of the POW sutra. But he couldn’t find such a teacher. So he decided to attain a direct vision of Maitreya so that he could receive the teachings directly from Maitreya. So he engaged in retreat for 3 years, concentrating on the practice of Buddha Maitreya. But due to his obstructions, he couldn’t gain this vision. So he decided to abandon his retreat, and when he went down the mountain path, he met a man who was trying to cut an iron block in half with a peacock feather (who was in fact emanated by Buddha Maitreya)…

After 12 years Asanga still didn’t have a direct vision of Maitreya. And so he decided to leave his retreat. This time, Maitreya emanated as a female dog who was collapsed on the side of the road being eaten by maggots…

Through Asanga’s powerful actions of compassion in saving the dog and maggots, his last karmic obstructions were removed and the dog turned into Buddha Maitreya. With shock and joy, Asanga asked him, “why has it taken me so long to see you?” And Buddha Maitreya said, “I have been with you since the start of your retreat.”

Asanga passed down his teachings to his disciples, and they eventually made their way to Master Atisha. Master Atisha is known as the founder of Kadam Lamrim because he based his presentation on Asanga’s Ornament of Clear Realisation: The SOTP of a person of initial scope, of intermediate scope, and of great scope.

  At this point we need to clarify which instructions of the SOTPTE Asanga received from Maitreya. Asanga received the Lamrim instructions in the presentation of 70 topics. Not the Lamrim presentation that we know. The presentation of Lamrim is very special. Which is not possessed by the POW Sutra and Ornament of Clear Realisation Sutra. The presentation of Lamrim was created by Atisha. It is very difficult to understand the presentation of the SOTP in 70 topics. This is our wealth.

We are benefiting today from Asanga’s teachings.

Our motivation for receiving this empowerment should be pure. We should think, I want to free all living beings from suffering permanently by attaining enlightenment. For this purpose I will receive the blessing empowerment of Buddha Maitreya.

3 stages:

1. Training in common paths

Taking the Buddhist vows, and training in the Bodhisattvas way of life - the 6 perfections. Recite the 4 line prayer that comes from Vajradhara.

In the first line you take refuge in the 3 jewels as ultimate refuge. I can permanently protect and liberate myself and others by putting Dharma into practice, receiving Buddha’s blessings, and receiving help and support from Sangha friends. Promise to rely upon Buddha, Dharma and Sangha for the rest of your life.

2nd line - make a promise to make effort to purify all your non virtues and downfalls and the causes of all these: our delusions

3rd line - we rejoice and engage in the Bodhisattvas Way of Life, which is the 6 perfections.

4th line - promise to attain a Buddha’s enlightenment. To permanently liberate all living beings from suffering. This is the actual bodhisattva vow.

  There is one important point. You may think that keeping these vows is a bit heavy. But it is not. You just need to improve your understanding of them, maintain the intention to keep them, and gradually keep applying effort to practice them. This commitment is not heavy or difficult. Through improving our understanding we will develop familiarity. Try to apply effort without being discouraged. Sometimes it will work and sometimes it will not. But gradually we will develop familiarity and it will become easy. Gradually we will make progress."

2. Training in uncommon paths

Training in self-generation. Generate yourself as Buddha Maitreya together with your Pure Land.

3. Receiving the empowerment

Without special blessings from Buddha, our meditation alone does not have the power to bring us realisations of the common and uncommon paths. Buddha’s blessings are like water on the seeds of the uncommon and uncommon paths

Body empowerment
Speech empowerment
OM - we are calling Buddha Maitreya
MOHI - permanent liberation from lower rebirth
MOHI - permanent liberation from samsaric rebirth
MAHA MOHI - great enlightenment
SOHA - request him to bestow these 3 attainments. The attainments of Kadam Lamrim are included in these 3 attainments. When we have realised them we have accomplished the real meaning of human life.
Mind empowerment

To prevent the blessings from degenerating, always remember Guru Maitreya at our heart. This will help to overcome the mara of delusions and make our mind peaceful.

When we engage in self-generation as in the sadhana, this is gross self-generation. When we remember Buddha at our heart, this is subtle self-generation.

Having Buddha at our heart is not much different to self-generation.

Introduction Commentary 1