Sakyamuni Buddha said that the next Buddha is Maitreya Buddha. Maitreya means friendly, benevolent or compassionate. He is the enlightened one who is the saviour and in charge of the Heavenly Court at the end of the age. The common English name for Maitreya Buddha is ‘Lucky Buddha’ or ‘The Laughing Buddha’ who is often depicted in a sitting position with a big belly and a joyful smile or standing, smiling and carrying a bid cloth bag; the Chinese named him ‘Mi Le’ Buddha.

 

Why does Maitreya Buddha always carry a big cloth bag? It is a symbol of human burdens and advised us to let go; it is also meant to carry our burdens and give us joy.

 

Maitreya Buddha is said to come just before the end of the age to save the righteous souls back to the highest Heaven. He is the saviour and will amass the righteous souls and give salvation. ‘The White Sun is a symbol of the end of the age,’ said Maitreya Buddha. My own witness twice on the appearance of the White Sun in late 1994 and 1997 leads me to the path of Tao of Heaven.

 

In Tao of Heaven, Maitreya Buddha is the saviour who is in charge of the Heavenly Court. The seventeenth Patriarch since Bodhidharma, Patriarch Lutzu Chung Yi is the rebirth of Maitreya Buddha.

 

Lutzu Chung Yi was born in Jining, Shantung Province on 24th day of the 4th lunar month in the 29th year or the reign of Daoguang (1853) during the Ching Dynasty. He received the seat of Generational Master during the 31st year of the reign of Guangshu (1907) during the Ching Dynasty. He returned to the void or Highest Heaven on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month in the 14th year of the Republic.

 

In Tao of Heaven temple, we address him as ‘Ching Kong Chu Tze’ and recognize him as the rebirth of Maitreya Buddha. His photograph appears in all Tao of Heaven temples and he is ‘The Heavenly Buddha of the White Period, the White Lotus and the White Sun.’

 

His two palms have lines of two Chinese characters meaning ‘Heavenly Seal.’ It is one of the ‘Three Heavenly Treasures’ to signify that those who received Tao will be classified as a family member of Maitreya Buddha and his forehead will be stamped and sealed with an invisible seal performed by JiGong. With this seal, the devotee will have ‘a dot of brightness on his forehead and a dot of brightness in Heaven Board’ that records the names of all devotees of Tao of Heaven.     

 

In Revelation (7:1-3) in the Bible:

 

"Injure neither the earth nor the sea nor the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God upon the forehead" said JiGong.

 

"The truth is embedded in the Bible and this is one of the truths," said JiGong.

Lutzu Chung Yi

Reincarnation of Maitreya

Buddha

Maitreya Buddha