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Aspiration to be born

at the Time of the Future Buddha Maitreya

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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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chu-nyi dzay-pay -kyim mar-pi

In the midst of the red radiance of the twelve deeds,

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jam-chen ch kyi nyi-ma char-way tsay

When the sun of Great Maitreyas Dharma dawns,

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dak kyang kor gyi tu-wor kye-war shok

May I be born foremost among his retinue!

Om Buddha Mem Maitreya Soha


See inside for this aspiration prayers commentary and opportunities to sponsor the statue of
Buddha Maitreya at Kagyu Thubten Chling Monastery

Maitreya in the heaven realm of Tushita (often translated as Joyful).


Image (c) Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

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 five perfect conditions of Buddha
Maitreya: the perfect teacher, teaching, time, place, and retinue. As to the first 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.
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His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa (right) and Lama Norlha Rinpoche

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
form or 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 fleeing 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 pacified, and may all
enjoy happiness and an increase in Dharma activity in this Year of the Wood Horse.

For inquiries relating to


the Maitreya Center,
call (845) 297-3843 or email
KTCMaitreyaCenter@gmail.com

Kagyu Thubten Chling


Monastery & Retreat Center
245 Sheafe Road
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
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Sponsor Opportunities
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
For your contribution of $26,800
Your plaque will be prominently displayed
in the Maitreya Center
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 first three-year retreat
in North America at KTC in 1982.

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!
To donate, please use the donor form or donate online
at kagyu.com/maitreya-statue

Dharma Gifts
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.

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 benefit 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


For your contribution of $1,008
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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Calligraphy by Chamgon Tai Situ Rinpoche

Self-awareness
35 1/2" wide x 19" long

Self-arisen
38" wide x 71" long

Vajra Mind
35 1/2" wide x 19" long

Kuntuzangpo
(Samantabhadra)
38" wide x 71" long

Lord of the Family


35 1/2" wide x 19" long

Tashi Delek
35 1/4" wide x 38" long

Self-liberation
35 1/4" wide x 38" long

About the Future Buddha Maitreya


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 benefit 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 practice
virtue or compassion. His teachings will benefit 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.

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 Rubin
Foundation.

Embodiment of the bodhisattva path


Like all buddhas, Maitreya spent countless lifetimes
dedicated to benefiting 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 difficult
times.
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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.

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 dog
whose 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 fifty years, Maitreya bestowed teachings to
Asanga, who transcribed them into a collection of works known
Maitreya statue at Chamgon Tai Situpas
as the Five Treatises of Maitreya, which are widely studied in
monastery in India, Palpung Sherab Ling.
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 figures 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 flower
at either side of him. On the lotus to his left is a sacred vase filled 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.
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