Artist: Unknown
Title: Buddha Maitreya
Material: Gilt Bronze
Site: Unknown
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Period/Date: Dated to 477 C.E. under the Bei Wei Dynasty
Iconography/Iconology: The Buddha of the future,Maitreya, displaying
the lai ying, or greeting, gesture welcomes the devotee to his earthly paradise
of Ketumati. The Maitreya Sutras are explicit in stating that there is an
ongoing period of time in which the Bodhisattva Maitreya resides in Tushita
Paradise perfecting himself. Invested at the time of Svetaketu, the bodhisattva
who was Shakyamuni-to-be, Maitreya became regent of Tushita Paradise until
the time for his own Buddhahood. Then, identical to the life sequence of
Shakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya will descend to the earth to be reborn in the
city of Ketumati (present day Varanasi) where beings will be prepared for
his three teaching assemblieswhich will re-establish the Buddhist Dharma.
In China, Maitreya was extremely popular prior to the 6th century and his
cult was characterized by having two distinct aspects to it. The first,
known as the ascending aspect, is for those who wish to be reborn in Tushita
Paradise along with the Bodhisattva Maitreya. The second, the descending
aspect, is for those who wish to accompany the Buddha maitreya at the time
of his rebirth in Ketumati. By definition, those born at the time of Ketumati
will receive the prediction of their own enlightenment by the Buddha Maitreya,
a requisite in Mahayana Buddhism.
The lai ying, or welcoming, gesture is not well known in English Buddhist
literature. However, it is commonly used in Asia to the present day. It
is a combination of the abhaya mudra made with the right hand and the varada
mudra made with the left. There are several variants of this mudra in early
Chinese sculpture. This images rather casual display is one of the most
naturalistic and warmly-welcoming variants.
Stylistic Comments: The stark abstraction of early Buddhist images (such
as the 338 C.E. seated Buddha) has given way to a more demonstarbly Indian
influnced interpretation. The Indian Gupta idiom with its distinctive drapery
folds wrapped around a body that is completely visible through the conceptually
thin layer of cloth is the underlying impetus for the 477 C.E. image. However,
the drapery folds are treated in an unique manner characteristic of the
Northern Wei Dynasty. The folds are composed of two, raised parallel lines
separated by a thin groove as an arbitrary convention. The hems of the garments
(see under the proper left arm of the figure) are delineated with a characteristic
zig-zag motif that has its origins in Indian Gandharan images.
