Maitreya

Maitreya is the great initiator of the ascension teachings, the teacher of the teachers. His name means loving kindness, and the quality people describe most often in his presence is joy: not excitement, but a deep, warm gladness that seems to have been waiting for them.

In the Buddhist world he is honored as the Buddha who is to come. The ascension teachings speak of him as the one who holds the offices of Planetary Buddha and Cosmic Christ for the Earth. Our circle makes no predictions, and we do not speculate about when or how any future appearance of his may take place. What we can describe is the way he is experienced now.

The Great Initiator

An initiation, in the language of these teachings, is an expansion of consciousness. It is not a ceremony and it cannot be bought or conferred from outside. It happens when a soul has prepared for it, often through a long and ordinary-looking struggle, and is ready to see more. Maitreya is said to stand at each of those thresholds. He does not push anyone through. He waits on the far side, and his welcome is the sign that the step has been taken.

For this reason the teachings call him the teacher of the teachers. The Masters who now guide humanity were, in their own time, his students. The path of initiation is described more fully in The Path of Initiation.

Legend and Service

The teachings relate that Maitreya and Gautama were the first of Earth's own children to respond to the flame that Sanat Kumara kindled at Shamballa. They walked the path together over many ages, Gautama a little ahead, each taking up the office the other had prepared.

For a long time Maitreya held the office of World Teacher, responsible for the spiritual education of all humanity. He is said to have overshadowed the Master Jesus during his mission, so that the love of the Christ could be shown in a single human life. When Kuthumi and Sananda were ready to share that office between them, Maitreya stepped forward to the offices he holds today.

The word Christ, in these teachings, names a state of consciousness rather than a single person: the state in which a human being is wholly united with the divine and acts from that union. Maitreya holds that consciousness for the Earth so that every person, in every tradition, can grow toward it. The familiar image of the laughing Buddha, round and delighted, is often taken by students as a fitting picture of him. Holiness, he seems to say, is not grim.

What Maitreya Teaches

• Kindness is not a lesser virtue on the way to a greater one. It is the destination.
• Every test you are given is one you are able to pass.
• The one who laughs easily is close to the light.
• You do not have to be finished to be welcome.

When to Call on Maitreya

• Thresholds: a change you know you must make and cannot yet make
• Recovering joy after a long, heavy period
• Kindness toward a person who is difficult to love
• Trust that your struggles are leading somewhere
• Opening to the Christ consciousness within your own tradition, whatever it is

How to Work With Maitreya

Think of a moment when you were truly happy, with no reason you could name. Let the feeling of it fill the chest. Now picture a figure of golden light seated before you, smiling. Say his name, and ask: What is the next step? Then wait, and notice what you are shown. His answers are often surprisingly simple, and they usually involve being kinder, including to yourself.

An Invocation

Beloved Maitreya, teacher of the teachers,
stand at the threshold I am facing now.
Give me the courage to take the step,
the joy to take it lightly,
and the kindness to help the one behind me.

A Word From Maitreya

You have been told that the path is hard, and you have been brave about it. I would like you to be a little less brave and a little more glad.

Each threshold you cross, I am waiting on the other side. I have never once been disappointed by the one who arrived.

Received by Ilse Varrow

Related Entries

• Gautama Buddha
• Sananda
• The Path of Initiation
• The Spiritual Hierarchy