How are these Great Beings explained?

[Unveiled Artist]

I don't know why but I'm saying things as clearly as I can.

I agree with all the 'scriptures' you have mentioned. There is no disagreement whatsoever at all with that.

The ethics, moral and spiritual truths are eternal and never die. So we agree.

I can't fathom why on earth you say things like ...

You make it seem as if the Dhamma doesn't teach love and kindness and end of suffering anymore.

We believe 200% in love and kindness and an end to suffering. I can't for the life of me figure out how you are misconstruing my words that badly. We stand for all these things shoulder to shoulder with you. Where are you getting these ideas from?

We support and uphold Buddha's teachings. We read them every week in our Houses of Worship all over the world.

We are all for Buddha and Dhamma. A lot of things like that just make no sense because we believe in these things.

Tonight we had a study class and read from many of the Buddhist texts and we all loved them.

I typed the post a bit lap hazard since it was early. The context is what you are saying when you talk about False Dhamma and True Dhamma doesn't make sense.

What you posted about the counterfeit Dhamma and the promised one bringing the true Dhamma does not say anything about the Dhamma needing to be change or reconciled somehow. There is no replacement Dhamma.

If you agree, the verses you posted and your comment says you disagree (passive disagreement; I couldn't tell point blank) and then this last post says you agree with me.

It either sounds like you didn't understand the context of my post (which I will correct if I can) or you're contradicting yourself. Let me check.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

At that period, brethren, there will arise in the world an Exalted One named Metteyya, Arahant, Fully Awakened, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy, with knowledge of the worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to mortals willing to be led, a teacher for gods and men, an, Exalted One, a Buddha, even as I am now.

He, by himself, will thoroughly know and see, as it were face to face, this universe, with its worlds of the spirits, its Brahmās and its Māras, and its world of recluses and brahmins, of princes and peoples, even as I now, by myself, thoroughly know and see them.

The truth [the Norm] lovely in its origin, lovely in its progress, lovely in its consummation, will he proclaim, both in the spirit and in the letter, the higher life will he make known, in all its fulness and in all its purity, even as I do now.

He will be accompanied by a congregation of some thousands of brethren, even as I am now accompanied by a congregation of some hundreds of brethren.

English translation of DN 26, “The Lion-roar on the Turning of the Wheel”

I have to go back because your other post sounded like you didn't get the context of what I said. You disagreed (passive disagreement) with the other two posts (and this) and then your last other post you agreed.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

'He will preach His Religion' is not speaking about thousands of Buddhas but One Who will bring a new religion. Just generalising on that point is incorrect because the Buddha specifically points to a 'He' Who will 'preach' 'His Religion' not exactly the Buddha's religion but 'His religion'.

He, by himself, will thoroughly know and see, as it were face to face, this universe, with its worlds of the spirits, its Brahmās and its Māras, and its world of recluses and brahmins, of princes and peoples, even as I now, by myself, thoroughly know and see them.

Loverofhumanity, this is talking about the Hindu god and the gods and how, because The Buddha in another sutta I posted thousands a post ago, challenged Mara who, came into Brahma (or the other way around) to challenge The Buddha thing things are eternal and not changing. Where, The Buddha says that things are changing. That is the basic principle of all The Buddha's teachings.

Meitraya means love and kindness. "His religion" if there is such a thing is just an extension (if I made an educated guess) of The Buddha's teachings on love and kindness. (There is no new love and kindness)It is the same as many other Buddhist sects who say Amita is the last Buddha and then another Nichiren Diashonin a reincarnation of The Buddha. All say they are based on the original Buddha's suttas.

The Buddha teaches love and kindness by meditation.
You're saying that his teachings are not the right Dhamma. Now there is a New Dhamma.
So, if The Buddha's teachings are false now that a new Dhamma appears, love and kindness is no longer true but false.

You are telling me Maitreya would teach something else besides ending suffering?

It's the logic you are using when saying one thing is false and the other true. Also,

Three forms of false Dhamma:

1. Unwholesome desires

2. Friendship with evil people

3. And, there being something further to be done, he nevertheless stops halfway with a lower modicum of distinctive attainment

(from Iti. 89)

The Buddha in all his suttas talk about people will turn from the true Dhamma and distort it into false Dhamma. He does not say the Dhamma itself changes. That's impossible.

He will teach the same 'eternal truths' of the Buddha, so 'He will incorporate the Buddha's 'eternal truths' into 'His Religion'. This passage abundantly and clearly states that a certain Buddha not a thousand Buddhas but 'a' Buddha, will bring His Own religion with Buddha's truths incorporated into it.

So, what are you disagreeing with me with?

Meitreya is a bodhisattva and disciple of The Buddha. Like Sariputra, The Buddha predicted they both will become Buddhas. Whether or not Meitreya is the only Buddha to fix everything is something I have to study since I can't find any good source online and I have thick books.

Just take out true and false religion and use Dhamma. We're not talking about what people have distorted but what people practice today and yesterday.

The Dhamma practice doesn't change just because some people distort the Dhamma. Each sect and lineage practice The Buddha's teachings different not false. If they bring love and kindness, what is false about their teachings that anyone would need to reconcile who is not part of the Buddhist faith nor a Buddha?

That is what the sentence says. It refers to a new religion that will incorporate Buddha's Teachings. As clear as the sun.

Then what are you disagreeing with? That is why you need to say "I disagree and this is why..." because you're confusing me.

The false Dhamma is everything opposite of love and kindness that The Buddha taught. The True Dhamma is love and kindness. Maitreya actually means love and kindness. Even though The Buddha passed away physically, his Dhamma lives through the teachings of Sariputra and other Buddhas (his former bodhisattvas). His teachings also are preserved by Bodhisattvas as said in the Lotus Sutra.

Remember, I said the written sutras mean nothing. I have yet to go to a Buddhist temple or, more so talk to a Buddhist and see them not display love and kindness. It is as @Vinayaka was talking about the difference between philosophical believers and action believers. Buddhist are no different. I mean, I used to go to conferences for world peace each year when I chanted with my friends. We do a lot of things. I like to study, but we rarely do much studying. It's more action and worship based.

That's why I brought up Bahai, also. Because All of the Buddhas disciples and buddhas will support The Buddhas teachings. But when you get someone who believes The Buddha talked for the god of abraham,

there is a problem.

 

[YmirGF]

Just popped in to thank both @Vinayaka and @Carlita for your many wonderful posts in this thread. Awesome work, folks. Keep up the good work.

 

[loverofhumanity]

There is a HUGE difference between reading about performing service without expectation of reward, and actually performing service without expectation of reward. Do you see the difference? In Hinduism, we try to do the latter, not the former. This is another MAJOR paradigm difference. You're philosophy, we're action.

There is no harm in sitting around talking about it, but it's hypocritical if you don't actually do something. The people I know who serve as volunteers at mt temple never once had to sit around and talk about it. They just come, jump right in and get to work. End of story, end of discussion.

Of course there are those who will do 5 minutes of work, and then spend the next two hours telling everyone about how helpful they were. Little do they know who's watching. Karma is the ultimate judge.

Yes that's true. Our end goal of any study course is to perform acts of service otherwise it's just a waste of time. Things like the education of women in a trade or skill so they can be self sustaining, nursery and primary schools, aged care, cleaning the environment and working with other charities and NGO's, we work with UNICEF. Things like visiting doctors or dentists will visit remote towns and offer free dental services and medical specialist services to everyone for a few days. As we develop resources both human and financial we plan to expand and increase our services to the poor, youth, children and so on.

But being only very tiny with limited resources we come nowhere near the great religions of Hinduism and Christianity when it comes to serving humanity. Youth groups always have service projects as part of their ciriculum so they do things like clean the environment and visit hospitals to lend assistance.

But we have a very long way to go. The study classes have 'service components' so Book 3 is about how to treat and educate children and the goal is to open nursery schools and also have moral classes for children. At these schools children are taught basic skills like hygiene and cleanliness and there is a 'mother program' attached to the unit to educate mothers how to look after their children from health to how to discipline them.

These projects are run all over the world in hundreds of countries and are not based on any Faith. In other words we don't teach them about Baha'u'llah or the Baha'i Faith. All the different religions participate. Some of our programs are run by people who are not Baha'is because they see them as beneficial for their communities.

 

[loverofhumanity]

He, by himself, will thoroughly know and see, as it were face to face, this universe, with its worlds of the spirits, its Brahmās and its Māras, and its world of recluses and brahmins, of princes and peoples, even as I now, by myself, thoroughly know and see them.

Loverofhumanity, this is talking about the Hindu god and the gods and how, because The Buddha in another sutta I posted thousands a post ago, challenged Mara who, came into Brahma (or the other way around) to challenge The Buddha thing things are eternal and not changing. Where, The Buddha says that things are changing. That is the basic principle of all The Buddha's teachings.

Meitraya means love and kindness. "His religion" if there is such a thing is just an extension (if I made an educated guess) of The Buddha's teachings on love and kindness. (There is no new love and kindness)It is the same as many other Buddhist sects who say Amita is the last Buddha and then another Nichiren Diashonin a reincarnation of The Buddha. All say they are based on the original Buddha's suttas.

The Buddha teaches love and kindness by meditation.
You're saying that his teachings are not the right Dhamma. Now there is a New Dhamma.
So, if The Buddha's teachings are false now that a new Dhamma appears, love and kindness is no longer true but false.

You are telling me Maitreya would teach something else besides ending suffering?

It's the logic you are using when saying one thing is false and the other true. Also,

Three forms of false Dhamma:

1. Unwholesome desires

2. Friendship with evil people

3. And, there being something further to be done, he nevertheless stops halfway with a lower modicum of distinctive attainment

(from Iti. 89)

The Buddha in all his suttas talk about people will turn from the true Dhamma and distort it into false Dhamma. He does not say the Dhamma itself changes. That's impossible.



So, what are you disagreeing with me with?

Meitreya is a bodhisattva and disciple of The Buddha. Like Sariputra, The Buddha predicted they both will become Buddhas. Whether or not Meitreya is the only Buddha to fix everything is something I have to study since I can't find any good source online and I have thick books.

Just take out true and false religion and use Dhamma. We're not talking about what people have distorted but what people practice today and yesterday.

The Dhamma practice doesn't change just because some people distort the Dhamma. Each sect and lineage practice The Buddha's teachings different not false. If they bring love and kindness, what is false about their teachings that anyone would need to reconcile who is not part of the Buddhist faith nor a Buddha?



Then what are you disagreeing with? That is why you need to say "I disagree and this is why..." because you're confusing me.

The false Dhamma is everything opposite of love and kindness that The Buddha taught. The True Dhamma is love and kindness. Maitreya actually means love and kindness. Even though The Buddha passed away physically, his Dhamma lives through the teachings of Sariputra and other Buddhas (his former bodhisattvas). His teachings also are preserved by Bodhisattvas as said in the Lotus Sutra.

Remember, I said the written sutras mean nothing. I have yet to go to a Buddhist temple or, more so talk to a Buddhist and see them not display love and kindness. It is as @Vinayaka was talking about the difference between philosophical believers and action believers. Buddhist are no different. I mean, I used to go to conferences for world peace each year when I chanted with my friends. We do a lot of things. I like to study, but we rarely do much studying. It's more action and worship based.

That's why I brought up Bahai, also. Because All of the Buddhas disciples and buddhas will support The Buddhas teachings. But when you get someone who believes The Buddha talked for the god of abraham,

there is a problem.

Yes that's something I meant to add. The truth never dies as I stated but people turn away and distort it and that's why it needs to be restated. Love, compassion and kindness do not die but people do.

The Buddha's Dhamma is perfect. It's people as you said that turn away and change it.

When a Buddha appears, He teaches the same truths but for the new age. So truth and love and kindness always are a part of the Dhamma but each age has its own exigencies.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Yes that's something I meant to add. The truth never dies as I stated but people turn away and distort it and that's why it needs to be restated. Love, compassion and kindness do not die but people do.

The Buddha's Dhamma is perfect. It's people as you said that turn away and change it.

When a Buddha appears, He teaches the same truths but for the new age. So truth and live and kindness always are a part of the Dhamma but each age has its own exigencies.

The problem isn't the Dhamma so there is no need to bring a "True Dhamma" when the Dhamma is the Dhamma regardless.

The confliction is saying that The Buddha speaks for the god of abraham in order to bring the true Dhamma because the old Dhamma was disorted by the people.

The fact is the Dhamma cannot be old nor distorted (hence the word counterfeit). Therefore, there is no reason to change the Dhamma from old to new. The Buddha talked about Hindu gods most definitely not the god of abraham nor a manifestation of him.

The problem is not The Dhamma. It's Bahai's interpretation of The Dhamma. Take out Bahaullah and god of abraham and just read the suttas, you're find. Put god of abraham in there somewhere and Bahaullah in the mix, you are totally making a false or counterfeit Dhamma.

I know you are thinking it brings love and compassion. I'm not saying it does not. I'm saying it contradicts the teachings of The Buddha. Either call what you believe something else or take out GOA and Bahaullah out of Buddhism.

 

[Vinayaka]

The Buddha's Dhamma is perfect. It's people as you said that turn away and change it.

Which people change it, besides the Baha'i'?

 

[TransmutingSoul]

There is a HUGE difference between reading about performing service without expectation of reward, and actually performing service without expectation of reward. Do you see the difference? In Hinduism, we try to do the latter, not the former. This is another MAJOR paradigm difference. You're philosophy, we're action.

There is no harm in sitting around talking about it, but it's hypocritical if you don't actually do something. The people I know who serve as volunteers at mt temple never once had to sit around and talk about it. They just come, jump right in and get to work. End of story, end of discussion.

Of course there are those who will do 5 minutes of work, and then spend the next two hours telling everyone about how helpful they were. Little do they know who's watching. Karma is the ultimate judge.

Good on them all.

Pride dear Vinayaka, it is our downfall. You have said to loverofhumanity "You're philosophy, we're action." You are totally unaware of what any Baha'i is doing to help Humanity find its Unity, but a statement is made to that effect.

The Law of Baha'u'llah is Deeds not Words. it is a call to selfless service on a scale never before seen practiced on this planet.

"O army of God! Make ye a mighty effort: perchance ye can flood this earth with light, that this mud hut, the world, may become the Abhá Paradise. The dark hath taken over, and the brute traits prevail. This world of man is now an arena for wild beasts, a field where the ignorant, the heedless, seize their chance. The souls of men are ravening wolves and animals with blinded eyes, they are either deadly poison or useless weeds—all except for a very few who indeed do nurture altruistic aims and plans for the well-being of their fellow men: but ye must in this matter—that is, the serving of humankind—lay down your very lives, and as ye yield yourselves, rejoice." (Abdul'baha) Bahá'í Reference Library - Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Pages 69-75

May you always serve ALL Humanity, without thought of self. Well done to all men that have achieved this highest aim.

Regards Tony

 

[Vinayaka]

Good on them all.

Pride dear Vinayaka, it is our downfall. You have said to loverofhumanity "You're philosophy, we're action." You are totally unaware of what any Baha'i is doing to help Humanity find its Unity, but a statement is made to that effect.

I was just addressing that because loverofhumanity was talking about talking about it, and I was saying how we Hindus don't generally meet about stuff like that. Yes, I recall Adrian mentioning how he's involved with the medical help group in his area. Lots of great people of ALL faiths do a ton of great service work all around this planet. With humble people, hardly anyone ever knoes what is done, because they won't talk about it at ll, or hardly at all.

So you're right, I have no idea what individual Baha'i's might be up to or not.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Good on them all.

Pride dear Vinayaka, it is our downfall. You have said to loverofhumanity "You're philosophy, we're action." You are totally unaware of what any Baha'i is doing to help Humanity find its Unity, but a statement is made to that effect.

The Law of Baha'u'llah is Deeds not Words. it is a call to selfless service on a scale never before seen practiced on this planet.

"O army of God! Make ye a mighty effort: perchance ye can flood this earth with light, that this mud hut, the world, may become the Abhá Paradise. The dark hath taken over, and the brute traits prevail. This world of man is now an arena for wild beasts, a field where the ignorant, the heedless, seize their chance. The souls of men are ravening wolves and animals with blinded eyes, they are either deadly poison or useless weeds—all except for a very few who indeed do nurture altruistic aims and plans for the well-being of their fellow men: but ye must in this matter—that is, the serving of humankind—lay down your very lives, and as ye yield yourselves, rejoice." (Abdul'baha) Bahá'í Reference Library - Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Pages 69-75

May you always serve ALL Humanity, without thought of self. Well done to all men that have achieved this highest aim.

Regards Tony

Tony. You kinda proved @Vinayaka point. There is no need to quote words because the religion is in the service and worship not based on words in a book.

It is not a bad thing to be people-of-the-book. Just we are all different.

Not good. Not bad. Different ways of seeing our truths.

 

[Vinayaka]

Tony. You kinda proved @Vinayaka point. There is no need to quote words because the religion is in the service and worship not based on words in a book.

It is not a bad thing to be people-of-the-book. Just we are all different.

Not good. Not bad. Different ways of seeing our truths.

Astute as usual. It is so difficult to understand the other paradigm when you've never lived in it. Weddings and funerals are also incredibly different. In Hinduism its all about announcing it to the Gods of the third World (Sivaloka, Brahmaloka) and the devas of the second world, and then seeking the blessings of the beings there. So it's all mystical.

A book, a prophet, a steady community, a place to gather, proselytizing as duty, finding fault instead of seeing differences, it's all so foreign to me. lol.

Starting out from the false assumption that all religions are basically the same doesn't help. Then there's the pure atheist paradigm which we haven't even dealt with on this thread.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Astute as usual. It is so difficult to understand the other paradigm when you've never lived in it. Weddings and funerals are also incredibly different. In Hinduism its all about announcing it to the Gods of the third World (Sivaloka, Brahmaloka) and the devas of the second world, and then seeking the blessings of the beings there. So it's all mystical.

A book, a prophet, a steady community, a place to gather, proselytizing as duty, finding fault instead of seeing differences, it's all so foreign to me. lol.

Starting out from the false assumption that all religions are basically the same doesn't help. Then there's the pure atheist paradigm which we haven't even dealt with on this thread.

Had to laugh because that is so true. Two ironic things about it is, if I didn't go to the Catholic Church, I would be "pure atheist" and, another ironic thing is I've never been out of the country to fully experience any other paradigm but my own; yet, I understand.

You don't have a steady community and place to gather? (That's foreign to me)

 

[Vinayaka]

You don't have a steady community and place to gather? (That's foreign to me)

Hindu temples are like stores in the way that the people flow happens. People come, they pray, they leave. On Sundays and festivals the temple serves food, and more people come, but it's all in small groups, strangers to each other, and maybe 7 or 8 different languages being spoken. Of course, just as in the wide variations within Hinduism, there are wide variations in people at the temple. The one common ground is they are there to see God. Today when I was there doing some work during closed hours, a young man came, stood by the front door and prayed for 5 minutes, then left.

Each day there are 4 main pujas, and often the crowd is a but bigger during those times. There are also sacraments that are pre-arranged a day or two ahead of time, like name giving, first letters, ear piercing, car pujas. Weddings are generally done in a hall, not a temple, and funerals are never ever in the temple, but at the home and then the cremation grounds. In the west its' done at a crematorium.

Yes, some temples are indeed more congregational, more of one sect, and sometimes the pundit/priest will even give a discourse, but that's not the type of temple I'm used to. But all Hindu temples are open to all Hindus, just as Islamic mosques are open to all Muslims.

You get the regulars (daily) (weekly) , the pilgrims (once a year maybe) . All Hindu temples are also pilgrimage spots for anyone. Boss and I went to 13 on one trip to Vancouver, BC.

Very different paradigm but I don't have to say that for you any more.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Hindu temples are like stores in the way that the people flow happens. People come, they pray, they leave. On Sundays and festivals the temple serves food, and more people come, but it's all in small groups, strangers to each other, and maybe 7 or 8 different languages being spoken. Of course, just as in the wide variations within Hinduism, there are wide variations in people at the temple. The one common ground is they are there to see God. Today when I was there doing some work during closed hours, a young man came, stood by the front door and prayed for 5 minutes, then left.

Each day there are 4 main pujas, and often the crowd is a but bigger during those times. There are also sacraments that are pre-arranged a day or two ahead of time, like name giving, first letters, ear piercing, car pujas. Weddings are generally done in a hall, not a temple, and funerals are never ever in the temple, but at the home and then the cremation grounds. In the west its' done at a crematorium.

Yes, some temples are indeed more congregational, more of one sect, and sometimes the pundit/priest will even give a discourse, but that's not the type of temple I'm used to. But all Hindu temples are open to all Hindus, just as Islamic mosques are open to all Muslims.

You get the regulars (daily) (weekly) , the pilgrims (once a year maybe) . All Hindu temples are also pilgrimage spots for anyone. Boss and I went to 13 on one trip to Vancouver, BC.

Very different paradigm but I don't have to say that for you any more.

Yeah. When I went to the Hindu temple near me, my first thought was "where was everyone?" There were a handful of people and the priest during Puja. I wish we knew each other's languages, I'd probably stayed there longer to talk with curious faces. I didn't see anyone there needin' to be saved, though.

 

[Vinayaka]

Yeah. When I went to the Hindu temple near me, my first thought was "where was everyone?" There were a handful of people and the priest during Puja. I wish we knew each other's languages, I'd probably stayed there longer to talk with curious faces. I didn't see anyone there needin' to be saved somehow, though.

I should mention that in India it is far different. The temples there will have one language, but they vary tremendously in size. Some get as many as 100 000 people PER DAY. Other little village temples will have a volunteer priest drop in once a day to do a puja. and maybe 5 to 10 regulars come by to say hi to God. Many temples also have their own annual festivals. The one here is a 12 day mid summer elaborate festival. Everything gets bigger at those times. Tons of ritual, colour, music.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I should mention that in India it is far different. The temples there will have one language, but they vary tremendously in size. Some get as many as 100 000 people PER DAY. Other little village temples will have a volunteer priest drop in once a day to do a puja. and maybe 5 to 10 regulars come by to say hi to God. Many temples also have their own annual festivals. The one here is a 12 day mid summer elaborate festival. Everything gets bigger at those times. Tons of ritual, colour, music.

Yeah. This temple they use majority of the property for festivals. A lot of the Buddhist holidays are celebrated there too. I don't know about the other Hindu temples here though to compare. I know with Buddhist temples, they are either part of a monk's home or way out where no metro or car would like to travel. Most have their doors open for others to pay refuge. The ones you "see publicly" are western influenced Buddhist. There's a lot of centers here for general meditation and so forth. It's really mixed matched here.

 

[CG Didymus]

Which people change it, besides the Baha'i'?

Typically, one religion states the beliefs of the other and compares them to their own and say why the other religion is wrong. Baha'is compare all the religions and look for things that they all have in common. But, since there are differences, the Baha'i leaders re-define things like reincarnation, resurrection, etc. and then say, "You see. We believe in those things too." But, it's not the same thing if it is re-defined to be something else. I don't know how many different ways you and Carlita have said that.

 

[loverofhumanity]

I typed the post a bit lap hazard since it was early. The context is what you are saying when you talk about False Dhamma and True Dhamma doesn't make sense.

What you posted about the counterfeit Dhamma and the promised one bringing the true Dhamma does not say anything about the Dhamma needing to be change or reconciled somehow. There is no replacement Dhamma.

If you agree, the verses you posted and your comment says you disagree (passive disagreement; I couldn't tell point blank) and then this last post says you agree with me.

It either sounds like you didn't understand the context of my post (which I will correct if I can) or you're contradicting yourself. Let me check.

Buddha's Dhamma is always true never false. But over time people change the meaning or interpret it differently so it needs to be restated so another Buddha appears.

Why would the Promised One have to 'teach the same truths I have taught' if they were still being understood and practiced perfectly?

The Buddha mentioned 'Five Disappearances'. Buddha here mentions that in every 1,000 period some aspect or true understanding of the Dhamma would be lost.

The Duration of Gotama Sasana (Dispensation)

The Five Disappearances add up to 5,000 years. But Buddha also said that because women entered into the Samgha, His Dispensation would last half as long, 500 years, so 5 Disappearances x 5 = 2500 which time has passed.

“If, Ānanda, women had not obtained the going forth from home into homelessness in the dhamma and discipline proclaimed by the Truth-finder, the Brahma-faring, Ānanda, would have lasted long, true dhamma would have endured for a thousand years. But since, Ānanda, women have gone forth … in the dhamma and discipline proclaimed by the Truth-finder, now, Ānanda, the Brahma-faring will not last long, true dhamma will endure only for five hundred years”

https://suttacentral.net/files/Book_of_the_Discipline.pdf

So from these scriptures I am convinced that Maitreya has come already.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Buddha's Dhamma is always true never false. But over time people change the meaning or interpret it differently so it needs to be restated so another Buddha appears.

Why would the Promised One have to 'teach the same truths I have taught' if they were still being understood and practiced perfectly?

The Buddha mentioned 'Five Disappearances'. Buddha here mentions that in every 1,000 period some aspect or true understanding of the Dhamma would be lost.

The Duration of Gotama Sasana (Dispensation)

The Five Disappearances add up to 5,000 years. But Buddha also said that because women entered into the Samgha, His Dispensation would last half as long, 500 years, so 5 Disappearances x 5 = 2500 which time has passed.

“If, Ānanda, women had not obtained the going forth from home into homelessness in the dhamma and discipline proclaimed by the Truth-finder, the Brahma-faring, Ānanda, would have lasted long, true dhamma would have endured for a thousand years. But since, Ānanda, women have gone forth … in the dhamma and discipline proclaimed by the Truth-finder, now, Ānanda, the Brahma-faring will not last long, true dhamma will endure only for five hundred years”

https://suttacentral.net/files/Book_of_the_Discipline.pdf

So from these scriptures I am convinced that Maitreya has come already.

This except doesn't mention Maitreya at all. The link PDF File didn't work. Is it AN 8:51 Gotami Sutta ?

Again.

1. Buddhism is not a prophet faith.

a. Everyone gods, disciples, devas, humans, bodhisattvas, and buddhas all are part of the Dhamma. There is no one person over another. That's precisely what The Buddha taught against, again, contrasting it to what he practiced before he was enlightened.

b. The Buddha is not special. Maitreya is not special. You are not special. The ant worm is not special. All are a part of rebirth. All is changing.

2. Maitreya, Sariputra, and all the disciples and The Buddha, monks yesterday and today, and followers all live the True Dhamma of love and kindness among other attributes.

a. Love and kindness is not dependant on a Promised One. That is total GOA thinking.

3. The woman and the disappearances I don't see the connection in your point. There are many "promised ones" but Buddhism is not a prophet faith.

That's like saying you believe the same god as a Hindu all because you both use the word god in the English langauge.

You have to experience the tradition, language, and the culture of these religions and identify as one to understand this....

but then, I keep thinking that it's common sense. I haven't experienced what it's like being a Hindu nor Muslim. But I understand.

Do you?