Fóshuō Mílè xiàshēng jīng 佛說彌勒下生經
Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Descent of Maitreya attributed to 竺法護 Zhú Fǎhù (Dharmarakṣa, 譯)
About the work
The Mílè xiàshēng jīng is one of the foundational “descent” (xiàshēng 下生) sūtras of the Maitreya cycle, describing Maitreya’s future descent from Tuṣita heaven to be reborn on earth, attain Buddhahood under the dragon-flower tree (龍華樹 lónghuā shù) near the city of Jītóu 雞頭 (Ketumatī), and preach the Dharma at three great assemblies. The text describes a transformed world of abundance: human lifespans of 84,000 years, a wheel-turning king (cakravartin, Shānjié 刪闍 or related names), and the transformation of the elderly elder Kāśyapa — who has been waiting inside a mountain, bearing Śākyamuni’s robe to transmit to the next Buddha. The translator is traditionally identified as 竺法護 of the Western Jìn.
Prefaces
No separate preface survives; attribution by the translator colophon in the Taishō. The Taishō notes cross-references with T454 (KR6i0033) and T455 (KR6i0034).
Abstract
The attribution of T453 to 竺法護 has been questioned by modern scholars. Elsa I. Legittimo’s seminal study “Reopening the Maitreya-files” (JIABS 31/1–2, 2008 [2010]) demonstrates that T453 and T454 (KR6i0033) are so closely parallel that they cannot both be independent translations of the same Indic original; one is likely a retranslation or revision of the other, or both derive from a shared Chinese archetype. The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya (in Tibetan: Tog Palace ms. bKa’ ‘gyur vol. 3, ff. 62–67) and passages in the Divyāvadāna preserve Indic parallels, suggesting the core narrative derives from Avadāna literature later Mahāyānized. Hayashiya Tomojirō (1945) and Daniel Boucher (1996) both questioned the Western Jìn attribution; the Chū sānzàng jì jí listing for 竺法護 does not clearly include this text. The text’s narrative closely parallels Ekottarikāgama (增一阿含經) 48.3 (T125), suggesting an Āgamic stratum.
The Kāśyapa motif — the great elder preserved in samādhi inside the mountain Kukkuṭapādagiri (雞足山), awaiting Maitreya’s coming to transmit Śākyamuni’s robe — is one of the most celebrated narrative elements in Maitreya eschatology, deeply influencing Buddhist art (including Dūnhuáng paintings of this scene) and liturgical thought.
Translations and research
- Legittimo, Elsa I. “Reopening the Maitreya-files.” JIABS 31/1–2 (2008 [2010]). — Key text-critical study.
- Sponberg and Hardacre (eds.). Maitreya, the Future Buddha. CUP, 1988.
- BDK English Tripiṭaka: John R. McRae (with Shōtarō Iida and Jane Goldstone). The Sūtra That Expounds the Descent of Maitreya Buddha. BDK America. — Translation of T454; relevant comparative.