The Belief in Maitreya in Cambodian Society

Abstract

Maitreya is the Bodhisattva who has been widely venerated since the time of ancient Cambodia, that is, since the Pre-Angkor Period and the Angkorian Period, as evident in inscriptions and sculptures. The belief in Maitreya during this era was influenced by Mahayana Buddhism as evident in the appearance of Maitreya together with the Lord Buddha and other Bodhisattvas, such as the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Then, during the Post-Angkor Period, there came a change in the belief in Maitreya due to influence from Theravada Buddhism. Post-Angkor Cambodian inscriptions exhibit the connection between Phraya Chakapadiraj and Maitreya as seen in the sculptors' statement in the form of a prayer to be born as Phraya Chakapadiraj and meet Maitreya in the future. The origin of this concept is potentially a sutra of the Theravada - the Chakkawatti Sutta in Pali Canon. Subsequently, during the 19th Century A.D. when Cambodia was in turmoil, being oppressed by Siam and France, the concept of Maitreya and Phraya Chakapadiraj was used as a political device, being spread in the form of "prophetic literature”. The messages concerned the one who will come to deliver the Cambodians from tribulation, called Phrabat Thammik, which is a combination of Phraya Chakapadiraj and Maitreya, and the political movement during that era is called the mutiny of the “rebel with merit". Presently, the belief in Maitreya still remains in Cambodian society through the Great Birth Sermon tradition, sculptures and murals.