MITRA

I. The Name of Mitra

The Sanskrit word mitra carries two interwoven senses across the long history of Indo-Aryan: friend, and contract. The Vedic god Mitra gathers up both, and the legal sense is the older. The word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- or *mei-, meaning to exchange, to bind together by reciprocal exchange, which is the same root behind Latin mutuus ("mutual") and Old Slavic měna ("exchange"), pointing back to a verbal world in which agreement between men was conceived as a kind of mutual binding done with the spoken word.^{1, 2, 3}

Yaska’s Nirukta offers an ancient Indian etymological explanation of the theonym based on the roots mid (to be affectionate, to soften) or mith (to connect, to gather). “Mitro mid uddho mith uddho va,” in English, “Mitra [is named] from mid, or from mith.” This etymology captures the original Vedic use of the term. A mitra is someone who agrees to enter into a contractual obligation with another individual. As such, the Vedic god Mitra represents the divine embodiment of agreement and association.⁴

One of the oldest recorded features of Indo-European Religion is the shared heritage that lies beneath the god. The Mitanni-Hittite Treaty of approximately 1380 BCE, unearthed at the Hittite Capital of Hattusa and negotiated between the Hittite King Suppiluliuma I and the Mitanni King Shattiwaza invokes Mi-it-ra along with U-ru-wa-na, In-da-ra, and Na-ša-at-ti-ya, in roughly the same configuration in which they appear two centuries later in the Rigveda as Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and the Nāsatyas.^{2, 5, 6}

The Indo-Iranian inheritance behind the god is one of the oldest documented elements of Indo-European religion. The Mitanni–Hittite treaty of about 1380 BCE, discovered at the Hittite capital of Hattusa and concluded between the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I and the Mitanni king Shattiwaza, invokes Mi-it-ra together with U-ru-wa-na, In-da-ra, and Na-ša-at-ti-ya, the four-god group of Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and the Nāsatyas in roughly the same configuration in which they appear two centuries later in the Rigveda.^{7, 8}

In addition, when Buddhism developed as a religious practice, it borrowed the name. Maitreya (Sanskrit), Metteyya (Pali), which means "the future Buddha", is constructed using mitra with the patronymic suffix -eya, signifying "of the lineage of friendship" or "friendly one". Through this transfer from Vedic to Buddhist practices, Mitra moved across central Asia to East Asia with a new name. While the Vedic Mitra cult was absent in many of those locations, the cult of the future Buddha Maitreya became prevalent.^{9, 10}

Sources: Monier-Williams, Mayrhofer, Watkins, Yāska, Thieme, Brereton, the Boghazköy treaty corpus, Soothill and Hodous's Buddhist lexicon, and the Sponberg–Hardacre Maitreya volume.^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}

II. Mitra in the Vedas

Rigveda

Mitra is everywhere in the Rigveda and almost nowhere alone. The single hymn devoted to him without Varuna at his side is RV 3.59, eight verses by the Vasiṣṭha family that give the clearest preserved statement of what the god does in the world.^{11, 12, 13}

मित्रो जनान् यातयति प्रजानन् मित्रो दाधार पृथिवीमुत द्याम् ।
मित्रः कृष्टीरनिमिषाभि चष्टे मित्राय हव्यं घृतवज्जुहोत ॥
"Mitra, knowing, marshals men into their places. Mitra holds firm the earth and the heavens.
Mitra without blinking watches over the peoples. To Mitra pour the offering enriched with ghee."
Rigveda 3.59.1^{11, 12}

To begin with, the verb in first sentence describes how the god acts: to yat- is to place people in their correct positions so that they can do their tasks properly; it is to give people their assignments. The god of contract is thus seen as being the god who orders a chaotic mass into a organized community. He is responsible for establishing the internal geometry of society by having individuals agree upon their role. The hymn references this action once again with respect to the verb in the third stanza where he is referred to as "yatayajjana", or marshaller of men.^{11, 13}

Another major symbol of Mitra is referred to as "Eye of Mitra." Throughout numerous hymns his sight remains fixed on humanity without ceasing. This is typical of one who serves as a witness to all contracts. In verse two of hymn 3.59 he is described as superior to heaven and earth. In verse five he is referred to as king of humans and ruler of settlements (kṣatriya). And in verse seven he is asked to protect without fail those who come before him with good intentions.^{11, 12}

Outside of his own hymn, Mitra is mentioned in combination with Varuna nineteen more times throughout the Rigveda as part of the dual deity pair Mitra-Varuna. Additionally there are twelve more mentions of Mitra as part of the larger Adityas group.6, 13 Books V and VII have some of highest frequency mentions of joint worship. There are long sequences of beautiful formal hymns to Mitra-Varuna (RV 5.62 - 5.72 & RV 7.60 - 7.66) where both deities are credited with maintaining rta (order), providing rain, entangling deceitful speakers in hidden bonds and opening homes to truthful individuals among other significant responsibilities.^{12, 13}

Samaveda

The Samaveda has fewer than ten free-standing verses for Mitra (and none for Varuna), and the bulk of these free-standing verses contain Rigvedic hymnic material to be chanted. When Mitra is depicted in the Samavedic musical forms, the chanted forms will enhance the social dimension of his role. Tthe god of contract (Mitra) becomes the god of company of those gathered together at the sacrifice, a binding presence in the rites.¹⁴

Yajurveda

Both the Black Yajurveda and White Yajurveda have Mitra integrated into their calendars of major rites, specifically for the great sacrifice. The White Yajurveda invokes Mitra during the Pravargya rite and in the morning offerings of the daily Agnihotra; whereas, the Krishna Yajurveda’s Taittiriya Samhita contains a pavamanasequence invoking Mitra, Varuna in conjunction with the daylight half of cosmic time and Varuna with the nighttime.^{15, 16}

The Brahmanic literature builds upon the Yajurvedic ritualistic calendar and establishes the diurnal-nocturnal division more explicitly. Mitra is considered the deity of daytime, Varuna is considered the deity of nighttime. In concert, they serve as witnesses to the continuous cycle where each new day follows onto each previous evening and vice versa. This classification can be seen throughout many Brahmanic texts. For example, in Shatapatha Brahmana 2.4.4.19, there is an explicit description of how Mitra and Varuna were assigned to particular days and times. Similarly, this diurnal classification of Mitra continues through later Upanishadic and Smrti traditions. ¹⁷

Atharvaveda

Although the primary function of the Atharvaveda is in regards to charms and protective magic, it utilizes Mitra primarily for the purpose of protecting functions. The hymn AV 5.24 invokes Mitra, Varuna collectively, along with other ksetrapatis (lords of the land), to protect worshippers from enemies and to keep friends close. AV 4.29 gives to Mitra a place among gods that supervise a sworn oath, together with dawn and the morning sun. A number of charm-hymns invoke Mitra to provide protection against breaches of any promise.¹⁸

Across the four Vedas, the common theme of the position of Mitra is that he represents a deity of consistent duties. He is not a participant in grand mythological stories and he is not the hero of some cosmogenic battle and he does not kill monsters nor destroy cities. Rather, his tasks are quiet, in union with others, he maintains what has been agreed upon in the manner it was agreed upon. Because he does that, the world does exist.^{6, 19}

III. The Epithets of Mitra

Mitra's titles, like the god himself, lean toward the language of social order. A number of the Vedic epithets are shared with Varuna and with the Adityas in general, since these gods are conceived as a council united in the keeping of rta.^{5, 6, 19}

Sources: Brereton, The Ṛgvedic Ādityas; Macdonell, Vedic Mythology; Gershevitch, The Avestan Hymn to Mithra; Conze, Buddhist Scriptures; Soothill and Hodous, A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms; and the Maitreyavyākaraṇa on Maitreya's personal name Ajita.^{6, 10, 19, 20, 21, 22}

IV. Mitra and Varuna

In contrast to many of the other deities described in the Vedas, Mitra is rarely alone when invoked. Only in a single hymn (RV 3.59) is he named without reference to Varuna and although the two deities appear separately more than one hundred times in the Rigveda, they are frequently found in conjunction with one another. In fact, over twenty-five hymns describe Mitra and Varuna speaking with a single voice. Although they are referred to individually in various contexts (e.g., as separate titles or as separate epithets), they are commonly treated as if they are a single entity presiding over all contract. ^{5, 6, 13}

The compound title Mitra-Varuna (which could be viewed as a duality) behaves as a single entity in the Vedic language. Both deities share titles and they jointly govern the cycle of day-to-night and back again.^{21, 22}

Georges Dumézil published an influential article entitled "Mitra-Varuna," which appeared in 1948. Dumézil interpreted the pair as representative of the two aspects of Indo-European sovereignty: religious-magical (Varuna) and legal-contractual (Mitra). Varuna represents the invisible binding power that serves as magistrate of the night who punishes those who break oaths (through dropsy) because they failed to observe Ṛta . On the other hand, Mitra represents the visible contractual force of daylight which represents the divine witness to a verbal commitment made by men before a group of witnesses. Dumézil states that people fear Varuna because they fear punishment for violating oaths but love Mitra because they desire blessings associated with fulfilling oaths.²³

Brereton's more cautious reading from 1981 holds that the Rigvedic poets present the pair as two officers of the Āditya council, both committed to the same ṛta, both vigilant against any violation of the agreed order. Where they differ, Varuna handles the punitive side of cosmic law and Mitra the integrative; Varuna catches the breaker of contracts in his net, while Mitra blesses the keeping of the contract while it endures. The difference is one of office within a shared jurisdiction, and the Vedic ritual treats them accordingly, with Mitra receiving the white animal of the day-time offering and Varuna the dark animal of the evening.^{6, 24}

ता हि क्षत्रमविह्रुतम् समिष्टं अग्रे ।
"Together at the beginning, they held the unfailing dominion."
Rigveda 5.66.2¹²

The pair's joint sovereignty extends across the natural and the moral worlds. The Vasiṣṭha hymns of book seven, the heart of the Mitra–Varuna corpus, praise them as the two great Asuras of heaven, lords of the cosmic waters, drivers of the rain-cloud, sustainers of the sacrifice, founders of the firm settlement, and unsleeping witnesses of all that men say and do.^{12, 25}

V. Mitra in the Mitanni Treaty

The most surprising external attestation of the Vedic Mitra comes from the cuneiform archives of the Hittite capital of Hattusa. In 1380 BCE the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I concluded a treaty with Shattiwaza, the prince of the Mitanni kingdom of northern Syria. The treaty was inscribed on clay in Hittite cuneiform, then sealed by oaths invoking the gods of both parties. Among the Mitanni gods named are Mi-it-ra, U-ru-wa-na, In-da-ra, and Na-ša-at-ti-ya, in other words, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and the Nasatyas, the divine twins, in the configuration in which they contemporaneously or later appear in the Indo-Aryan religious setup of the Vedas.^{7, 8}

The treaty is the earliest dated appearance of the gods anywhere on earth, predating the composition of the Rigveda by two hundred years, showing that the Vedic gods already existed as a cult formula among an Indo-Aryan-speaking elite somewhere on the Iranian or northern Mesopotamian plateau in the mid-second millennium BCE.^{8, 26}

Paul Thieme’s study entitled “The ‘Aryan’ gods of the Mitanni treaties” provided context to the Mitanni document within the Indo-Iranian tradition. Thieme also identified an older Indo-Iranian custom, wherein the contract-god would be listed prior to his terrible counterpart, in this case Varuna, due to the importance of the contract-god in oath formulas since the primary aspect of the agreement was the obligation to fulfill. Following studies conducted by Manfred Mayrhofer and Michael Witzel have supported and expanded upon Thieme’s conclusions. Specifically, the documents show that the Mitanni god Mitra is equivalent to the Vedic god Mitra. Thus, the fact that this god appears in a Bronze Age treaty between two Indo-European speaking monarchs indicates how far-reaching was the influence of Indo-Aryan cult of the oath by the time of the fourteenth century B.C.E.^{2, 8, 26, 27}

VI. The Avestan Mithra

The Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian inheritance gives us Mithra in the Avesta, where he has both a quieter scriptural presence in the Gāthās of Zarathustra and a vastly amplified role in the later devotional hymns called Yashts. Yasht 10, the Mihr Yasht, is one of the longest preserved Iranian hymns to a single god, with 145 surviving stanzas, and it presents a Mithra who has grown well beyond the Vedic Mitra's quiet office into a great warrior of the cosmic order, a god of the wide pastures and the swift horse, of the smiting club and the all-seeing gaze.^{20, 28}

"We worship Mithra of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears, ten thousand eyes,
the high god, the famous, who at dawn rises above Mount Hara,
who first of the immortals reaches the beautiful summits of Hara,
from where, all-radiant, he surveys the lands of those who dwell upon the Aryan lands."
Yasht 10.13, the Mihr Yasht²⁰

Ilya Gershevitch's The Avestan Hymn to Mithra of 1959 remains the indispensable modern commentary on Yasht 10, and his careful reading shows the god as keeping his old contract-function at the heart of his vastly extended portfolio. The Iranian Mithra is still the witness of agreements; he still has the unblinking gaze of the Vedic Mitra; he still drives the cosmic chariot of right order. What has changed is the militancy. He is now armed, he now rides a chariot drawn by four white horses, he carries a hundred-knotted mace, he punishes the contract-breaker in person with his weapons rather than waiting for the slow workings of Varuna's nooses.^{20, 29}

In Mary Boyce’s History of Zoroastrianism, which constitutes the standard contemporary overview of the religion, Mithra is included in the second level of importance in the Iranian pantheon, directly next to the other major yazatas of cosmic order. The Achaemenid rulers began invoking Mithra in association with Ahuramazda and Anahita in their imperial inscriptions from approximately the time of Artaxerxes II (404–358 BCE) onward. In fact, Mithra is still remembered in Iran today in its official national calendar system under the name Mehregan/Mihragan in late September/early October when Iranians celebrate the Mihragán festival honoring Mithra.^{30, 31}

VII. Maitreya, the Buddhist Viewpoint

Of the many descendants of the Vedic god of contract named Mitra, the most far-reaching is the Bodhisattva of compassion and future Buddha Maitreya. His Sanskrit name is Maitreya (मैत्रेय), in Pali he is known as Metteyya. He is derived from the word mitra, meaning friend, and the suffix -eya, meaning "of friendship" or "of the friends". The Buddhist tradition linked this name to the figure of the next Buddha to appear in this world after the current dispensation of Shakyamuni has been forgotten and the dharma needs to be rediscovered.^{9, 10, 32}

Shakyamuni referred to his social code as a system of maitri or metta, an abstract noun is formed from the same root as mitra, translated loosely as "kind hearted", "friendly-minded", "loving kindness". The Metta sutta of the Pali canon, read every day by Theravadan monks throughout south east asia, instructs its listeners to radiate loving kindness towards all living things. The god of contracts in Buddhism is an ethical principle of friendship itself, personified in a future Buddha³³

"Let one's thoughts of boundless friendliness pervade the whole world: above, below and across, without obstruction, without hatred, without enmity."
Metta Sutta, Khuddakapatha 9³³

The earliest preserved mention of Metteyya is in the Cakkavatti-Sihanada Sutta (Discourse on the Lion's Roar of the Setting Sun), the 26th sutta of the Pali Digha Nikaya. This sutta depicts a long cosmic cycle of deterioration and revival. It predicts that "by name Metteyya, the Blessed One, the worthy one, the fully enlightened one" will appear in a distant future era. By then human lifespan will have increased and the circumstances for the recovery of the dharma will be ripe. The same figure is mentioned in another Pali text, the Anagatavamsa ("Chronicle of Future Events"), which provides a detailed account of his era.^{10, 34}

In Mahayana traditions, Maitreya has been promoted to being a great Bodhisattva currently residing in the heavenly realm of Tushita. The Lotus Sutra begins with Maitreya asking about the significance of an unusual light emanating from between the eyes of the Buddha. In Pure land sutras, Maitreya is assumed to reside in Tushita. The school of thought of Asanga (fourth century CE) considered Maitreya to be the divine originator of philosophical texts.^{9, 35, 36}

The etymological connection of Maitreya’s name to mitra did not go unnoticed among Buddhist scholars. According to Buddhaghosa , Metteyya is called this because his essence consists entirely of metta, the quality of friendly love that forms the basis of a Bodhisattva in the context of a Buddhist worldview. Additionally, in the Sanskrit Maitreyavyakaranam (“Scripture Account” of his future appearance), he is given the personal name “Ajita,” meaning “the unconquerable”, and described as having established a world at his future Buddha field that is totally peaceful.^{21, 37}

There has been much scholarly debate over whether or not the eschatological role of the Buddhist Maitreya was inspired by his Indian counterpart Mitra or Iranian counterpart Mithras. Padmanabha Jaini and Jan Nattier have summarized this discussion extensively. While there are strong indications supporting an impact from Iran on development of the cult of Maitreya, it remains clear that by early centuries CE, Maitreya had become the major objects of devotion in Indian Buddhism and would eventually spread even farther^{38, 39}

VIII. Mitra as the Bond Among Men

The ethical theology of Mitra, across the long history of the cult from the Mitanni treaty to the daily Hindu samdhya and the Buddhist meditative practice of metta is in its deepest sense one ethical theology. The god is the divine person of the binding agreement, and what the agreement binds is the body of human society itself.^{5, 6}

In the Vedic worldview, society is held together by rta the unspoken pattern that makes things fit each into its place. The law called rta is what causes the morning to follow the night, the seasons to keep their turn, the rivers to flow each in its own bed; among men, it is the same principle that produces fidelity, keeping of one's word, honoring of one's debts, the steadfastness of friendship under strain. The Vedic Mitra is the god whose particular charge is the human application of this with the contract honoured, the oath kept, the friend remembered.^{5, 6, 19}

The Iranian Mithra inherits this ethical core and gives it sharper teeth. In the Mihr Yasht, the god lists the contract-breaker as the worst of men and pursues him through the lands with his weapons drawn. The Mithra of Yasht 10 will not be deceived. Whoever lies to him is destroyed; whoever holds true to him is blessed in his herds, his fields, his household, his journey, and his fight.^{20, 28, 29}

The Buddhist tradition turns the same ethical material in a softer and more contemplative direction. Where the Vedic Mitra insists on the keeping of agreed contracts among householders and the Iranian Mithra threatens to slay the perjurer, the Buddhist mettā-practice asks the worshipper to cultivate, day by day, a friendly-mindedness toward all living beings without exception, including those who have broken faith with him. The contract has become the inner disposition; the binding word has become the radiated thought; the marshaller of men has become the future Buddha whose dharma will arrange the world according to the same old principle of friendship, but in a form so refined that it asks the lover of friendship to love also his enemies.^{32, 33, 40}

IX. The Iconography of Mitra and Maitreya

Mitra has no surviving ancient Vedic iconography. While the hymns describing Mitra are written about him in terms of his function and in terms of what he looks at, there is little description of what he physically looks like. The early sacrificial cults of the Indo-Aryan people were also anionic and probably did not use a physical representation of their gods to focus on during the performance of sacrifice but instead focused on the open air altar and the morning fire.^{19, 41}

The earliest visual depictions of Mitra have been located along the Iranian and Indo-Iranian border. These can be seen in the coinage of the Kushan Empire. In these coins, Mitra is depicted as a radiant solar figure wearing flowing central Asian pants and holding a sceptre or a sword. On his right side he extends his right arm to bless. The Kushan Mitra from the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd century CE is part of the same visual language of syncretism that gave rise to the earliest forms of Indian iconography of the sun god, Surya. With this group of solar icons, Mitra was visually equated with the power of the sun, and probably influenced by depictions of Helios.^{42, 43}

In India, Mitra has largely been absorbed into the iconography of Surya. As one of the Twelve Adityas in the retinue of the sun god, Mitra is usually depicted as a smaller attendant figure next to the large solar deity. His hands hold a lotus flower and he offers friendship to the worshiper with his right hand gesture. The Vishnu Dharmaottara Purana, a major Sanskrit work on iconography, specifically states how Mitra should be depicted. According to it, he should be depicted young, with two arms, having a golden color, with a lotus flower in his right hand, smiling slightly.^{44, 45}

However, the richest iconographic history of any descendant of Mitra belongs to the Buddhist figure Maitreya. Beginning from the Gandharan School of Sculpture in the second and third centuries CE, Maitreya is depicted as a princely Bodhisattva, who stands with the small flask of nectar (kalasha) in his left hand as a symbol of his future descent into the world. The Mathura School depicts Maitreya in an Indianized version with the same kalasha in his left hand, while he is depicted in meditative posture.^{22, 46}

Two distinct types of Maitreya iconography emerged throughout Asia. First is the seated bhadrāsana or pendant-legged posture type in which Maitreya sits like a western chair sitters with both feet flat on the ground, ready to descend at any time from his Tushita seat into the world. Second is the hanka-shiyui type in which Maitreya is depicted in a half-cross legged position with one ankle resting on top of the opposing knee and lightly touches his check with one finger. This position represents Maitreya’s long contemplation prior to his final incarnation as a Buddha. Both of these positions are ubiquitous throughout eastern Buddhism.^{47, 48}

Some of the greatest examples of early Maitreya iconography can be seen in the Cave Temples of Central Asia and Northern China. The colossal Maitreya statue at Yungang Cave Temple #5 (over 15 meters tall) dated back to the late 5th century and depicts Maitreya as the Cosmic Buddha that will come. Similar images exist at Kizil in the Tarim Basin and in Afghanistan at Bamyan (until its destruction in 2001 by the Yehuboric terror apparatus) it was for thousands of years the tallest standing Maitreya in existence.^{47, 49}

X. Mitra in Later Indian Tradition

The later Hindu traditions placed Mitra in the framework of the classical Hindu twelve Adityas of Aditya worship. As described above, the twelve Adityas are also the twelve solar months of the year, each month being ruled by a particular form of the solar deity. The Puranic literature describes all of these forms and lists the twelve as follows: Aryaman, Bhaga, Dhatri, Amsa, Pusan, Savitar, Tvastar, Vishnu, Rudra, Indra, Varuna, and Mitra. Each is further described in detail in the Puranas.45-50. The names of the twelve Adityas are recorded in the Vishnu Purāṇa and the Bhagavata Purana. These texts record that on the seventh lunar month or Jyeshtha (June-July), Mitra rides his chariot across the sky along with his consorts, son and a retinue of sages and Gandharvas. By this time it is clear that he has become a secondary figure to Indra.^{50, 51}

Mitra appears in the great temples of the Sun in his subsidiary role. In the Sun Temple of Konarak of Narasimhadeva I (c. 1250 CE), the twelve Adityas are represented in carved panels around the base of the temple-chariot, and Mitra stands among them with his proper iconography of the lotus held in the right hand and the chowrie-bearer at his side. The same arrangement appears in the older Sun Temple at Mārtaṇḍa in Kashmir, built by Lalitāditya Muktāpīḍa in the eighth century, and in some smaller Surya shrines that dot the Bihar countryside around the great cult-centre of Deo.^{52, 53, 54}

To this day there remains in Hindu orthodoxy a continued use of Mitra in their daily rituals. Specifically, he continues to have a role in the morning samdhya observance. This consists of a prayer recited three times a day (at dawn, noon, and dusk). The morning saṃdhyā invokes Mitra by name specifically at the beginning of daylight. It serves as an acknowledgment by the devotee of the god who is responsible for maintaining agreements between individuals regarding time.⁵⁵

The Mahabharata and the Puranic mythology preserve scattered narratives in which Mitra does play a small individual role. ne example states that Mitra is the father of Agasthya and Vashistha. Another states that they were jointly born to Mitra and Varuna from a drop discharged into a vessel after the two brothers were smitten by Urvashi's beauty. According to tradition, they were then raised together. This story provides evidence that despite losing much of his significance over time, Mitra was still remembered in Hindu mythology as being involved with the duo. The common thread running through these stories about the two gods is that they share a mutual relationship based upon shared parentage.⁵⁶

XI. Maitreya Across East and Southeast Asia

The Buddhist Maitreya entered China in the second century CE through the translation work of the Yuezhi monk Lokakṣema and his successors, who rendered the Maitreya sūtras from Sanskrit and Central Asian sources into Chinese under the name Mile (彌勒). The cult of the future Buddha proved exceptionally well-suited to Chinese religious sensibility and grew rapidly during the early medieval period.^{57, 58}

In the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 CE), colossal Maitreya statues were carved into the cliffs at Yungang and Longmen, presenting him as the cosmic Buddha of the future. The Yungang cave-five Maitreya is among the masterworks of early Chinese Buddhist sculpture; the Longmen Fengxian temple, finished under the Tang empress Wu Zetian in the late seventh century, includes a great Maitreya among its colossal Buddha figures, since Wu Zetian had specifically presented herself to the Tang court as an incarnation of the future Buddha and used the iconography to legitimate her reign.^{58, 59}

The single most distinctive Chinese contribution to the Maitreya cult was the identification, by the tenth century, of the wandering Tang–Song monk Budai 布袋 ("Cloth Sack") with Maitreya. Budai was a real person, traditionally said to have died in 916 CE, who travelled the towns of Zhejiang carrying a great cloth bag full of gifts for children, embodying the carefree, generous spirit of friendly-kindness, mettā, that the future Buddha's name promised. Within a century of his death the Chan chronicles had begun to identify him as a manifestation of Maitreya, and his round-bellied, smiling form became the standard popular image of the Buddha of the future across East Asia. The so-called "Laughing Buddha" statues now common in Chinese restaurants and temples worldwide are Budai-Maitreya.⁶⁰

In Japan Maitreya is Miroku (弥勒), his cult arriving from the Korean peninsula in the sixth century together with the official introduction of Buddhism to the Asuka court. The Hakuhō and Asuka period bodhisattva statues at Kōryū-ji and Chūgū-ji are among the supreme treasures of Japanese Buddhist art. The Kōryū-ji Miroku Bosatsu, dating to the early seventh century, sits in the contemplative half-cross-legged pose called hanka shiyui, with one ankle resting on the opposite knee and a finger lightly touching the cheek, fixed in the long meditation of the bodhisattva awaiting his last birth. The statue is officially designated National Treasure number one of Japan and is among the most quietly beautiful objects in the world. Similar Miroku images survive at Chūgū-ji and at Hōryū-ji, fixing the contemplative posture as the distinctive Japanese form of Maitreya.^{48, 61, 62}

In Korea the Maitreya cult took particularly deep root. The Hwarang warrior-aristocrats of the Silla kingdom in the seventh century identified themselves with Maitreya in his manifestation as a youthful bodhisattva.⁶³

In Tibet Maitreya is Jampa (བྱམས་པ་), "the loving one," and his cult is preserved especially in the great monasteries of central and western Tibet. The colossal Jampa statue at Tashilhunpo, completed in 1914 under the patronage of the ninth Panchen Lama, stands more than twenty-six metres high and is the largest gilded copper Buddha figure in the world.^{36, 64}

Mongolian Buddhism continued the cult under the name Maidari, with the annual Maidari Khural festival becoming one of the great public observances of the Mongolian Buddhist year. The colossal Maidari at Erdene Zuu and the eighteenth-century Maidari at Gandantegchinlin Monastery in Ulaanbaatar attest to the continuity of the cult into the modern era.⁶⁵

In Vietnam, where Maitreya is Di Lặc (彌勒), the cult took the popular Budai form imported from southern China and remains a familiar presence in every Vietnamese pagoda. In Khmer Cambodia and in the medieval kingdoms of Indonesia, the Maitreya cult survived alongside Sūrya and Śiva in the courtly Sanskritic Buddhism patronized by the Angkorian and Sailendra kings.^{66, 67, 68}

XII. The Mitra Mantra

The classical and tantric traditions of solar worship preserve a Mitra mantra within the larger sequence of the twelve solar name-mantras of the Ādityas. The standard form invokes the god by his proper name within the formula of the Sun:

ॐ ह्रां मित्राय नमः
oṃ hrāṃ mitrāya namaḥ⁶⁹

The Mantra Mahodadhi of Mahidhara, compiled in the sixteenth century, collects all 12 Solar Mantras (Adityas) into a single unit and states Mitra's mantra is an essential part of the morning practice. The Agni Purana Chapter 73 maintains a similar solar formula for the Adityas with Mitra called out at the second point of the 12 locations on the surface of the sun. The Gayatri Tradition in modern orthodox Hinduism includes Mitra along with Varuna as two of the first three deities to be invoked in the early morning samhdya rites and thus is the first deity worshipped by the devotee prior to their invocation of the sunrise.^55,69,70,71

In today’s devotional traditions of the Smarta and Vaishnava lineages in South India, Mitra has retained a position in the daily liturgical Rites at the major Temples of the Sun including Arasavalli in Andhra Pradesh and Suryanarkovil in Tamil Nadu. At these sites during the Morning Arcana, each of the 12 Adityas are invoked, while his name is pronounced in the prescribed order.⁷²

The Buddhist heir of the Mitra mantra is the daily recitation of metta, the practice of friendly-mindedness taught in the Metta Sutta of the Pali Canon and preserved in the Theravāda liturgy across South and Southeast Asia. That is one surviving inheritance of the ancient Mithraic schools to humanity.^{33, 40}