Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c7.112

c7.112

Representations of ‘Maitri’ Buddha are often the subject of Vihāra paintings, as at Degaldoruva or Riḍi Vihāra on the rock ceilings. Maitri Buddha, the ‘loving one,’ is that bodhisat or Buddha-elect who is to be next in the order of succession of these great beings. The love of Buddhists turns naturally to such an one, still personal and ‘human,’ since the Buddha himself having reached nirvāṇa, has reached an unconditioned state, unrelated to the world of men. In Ceylon, Nāta deviyo is regarded as the Maitri Buddha. At present he is in Divyaloka, where he awaits the time of his last incarnation, and the attainment of Buddhahood.