Maya (mother of Buddha) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 19th century Nepalese statue of Māyā, Musée Guimet, Paris Queen Māyā of Sakya (Māyādevī) was the birth mother of Gautama Buddha, the sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded, and the sister of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, the first Buddhist nun ordained by the Buddha.[1][2] Māyā means love in Nepali. Māyā is also called Mahāmāyā (Great Māyā) and Māyādevī (Queen Māyā). In Tibetan she is called Gyutrulma and in Japanese is known as Maya-fujin (摩耶夫人). In Buddhist tradition Maya died soon after the birth of Buddha, generally said to be seven days afterwards, and came to life again in a Buddhist heaven, a pattern that is said to be followed in the births of all Buddhas.[1] Thus Maya did not raise her son who was instead raised by his maternal aunt Mahapajapati Gotami.[1] Maya would, however, on occasion descend from Heaven to give advice to her son.[ The birth of Siddhārtha Gautam Buddha from Nepal, Gandhara, 2-3rd century CE. In Buddhist literature and art Queen Maya is portrayed as a beautiful fecund woman in the prime of life. Her beauty sparkles like a nugget of pure gold. She has perfumed curls like the large black bee. Eyes like lotus petals, teeth like stars in the heavens. From the Lalitisvara Sutra[3] Although sometimes shown in other scenes from her life, such as having a dream foretelling her pregnancy with Gautama Buddha or with her husband King Suddhodana seeking prophecies about their sons life, shortly after his birth, she is most often depicted whilst giving birth to Gautama, an event that is generally accepted to have taken place in Lumbini in modern day Nepal. Maya is usually shown giving birth standing under a tree and reaching overhead to hold onto a branch for support. Buddhist scholar Miranda Shaw, states that Queen Mayas depiction in the nativity scene follows a pattern established in earlier Buddhist depictions of the tree spirits known as yaksini.[4] Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_(mother_of_Buddha)
Posted on: Sun, 11 May 2014 17:20:36 +0000
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