Maitreya Project
{{Short description|International Buddhist organization}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
File:Maigtreya_Project_Promotional_Poster.jpg
The Maitreya Project is an international organisation, operating since 1990,{{cite news
| first=Peter
| last=Kedge
| title=Maitreya Project Update, November 2007
| date=November 2007
| publisher= Maitreya Project International I.O.M.
| url =http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/updates/2007-11.html
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081223222504/http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/updates/2007-11.html
| url-status =usurped
| archive-date =23 December 2008
| work =Maitreya Project International website
| accessdate = 2007-11-21 }}
which intends to construct statues of Maitreya Buddha in India and perhaps elsewhere. Initial plans were for a 152-metre (500 ft) colossal statue, to be built in either Kushinagar or Bodhgaya. These plans have since changed, and the Maitreya Project now intends to construct relatively modest statues in both towns. The project was initiated by the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, an organisation within the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Jessica Marie Falcone's Battling the Buddha of Love: A Cultural Biography of the Greatest Statue Never Built (Cornell University Press, 2018; based on her Ph.D. dissertation in cultural anthropology for Cornell) is about controversy over the planned statue between FPMT participants and Kushinagari farmers, and the meaning of the statue to both sides.
Laying of the foundation stone in Kushinagar
File:Maitreya Project display.jpg
On Friday 13 December 2013 the State Government of Uttar Pradesh handed over approximately {{convert|275|acre|ha|lk=on}} of land for the site of the Maitreya Project in Kushinagar. The land is immediately adjacent to the Parinirvana Temple denoting the place where Buddha Shakyamuni passed into Parinirvana, and the Rambhar Stupa which marks the holy site of Buddha’s cremation.
On that same day, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, presided over a foundation stone laying ceremony on this land. Maitreya Project's Spiritual Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Board of Trustees of the Maitreya Project Trust attended as state guests.{{cite web|url=http://mandala.fpmt.org/2013/laying-the-foundation-stone-on-maitreya-project-land/|publisher=FPMT|accessdate=29 December 2014|title=Laying the Foundation Stone on Maitreya Project Land|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720101926/http://mandala.fpmt.org/2013/laying-the-foundation-stone-on-maitreya-project-land/|archive-date=20 July 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/12/maitreya-project-kushinagar-news/MP-Kushinagar-Dec-13-2013.pdf|publisher=FPMT|accessdate=29 December 2014|title=Announcement Maitreya Project Kushinagar}}
Finances
[[File:Maitreya Project International Calif Gross Ann Rev 2001-2008.png|thumb|right|Maitreya Project International, California entity, Gross Annual Revenue 2001–2008 in US${{Cite web
| title = Registry Search Feature
| work = Registry of Charitable Trusts (RCT)
| publisher = Office of the Attorney General, State of California
| url = http://rct.doj.ca.gov/MyLicenseVerification/Search.aspx?facility=Y
| accessdate = 2010-06-22}}
]]
The Project reports for 1990–2008 outgoings of more than US$20 million and investment of more than US$11 million.{{cite web
| title = summary
| work = Maitreya Project website
| publisher = Maitreya Project International
| url = http://www.maitreyaproject.org/downloads/MPRecPay1990-2008.pdf
| accessdate = 2013-01-24}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
Nita Ing has taken over responsibility for the funding of the statue in Bodhgaya.{{cite web|last=Kedge|first=Peter|title=Letter from Mr Peter Kedge|url=http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/#a3|publisher=Maitreya Project|access-date=18 September 2007|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235222/http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/#a3|url-status=usurped}}
Criticism
There has been criticism in the press about some aspects of the Project,{{cite news | first=Daniel | last=Pepper | title=Indian farmers oppose giant Buddha statue | date=2007-09-10 | publisher=The First Church of Christ, Scientist | url =http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0910/p06s02-wosc.html | work =The Christian Science Monitor }}{{cite news | first=Abdul | last=Qadir | title=Heavy police deployment made for Kalchakra | date=2003-01-09 | publisher=Times Internet Limited | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/33810155.cms | work =The Times of India | accessdate = 2008-03-04 }}{{cite news | title=Contemplating the Navel | publisher=Friends of the Western Buddhist Order | url=http://www.dharmalife.com/issue15/contemplating_navel.html | work=Dharma Life, issue 15 | accessdate=2008-03-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402230734/http://www.dharmalife.com/issue15/contemplating_navel.html | archive-date=2 April 2008 | url-status=dead }}{{cite news | first= Daniel| last=Pepper | title=Villagers fight plan for giant Buddha | date=2007-09-20 | publisher= News World Communications, Inc.| url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070920/FOREIGN/109200032/1003/foreign |
work=The Washington Times| accessdate = 2008-04-27}}{{cite web
|url=http://www.wildriverreview.com/airmail_india-maitreya.php
|title=Bodhi Blues — A Year in India: Questioning The Maitreya Project: What would the Buddha do?
|accessdate=2008-03-04
|last=Falcone
|first=Jessica
|work=Wild River Review
|publisher=Wild River Review
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211164119/http://www.wildriverreview.com/airmail_india-maitreya.php
|archive-date=2008-02-11
|url-status=dead
|url=http://www.wildriverreview.com/airmail_india.php
|title=Bodhi Blues — A Year in India: What would the Buddha Do? The Debate Continues...
|accessdate=2008-03-04
|last=Falcone
|first=Jessica
|work=Wild River Review
|publisher=Wild River Review
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209213314/http://www.wildriverreview.com/airmail_india.php
|archive-date=2008-02-09
|url-status=dead
}} including the compulsory acquisition, under "India's Land Acquisition Act", by the State Government of {{convert|660|acre|km2}} of private land, homes and small farms; which are intended to be leased to the Project, for construction of the statue and related infrastructure, including "landscaped park housing a cathedral, monastery, convent, guesthouse, library and food halls...".{{cite web |url=http://www.arosltd.com/searchresults.php |title=X80F_Maitreya revised.pdf |accessdate=2008-03-04 |format=PDF |work=Aros Architects website |publisher=Aros Architects }}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Peter Kedge, former Director and CEO of the Maitreya Project has posted a number of replies to these criticisms.{{cite web | first=Peter | last=Kedge | url=http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/updates/2007-09.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128123136/http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/updates/2007-09.html | url-status=usurped | archive-date=28 November 2007 | title=Maitreya Project, Latest Update, September 2007 |accessdate=2007-11-10 |work=Maitreya Project International website: Maitreya Project Update |publisher=Maitreya Project International I.O.M.}}{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Kedge | title=Maitreya Project Status & Fact Reference, September 2009 | date=September 2009 | publisher=Maitreya Project International I.O.M. | url =http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/updates/2009-07.html | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110323123139/http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/updates/2009-07.html | url-status =usurped | archive-date =23 March 2011 | work =Maitreya Project International website | accessdate = 2009-09-26 }}
Following the 1,262nd day of "peaceful dharna", in August 2010, by the majority of local farmers against the compulsory acquisition of their farms, the Cabinet Secretary of Uttar Pradesh announced a reconsideration of support for the Project.{{cite web
| last = Manjul
| first = Tarannum
| title = Farmers' protests may drive away Maitreya Buddha project to Bihar
| work = The Indian Express
| publisher = The Indian Express Limited
| date = 2010-08-24
| url = http://www.indianexpress.com/news/farmers-protests-may-drive-away-maitreya-buddha-project-to-bihar/664116/0
| accessdate = 2012-07-04}}
References
{{reflist}}
Academic Papers
Falcone, Jessica. 2011. “[https://info-buddhism.com/The_Buddhist_Lama_and_the_Indian_Farmer-Negotiating_Modernity-and_Tradition-Falcone_Jessica.html The Buddhist Lama and the Indian Farmer: Negotiating Modernity and Tradition in the Development Plans for Kushinagar, India.]” In Inequality in a Globalizing World: Perspectives, Processes, and Experiences, edited by Sangeeta Parashar Nandikotkur and Yong Wang, 107-117. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing.
External links
{{Commons category|Maitreya Project}}
- [https://fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/holy-objects-fund/maitreya/ Maitreya Project page of the FPMT website]
- [https://www.youtube.com/user/maitreyaproject Videos posted on YouTube by Maitreya Project]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20051111102536/http://wm9.easystream.co.uk/maitreya/dec04/largestStatue_384k.wmv BBC Documentary]
- Pepper, Daniel [http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=42,4830,0,0,1,0 Giant Buddha's tough love will drive out poor] The Scotsman, 9 September 2007 on The Buddhist Channel
- Aros Architects [https://web.archive.org/web/20040905021028/http://www.arosltd.com/projects.php?id=24 Kushingar Masterplan] with location map and simulated aerial view
- [http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fearing-unrest-up-govt-scales-down-maitreya-buddha-project/795605/ Fearing unrest, UP govt scales down Maitreya Buddha project] Indian Express, Thu 26 May 2011.
{{Colossal Buddha statues}}
{{Statues in India}}
Category:Colossal Buddha statues in India
Category:Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
Category:Proposed statues in India