We are coming to learn of more and more teachers using or trying to capitalize on the name of Maitreya. When you think about it, it's a natural, as attractive a marketing ploy in the generic seeker community as the 2nd Coming would be among certain Xians. Even better really, since who wants to get nailed up again, or offed by some wingnut as the Antichrist?

After i listed my third Maitreya, a discussion in GRF pointed to the idea of a page devoted to this phenom. A Google search turned up a few more and Bob's your uncle! We got us a page.

I have to say most look pretty mediocre. From a statistical POV it almost looks like it would be a good bet when seeing this name to run the other way. Perhaps eventually, it will not be a good marketing idea. But till then . . . it will always appeal to the ignorant and/or credulous. Caveat fucking emptor, folks.

Without further ado:

The official Buddhist version – well, there are many, since there is no one central "official Buddhist" line on almost anything – but perhaps a sort of representative one might be this, from Lama Thubten Yeshe.

Or, there is the Maitreya Project, a more or less cross-denominational effort of Buddhists everywhere which is "building a magnificent 500ft / 152m bronze statue of Maitreya Buddha. Constructing the statue - because the essence of Maitreya Buddha is loving-kindness and peace - will provide a symbol to bless and transform the mind and heart of everyone in the world. The statue will be located at Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, in northern India close to the place of the historical Buddha's passing away. It will be constructed as a Buddhist cathedral for the public and will be designed to last at least 1,000 years so it can act as a catalyst for peace for a full millennium."

There are many other sites and pages with varying tilts on this, Maitreya the Friend and Compassionate, accessible in a folksy way, if he ever arrives, that Gautama Buddha, 25 centuries gone, was not. 

Whatever, today's wannabes are latching onto this big-time, and it's largely outside the "authentic"  Buddhist streams, with some very non-Buddhist spin. The Maitreyas i already list now are:

Maitreya (D) The shadowy mysterioso near-entity promoted by Benjamin Creme of Share International, to whom thousands of "appearances" and miracles have been attributed but, well, the faithful believe and skeptics don't.

Maitreya Ishwara (M) aka Swami Anand Bhaskar about whom lots has been said. No explicit claim to "Maitreyahood" – though plenty of other outlandish claims – "Maitreya" is just a name.

Buddha Maitreya (T) aka Ronald Lloyd Spencer, Tulku Karma Sonam Phuntsok Rinpoche, Babaji, Tulku Je Tsong Khapa Gyalwa Rinpoche, Lama Dorje Buddha Maitreya Jesus Archangel Michael, phew, enough already, is the most explicitly Buddhist of the lot, claiming endorsements of various authentic Tibetans. 

It is he who started the ball rolling, when one of my GRF members wrote:

And of course there are the outside anti-sites, Rick Ross and Cult News for this guy.

Maitreya (O) aka Jose Antonio Cangco, "prophesied by T Lobsang Rampa" indeed. Say no more. (Note also the Rampa connection for Louix DD below, at his entry)

Maitreya (C) about whom little is said but the pic is of a frumpy old man playing dressup, the site all mumbo-jumbo and badly connected and genealogy grandiose beyond belief.

Maitreya Adhyatma Bhagavan Sri Babajhan Al-Kahlil (O) aka John Lee Douglas, Adhyatma Bhagavan the Friend,  little bio-info, offers trademarked and servicemarked orgs and courses.

And Louix Dor Dempriey (D) aka Bhagavan Sri Pranananda has a page entitled "Maitreya Revelation," which contains the delightful bit i have quoted in part in his entry, in full, the Maitreyus Balonus species at its most florid:

Besides the guys i list, i found a number of other similar pretenders, voidoids and other-plane wafters, a few of which i include below:

IJ Francisc Maitreya, M Romanian, Master in Yoga of Cosmic Fire, "I perform treatments using the Cosmic Energy, operations without lancet." d in hospital 2003.

Sananda Maitreya new name of the 80s / 90s soul musician Terence Trent D'Arby.

Lord Maitreya Ascended Master, Cosmic Christ and Planetary Buddha, available only through channels, primarily of the EC Prophet strain.

Maitreya Genesis 1:3 The Second Beast, The False Prophet . . . "Maitreya is associated with some kind of 'chemical' that hypnotizes people . . . Poisonous - Perfume - Perfumed - Toxic - Pestilent - Lethal" – Bible Code freaks, but maybe they're onto something. Or maybe they're just on something.

And last but . . . well maybe it IS least:
meaning of life Maitreya takes you to the journey of soul karmic analysis maitreya's mission on earth Recycle your soul, Send a Love Card to your beloved friend with Maitreya's Message on Love, Friendship, Marriage & Happiness etc.

. . . . . . . .

A suitable epilogue might be something from the Land of Osho:

He said on occasion that Buddha would not necessarily "come again" in a new body with this name but that Maitreya represents a new paradigm, of the Master as a friend, a less formal, less hierarchical and less serious form of relating than the old master-disciple game.

And finally, a much-loved anecdote from Osho's sangha: Once he named a group of 21 disciples as enlightened. Certain "expected" names were included, some were omitted, and there were also surprises. A few weeks later he announced that it was all just a joke, a device to puff up some egos and see who would do what with it.

Two of these 21 were Indian, and had some understanding of what it meant to be enlightened. One of them, Vinod, went to Osho in tears and begged to be let off this excruciating hook, because he knew he wasn't enlightened. Osho told him to relax, okay, he wasn't enlightened. The other Indian just laughed about it and said Osho is a rascal.

Three years later that man died, at which point Osho said he really was enlightened and understood what he was up to. That man's name was Swami Anand Maitreya.