Maitreya searches my mind and says he likes King Crimson's song Moon
Child about a lonely child dancing in the shallows of a river. Maitreya says
that he is in contrast a sun-child dancing in the temple gardens, bounding
over stones in lakes and streams, and giving gifts to nature gods and
bodhisattvas.
Maitreya wears a black kimono covered with shining golden dust. So it is dazzling in the sunlight. His face is joyful and sorrowful at the same time.
He says, "let us walk through the garden." It is a beautiful Japanese garden with sparkling Koi fish, and great boulders that overlook a distant cerulean blue and cobalt ocean. We walk to a shrine with a statue whose halo is full of flames. He says, "This is a place to put sorrow and passion where they will stay safe and will not change. They are not allowed through the gate to my paradise."
I see a great Moon Gate and as we pass, we are lit by different color lights as is the garden. There are chimes and light rains down in sheets. The plants raise their leaves in joy chanting Maitreya's name. The rivers and lakes splash with his mantra. Leaves are imprinted with his mandala.
He says,
The fear of death has made people gluttons for life. They pile up valuables from their lives, as a shield against the coming darkness. Because there is no belief in future good, everything must be horded in the present.What people need is a future that they can believe in and look forward to so that they do not cling so desperately to the past and present. They seek their own salvation at the expense of others. They will let others starve as long as they do not go hungry.
Greed comes from fear. Hatred comes from vanity. Love comes from seeing sympathy and compassion is another person.
At whatever level of human consciousness people are, they will have passions and errors. It is the bodhisattva's role to forgive them, and they have the choice of accepting that forgiveness.
Surrounding my paradise, the universe is full of suffering. There are unmet desires, and unfulfilled vows of revenge. But these are like the disruptive white waters of a great river. They cannot pass the rocks that serve as barriers that surround this place.
I say, lay down your burdens and refresh yourself here. It is a long road to enlightenment, and we are innkeepers for pilgrims on the path. We wash away the dust and give good water and food to eat. As guides, we show the best paths to the pilgrim's destination as we encourage the fearful and love the unloved.