The Story of the Wounded Dog and Maitreya Bodhisattva: What I Remembered During the Initiation

At Jochi-ji Temple in Kita-Kamakura,
I received the Maitreya Bodhisattva initiation of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Maitreya Bodhisattva is the Buddha of compassion.
He is a Buddha currently undergoing training to save all people.

For me, rather than the Japanese word for compassion (jihi),
the Rinpoche's English word 'compassion' is much easier to understand.

Kindness, gentleness toward others, empathy,
the feeling of wanting to do something for someone.

After the initiation, they told me a story often shared in Tibetan Buddhism,
the story of the wounded dog and Maitreya Bodhisattva.

Long ago,
a monk, wishing to perceive Maitreya Bodhisattva,
spent three years in a cave in meditation.
However, he could not perceive Maitreya, so he spent another three years,
and another three... until he had spent 12 years in the cave.

In the 12th year, he finally gave up, thinking, 'Ah, it's impossible. I cannot perceive Maitreya Bodhisattva. Perhaps he doesn't exist,' and left the cave.

Then, he discovered a wounded dog.
The dog's wounds were infested with maggots, and the monk hurriedly tried to suck the maggots out of the wounds to save it, but the dog died.

As the monk lamented that he could do nothing,
the dog transformed into Maitreya Bodhisattva.

The monk asked,
'Why did you not appear during the 12 years I was training, but appear now?' and Maitreya Bodhisattva replied,
'I have been by your side ever since you entered the cave wishing to perceive me. You just could not see me.
You were able to see my form because you felt compassion for the dog.' He then said, 'Now, go out into the town and shout that you have perceived Maitreya Bodhisattva.' The monk shouted, 'I have perceived Maitreya Bodhisattva!' but to everyone else, he just looked like a madman.

To a woman who could see energy a little, it looked like he was carrying a wounded dog in his hands.

He thought he had spent 12 years in training, but
that time was 50 years in the human world,
and only two hours of a morning in the world of Maitreya Bodhisattva.
Like Urashima Taro, he was the only one who remained in his youthful form from 50 years ago, or so the story goes.

What is important is not difficult training, but
having compassion for the person right in front of you.
Having kindness and empathy.

At times, that may appear in an ugly,
filthy form or shape.
It might be someone you dislike.
To most people, it might be invisible, or
even if they see it, within the scope of their understanding,
it may only look like a wounded, filthy dog.

Depending on the dimension, time and form are vastly different.

Long ago, more than 10 years ago,
when I was taking a Laughter Yoga seminar at the School of Ancient Wisdom in South India,
there was a dog covered in blood from a disease
lying on the bed in my room.

It was a room on the second floor.
When I screamed, the dog left, but
my clothes and the bed were covered in blood.
The smell was terrible, and I had to change rooms. Around that time, strangely,

I was liked by the gentle dogs at the facility,
and when I walked,
many dogs would follow me to my room, wagging their tails happily,
and people said I was like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

I was scared at the time.
I even thought, what kind of punishment is it to have a diseased dog lying on my bed?
But at that time,

Dr. Kataria, the founder of Laughter Yoga, said,
'Masami, that dog might be a Buddha.'
I didn't understand what he meant at the time.
However, while listening to the story of Maitreya Bodhisattva and the dog,

I thought, 'Ah!'

Was this the story the doctor was talking about?
I don't know if that dog was truly a Buddha.
But perhaps people only see what is in front of them
in a form they can understand.


And perhaps there are things that only become visible when you have a heart of compassion.

Maitreya Bodhisattva may have been by my side
long before the day of the initiation.

And I believe that surely,
he is by everyone's side.