Maitreya Project

"World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just the absence of violence. Peace is the manifestation of human compassion."
— His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The aim of Maitreya Project is to bring:

long-term social and economic benefit to millions of people in northern India.
sustained spiritual benefit to the world community.

The focus of Maitreya Project’s activities is building:

a 500ft/152m bronze statue of the future buddha Maitreya in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh State.
a 150ft/45m statue of Maitreya in Bodhgaya, Bihar State.

In northern India, Kushinagar and Bodhgaya are regions where literacy rates are very low and millions of people are living in extreme poverty, relying on subsistence farming and menial labour.

Maitreya Project will benefit these regions through:

Education for village children from poor families, utilizing a unique curriculum that emphasizes ethical development as well as academic achievement; covering primary, secondary and vocational education.
Healthcare of international standard.
Employment and commerce that will provide work for more than a thousand people during construction as well as creating sustainable jobs for the future and bringing thousands of related employment opportunities to the region.
Supporting tourism in connection with the region’s rich spiritual heritage.
Acting as a catalyst and sustaining influence for many other infrastructural improvements.

Both statues, along with their throne buildings and parks, will be blessed throughout by sacred art that is both traditional and modern.

In both the long and short term, Maitreya Project will contribute significantly to the well-being of the region and aims to become a model of socially responsible development – environmentally sustainable, designed and built to last at least 1,000 years.

And even now, the very heart of Maitreya Project, loving-kindness, is brought to people all over the world through the Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour. The Relic Tour brings together people of all humanitarian and spiritual traditions to create the causes for world peace by sharing the blessings of a unique and precious collection of more than 1,000 sacred Buddhist relics.

These beautiful, high quality replica statues are available to you in exchange for sponsorship of Maitreya Project’s work. We hope everyone will consider bringing the statues into their homes and spiritual centres, and consider placing them in other appropriate public places, to provide a blessing for everyone who sees them, thus creating the causes for peace, happiness and prosperity.
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