Countless aeons ago, Maitreya, whilemaking many offerings, took the bodhisattva vows from the Tathagata, Great Power, in the presence of many other Buddhas. From that moment on, he has guided countless sentient beings along the path of the three higher trainings — discipline, concentration and wisdom — thereby leading them to enlightenment.

While practising as a bodhisattva, he specialised in the meditation on great love, teaching this path to others, while meditating on it himself continuously. Maitreya often stationed himself at the gates of the city and contemplated long and hard on loving- kindness. So powerful was his meditation that people coming and going through the gates, if they would pass close enough to touch his feet, would themselves receive the realisation of great love. This greatly pleased all the exalted beings of the ten directions. The Tathagatas rejoiced in his actions and predicted that in his future lives, as a bodhisattva and as a Buddha, he would be known by the name "Love", Maitreya.