In a time long past, Maitreya was in his incarnation as a laughing, big-bellied monk with a sack perpetually on his back.
He used to travel about the countryside seeking alms and sharing them with whomever happened to be nearby.
He would customarily sit under a tree, surrounded by young children,
to whom he would tell stories to illustrate Buddhist teachings.
Seeing this, an elder monk became annoyed at what he perceived as untoward conduct on the part of Maitreya.
One day, he cornered Maitreya and tried to test him with the
following question: "Old monk, pray tell me, just what do you think is
the essence of the Buddha's teachings?"
Maitreya stopped for a moment, looked him in the eye, and just let his sack fall to the ground.
As the puzzled monk wondered what to make of this singular action, Maitreya bent down, picked up his sack and walked away.
Dropping the sack, "letting go", forgive and forget -- that is the teaching of Maitreya, the Buddha of the future.
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