According to extant materials, the first devoted to Maitreya cult was Tao-an(312-385) and his disciples in Chinese Buddhism. They were followed Hinayana tradition of meditation, and Agama Sutra, Pancavimsatisahasrika-prajnaparamita Sutra as well. After Tao-an of Eastern Chin period, it is just a few monks practicing Maitreya cult in Chinese Buddhism until Sui and the early T’ang Periods. This study aims to shed light on the influence of Maitreya cult from the sixth century to ninth century. This study divides into two categories: one is for those who practiced Lotus Sutra, which some monks from T’ien-t’ai School were followed. The other is Hsuan-tsang (602-664) and his chief disciple K’uei-chi (632-682). After propagating of K’uei-chi, Maitreya-cult was wildly accepted and propitious in the early period of eighth century. In order to compare to the two cults : Maitreya and Amitabha , this study draws attention to some materials of Pure Land school, and try to seek comparable between this two cults, find the highest peck of Maitreya cult in Chinese Buddhism as well.
