The Enlightenment of Maitreya
At this time, the great bodhisattva, awaiting underneath the bodhi tree, will illuminate the entire region around him with a golden halo emanating from his body. All the gods and brahmaas of the ten thousand universes, having followed him during his renunciation and paying tributes by music and dance, will continue to sing his praises. The sky will fill with showers of heavenly fragrant flowers. Then that mahaabodhisattva, taking up his Diamond throne under the bodhi tree, which itself is like a parasol made of emeralds, will sit in the hall of the universe illuminated by the golden light of the moon and surrounded like a curtain by the Cakravate mountains. Multitudes of gods and men will await in hopeful fashion. The great bodhisattva will then develop the special power of remembering past births during the first watch of the night; during the second watch, he will cultivate the power of seeing distant things; and in the last watch of the night while meditating on the twelve facets of pratiityasamutpaada in ascending and descending orders, he will gain omniscience and attain buddhahood just as the first rays of the morning sun appear.
Instantaneously, as on the day of his conception, the thirty-two auspicious signs will appear. The ten thousand universes will be adorned with earthly and divine flowers thickly and tightly arranged in wreaths on tables of floral design. That omniscient Maitreya, having attained all-perceiving wisdom making the entire world filled with celebration, will begin to express his exultation in words [after] spending seven weeks [in meditation on dhamma) under the bodhi (tree).
