Legends and myths about trees
Trees in Buddhism (3)
The Golden Wheel King – Maitreya appearing once every 3,000 years with the the flowers of the udumbara (Ref)
His body colour is gold, crowned with a crown of seven treasures, and light emanates from its entire body. He makes a sign and sits in the full lotus position on a lotus flower decorated with the seven treasures. The lotus flower on which he is seated has a jeweled crown and a treasure pond beneath it.
The most outstanding of the Wheel-Turning Kings, the Golden Wheel King, has an extremely superior merit of the buddhosnisa (the superior brain of Tathagata, the divinity of the intellect to save people).
According to the description in the Buddhist scriptures, the concept of the Wheel-Turning King (Pali: chakravarti, Skt. cakravartin) was roughly as follows.
The world goes through cycles of prosperity and decline. In times of prosperity, the human lifespan is 80,000 years, but as human virtue is lost, the lifespan becomes shorter, and in the age of darkness, when all good is lost, it is 10 years. Thereafter, human virtue is restored, and once again we enter the age of prosperity, when the lifespan is 80,000 years.
It is during this age of prosperity that the transmigration of the Wheel-Turning King will emerge, as a result of his good deeds in his previous lives. He has the same 32 auspicious signs (Ref), signifying a great being like the Buddha, and rules the earth up to the four oceans with the power of the law, without using force of arms.
There are 4 types of Wheel-Turning Kings: the Golden Wheel King, the Silver Wheel King, the Bronze Wheel King, and the Iron Wheel King. The Iron Wheel King has the Iron Wheel and rules over one of the 4 continents that were considered to exist on the earth in the ancient Indian worldview. Likewise, the Copper Wheel King has the Copper Wheel and rules over two continents, and the Silver Wheel King has the Silver Wheel and rules over three continents. The Golden Wheel King, the highest Wheel-Turning King, has the Golden Wheel and rules all 4 continents. For this reason, the Golden Wheel King, like the Wheel-Turning Kings, is surrounded by his seven attributes.
The seven treasures and four divine virtues of the Wheel Turning Sage King:
Chakraratna wheel: rolls in all directions and makes the king level the earth.
Elephant treasure (hatthiratana): a pure white elephant that also flies in the sky.
Horse treasure (assaratana): pure white horses that also fly in the sky.
Octagonal gem treasure (maniratana): jewels whose luminous emanations can reach as high as 1yojana (7mi/12–15 km).
His queen (itthiratana): a dutiful and chaste queen with good looks and fragrance.
Finance minster (gahapatiratana): wealthy citizens who support the state.
General treasure (parinayakaratana): a wise, capable and skilled general.
They are also said to possess the four divine virtues:
good looks
long life
Fewer illnesses, fewer worries
Respect from Brahmin Gahapati and compassion for them
木にまつわる伝説・神話
仏教の樹木 (3)
金輪王 (こんりん‐おう) 〜 3000年に一度、うどんげの花（参照）とともに現れる弥勒菩薩
体色は金色で七宝冠を戴き全身から光を放つ。印を結んで七宝で飾られた蓮の花の上に結跏趺坐する。座っている蓮華の下に輪宝、さらにその下に宝池がある。
転輪聖王のうち最も優れた金輪王は、仏頂尊 (如来の優れた頭脳、人々を救済する知性を神格化したもの)の霊験が極めて優れている。
仏典の記述によれば、転輪聖王 (てんりんじょうおう、転輪王とも)の概念とは大まかに以下のようなものであった:
世界は繁栄と衰退の循環を繰り返し、繁栄の時には人間の寿命は8万年であるが、人間の徳が失われるにつれて寿命は短くなり、全ての善が失われた暗黒の時代には10年となる。その後、人間の徳は回復し、再び8万年の寿命がある繁栄の時代を迎える。
転輪聖王が出現するのはこの繁栄の時代であり、彼は前世における善行の結果、転輪聖王として現れる。ブッダのような大いなる存在を意味する32の希少で特別な身体的特徴（参照）を持ち、4つの海に至るまでの大地を、武力を用いる事無く、法の力を以って統治する。
転輪聖王には金輪王、銀輪王、銅輪王、鉄輪王の4種類がある。鉄輪王は鉄の輪宝を持ち、古代インドの世界観で地球上に4つあるとされた大陸のうち、1つの大陸を支配する。同様に銅輪王は銅の輪宝を持ち、2つの大陸を、銀輪王は銀の輪宝を持ち、3つの大陸を支配する。そして最上の転輪聖王である金輪王は、金の輪宝を持ち、4つの大陸全てを支配するという。そのため金輪王の周りには、転輪聖王が従えるという七つの宝が配置されている。
転輪聖王は七種の宝と徳性を持つと言う：
輪宝 (ﾁｬｯｶﾗﾀﾅ): 四方に転がり、王に大地を平定させる
象宝 (ﾊｯﾃｨﾗﾀﾅ): 空をも飛ぶ純白の象
馬宝 (ｱｯｻﾗﾀﾅ): 空をも飛ぶ純白の馬
珠宝 (ﾏﾆﾗﾀﾅ): 発する光明が1由旬(12–15 km)にも達する宝石
女宝 (ｲｯﾃｨﾗﾀﾅ): 美貌と芳香を持つ従順かつ貞節な王妃
居士宝 (ｶﾞﾊﾊﾟﾃｨﾗﾀﾅ): 国を支える財力ある市民
将軍宝 (ﾊﾟﾘﾅｰﾔｶﾗﾀﾅ): 賢明さ、有能さ、練達を備えた智将
また四種の神徳を持つと言う：
美貌
長寿
少病少悩
バラモン・ガハパティからの敬愛と彼らに対する慈愛
