Maitreya Buddha is regarded as the Buddha who will be born in the future. It is said that his birth will take place in the city of Ketumati ruled by Chakravarti King Sankha.

Maitreya Buddha is yellow in color. He is seated on a jeweled throne. He is in the Buddha posture. His hands, on his heart, make the Dharmachakra mudra. He holds the stems of two lotuses one bearing a wheel and a vase.

It is said that Shakyamuni Buddha, before leaving Tushita heaven, announced that Maitreya would be his successor. He also predicted that because of the inevitable degeneration of the times, his own teachings would last just five thousand years before disappearing from this world. People will grow more and more immoral and their life span will gradually decrease, as well as their health and fortune. While such delusions as miserliness, hatred and jealousy gain strength, the world will go through prolonged periods of famine, disease and continuos warfare until it eventually resembles a vast battlefield or graveyard. Thereupon Maitreya will appear, not his fully evolved Buddha form, but as a person with regal bearing, very handsome and taller than those around him. On seeing this unusual being, people will be filled with wonder and faith and will ask how he became such attractive. Maitreya Buddha will then reply, 鈥淚t was through the practice of patience, avoiding giving harm to others. Of you too abide in love and tolerance; you shall also become similar to me.鈥?Maitreya, the Future Buddha is also popular in Theravada countries. His images can be found in paintings and sculptures in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand.