Maitraiya

Maitreya is the Buddha of the future, also known as the Laughing Buddha, who is the one to follow up on the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. He waits in the Tusita heaven for the moment. He is to appear on earth as the Buddha of the fifth world cycle. At present, he is considered as one of the Dhyani-Bodhisattvas, the creators of the universe. In the future, he will be like Shakyamuni, a mortal manusi Buddha who lives on earth for a while in order to teach mankind the doctrine. Maitreya, ‘the loving one’, is widely worshipped in the Himalayan regions. Shakyamuni Buddha predicted that due to 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 lifespan will gradually decrease, as will their health, stature, and fortune. While such delusions as miserliness, hatred and jealousy gain strength, the world will go through prolonged periods of famine, disease, and continuous warfare until it eventually.