MAITREYA BUDDHA

Maitreya Buddha

           According to some traditions, the period of the Buddhist Law is divided into three stages: a first period of 500 years is of the turning of the Wheel of Law, a second period of 1000 years is of its deterioration,and the third period of 3000 years is the one during which no one practices the Law. After this, Buddhism having disappeared, a new Buddha will appear who will again turn the Wheel . This future Buddha is known as Maitreya. It is believed that Gautama Buddha himself enthroned him as a successor.

The word 'Maitreya' is derived from the Sanskrit word for friendliness. Thus this Bodhisattva is fundamentally said to embody the qualities of amiability and an attitude of well- meaning sympathy.