MAITREYA

Maitreya, Metteyya in Pāḷi, means 'The Lovable One' or 'The Friendly One' and is the name that the Buddha of the next era will be known by (D.III,76). At present, Maitreya is a bodhisattva abiding somewhere in the world or perhaps in a heaven realm, practising the spiritual qualities that will lead to his enlightenment in the distant future. In most Buddhist iconography Maitreya is depicted as a beautiful young prince with a stūpa in his crown. In late Chinese art he is often depicted as a rotund smiling figure, so as to emphasize his approachability and warm friendly nature, and is inelegantly and incorrectly dubbed 'Laughing Buddha' by Westerners.