I recently got to know (as written at this [link](https://quangduc.com/a52421/1-buddha-maitreya)) the [Aṭṭha Parikkhāra](https://tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia.com/en/index.php/Eight_requisites) (eight requisites) to be given by the [Maha Brahma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabrahma#:~:text=He%20is%20considered%20the%20protector,found%20in%20different%20Buddhist%20cultures.) to [Maitreya/Metteyya Bodhisattva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitreya) at the time of the renunciation has already been created and ready. Is there anything related to this sort of dharma in the Tripitaka?

Just wondering, since enlightenment is the cessation of all suffering, were there other people or beings that had achieved that and were contemporary to buddha. One such candidate may be the Jain leader Mahavira - he is said to have achieved not only freedom from suffering but also omniscience after that. This is just one person, there could have been many others who were fully enlightened but not teaching maybe sitting in a cave or something; especially when one thinks that Buddha himself after his liberation was considering that. So it seems to me a little bit surprising that buddhas have such long waiting period In between them appearing on earth. Did buddha himself resolve this, or comment on anything like this? On the same theme, where did the prophecy of Maitreya-buddha come from - was it shakyamuni-buddha himself who foresaw that? Thanks

Many times I've heard of Budai (pictured below) being associated with Maitreya, the future Buddha. Why is this so and how widespread is this belief? Wikipedia lists a short verse uttered before Budai's death: >Maitreya, the true Maitreya has billions of incarnations. Often he is shown to people at the time; other times they do not recognize him. Is there more to this association or was the simple utterance of that verse so long ago the sole reason for believing that Budai was the bodhisatta?

The title is not meant to be disrespectful, but only to highlight the incongruity of the representation with what I understand of Buddhism. Images of [Maitreya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitreya) in English Wikipedia are modest and comtemplative, but the [Chinese](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BD%8C%E5%8B%92%E8%8F%A9%E8%96%A9) page shows one familliar image with a large, well-fed body, surrounded by riches, and a big happy grin. Where I live these representations of Maitreya are everywhere. It is understandable that as buddhism spread to different cultures certain superficial aspects might be altered to convey ideas in different ways. Here I'm just asking about history of the change. When and where were depictions of the Maitreya buddha first changed so dramatically? **edit:** The question [Why is Budai often associated with the future Buddha Maitreya?](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/8775/11327) suggests to me that this is not actually a representation of Maitreya at all, which conflicts with what I remember and what a google translation of the Chinese Wikipedia page at least *seems to* say. [Source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HK_Sheung_Wan_Hollywood_Road_%E5%A4%A7%E8%82%9A%E5%BD%8C%E5%8B%92%E4%BD%9B_Buddhist_statues.JPG)

How did this idea of next Buddha formed? Is it the influence of other religion where they say Kalki or Christ will return. Also does Pali Canon mention many other Buddha before Gautam Buddha?

How do Mayahana and Vajrayana Buddhists make sense of Maiterya's prophecy? I know for a fact that some e.g. son masters claimed to have achieved anuttara samyak sambodhi, and that some Vajrayana monks have taught Buddhahood in this very body. But if Maitreya is the *next* Buddha, how can that be, given he's still not arrived, and is in the tusita heaven? Are there different kinds of perfect enlightenment, and the above realisations are in some way lesser (or more?) than Maiterya's?

According to Buddhism, Maitreya Buddha is a Buddha who will come some time in the future. Some sources say he will come hundreds of thousands of years from now, but the [Manimekalai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manimekalai) , a 6th century Buddhist epic poem written in the language Tamil, seems to suggest an earlier timeframe. [Here](https://ia801406.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/20/items/manimekhalaiinit031176mbp/manimekhalaiinit031176mbp_tif.zip&file=manimekhalaiinit031176mbp_tif/manimekhalaiinit031176mbp_0184.tif&scale=8&rotate=0) is what chapter 12 of the Manimekalai says: > That dharma, people in this world do not know. But within the circuit of this universe, the devas understand it and at their request **the Deva will come down again to this world from the Tushita Heaven in the year 1616**. Then everyone in this world will feel impelled to practice the doctrine or mercy. My question is, what is this year "1616" that the Manimekalai identifies as the year when Maitreya Buddha will come? What calendar is it using? It's clearly not the Gregorian calendar, since that wasn't in vogue in 6th century India.

Say, the next 30 years? The world is going to undergo great turmoil IMO, as technology outstrips not just need but the reality we live in. Is there much or indeed any chance that Maitreya will appear to help humanity through these changes?

Were Buddhas always born on planet Earth or they can be born on any habitable planets across the universe? How does one Buddha gain knowledge of the existence of the the previous Buddha/Buddhas?

Here is link giving a bit of details that Buddha preached about the decline of Buddhism after parinibbana.

http://www.lawsofthenature.com/GotamaSasana.aspx

I share with you the following passage taken from the page of the above link > The Buddha said that after His parinibbaana, only for 1,000 years will > the monks be able to acquire the analytical knowledge (Patisambhida), > or what we know as Arahanthship or deep knowledge. Then, as time goes > on, they will only be able to attain Anaagami (Never return). And then > only Sakadagami (Once return), and finally, only Sotapanna (Stream > enterer). With the death of the last disciple who has attained > Sotapanna, the attainments will disappear.

Here's my issue with the above. From what I understand is that after a certain period of time after parinibbana, the maximum attainment that one could achieve reduces from arahant to anagami and so on. But this is illogical because if a person attain anaagaami he/she will only have at most 1 life where he/she will become an arahant which makes the above statement false, unless it means that the person will be born as a deva maybe having a very long lifetime until the next Buddha. This is confusing.

The Sasana of Gautama Buddha will last for 5000 years of which more than 2500 years are over. Ariya Maitreya will be the next Buddha. How long will the Sasana of Ariya Maitreya Buddha last?

I've noticed in several places about a coming of another Buddha in the future and a kind of apocalyptic teaching about space and time. Does Buddhism have an apocalyptic cosmology of space and time? Will Maitreya Buddha usher in a cosmological transformation of the universe?