Maitreya is the only coming Buddha mentioned. It is also known in Mahayana and is particularly important in Tibetan Buddhism. There he is one of the so-called Eight Great Bodhisattvas, also called the Eight Great Sons of Buddha. According to the Pali canon, Maitreya is currently and until his appearance on earth in the Tushita heaven, the fourth highest of the six deva worlds located within the sensory world, in which all Buddhas live before their final rebirth.

The depictions sometimes show Maitreya standing, but mostly sitting. In contrast to other Buddha or Bodhisattva representations, his feet touch the ground, which symbolizes that he has not yet completely taken his place. In many depictions he holds a water vessel in his left hand.