Maitreya Thangka

Maitreya Thangka — Jampa, the Future Buddha of Loving-Kindness

Maitreya (Tibetan: Jampa, “Loving-Kindness”) is the Buddha of the future age — the fifth and coming Buddha who currently resides in Tushita Heaven, awaiting the time when the Dharma of Shakyamuni has completely faded from the world before descending to teach again. Golden-yellow and serene, he is depicted seated in the Western manner (legs pendant, feet on a lotus footrest) rather than in vajra posture — a unique iconographic feature signifying his readiness to rise and descend to earth. He holds a dharma wheel on a lotus at his right shoulder and a vase of nectar on a lotus at his left, and wears the crown and ornaments of a bodhisattva. Maitreya is invoked for the cultivation of loving-kindness (metta), the aspiration to meet his teachings in a future life, and the purification of the karma that obstructs rebirth in Tushita Heaven.

Who Should Choose a Maitreya Thangka

  • For loving-kindness (metta) practice → Maitreya embodies boundless loving-kindness — his thangka supports metta meditation and the cultivation of bodhichitta.
  • For Tushita aspiration practice → recite the Maitreya aspiration prayer to accumulate the merit for rebirth in Tushita Heaven and to meet Maitreya’s teachings in a future life.
  • For students of the Lam Rim → Maitreya is the source of the Lam Rim lineage through Asanga — his thangka is traditionally placed at the study altar of Lam Rim practitioners.
  • For a serene, luminous altar centerpiece → Maitreya’s golden, peaceful form and unique seated posture make him one of the most visually distinctive and uplifting thangka subjects in the Tibetan tradition.