The adjective maitreya has been given as the name of a Bodhisattva and future Buddha—the fifth in the current line, Siddhartha Gautama being the fourth—Maitreya meaning ‘Loving one’.

But Maitreya is not really an individual destined to appear at the end of time. For as Thich Nhat Hanh has foreseen, the next Buddha is the sangha or community, cognate with Maitreya. This is in marked contrast with the eschatological prophecies of the other religions. For instance, the Jews expect the Messiah, the Christians the second coming of Christ (Parousia), together with the anti-Christ, the Muslims the Mahdi, and the Hindus the Kalki Avatar.