Maitreya Buddha in Han Buddhism is known as Jampa Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism; among the Buddhas of the three periods, he is the future Buddha, Dipamkara is the past Buddha and Shakyamuni is the present Buddha.
According to the sutra, Maitreya was born in a Brahmin family in the country of Kapali of ancient India, during the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. He took ordination and became a disciple of Shakyamuni, and passed away before Shakyamuni entered parinirvana.
According to the prediction of Shakyamuni, after Maitreya left this world, he will be born in the palace of Tushita Heaven, where he will teach the dharma to the heavenly beings there. 5.67 billion years after Shakyamuni entered Parinirvana, he will descend from Tushita Heaven to the human world.
In Tibet, Jampa Buddha is one of the main buddhas worshipped in the Buddha Hall. Jampa Buddha is Maitreya Buddha in Han Budddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism, Jampa Buddha, the future Buddha, is in-charge of the future, thus he is highly valued by the devotees.
Tushita Pure Land also known as Tushita Inner Court (Sanskrit: Tushita, Tibetan: Ganden, means Joyous), is the place where the next-Buddha resides.
Though Maitreya Bodhisattva has attained the Buddha state long ago, for the benefit of sentient beings, he manifests in the form of a bodhisattva, resides in the pure land and awaits for the future causes and conditions to ripen, to be born in the human world, to demonstrate the ways of practice and the path to enlightenment.
Tushita Pure Land is in the middle of the universe, above the summit of Mount Sumeru, at the top of Tushita Heaven. Tushita Heaven is the deity’s realm of the six realms, heavenly beings which reside there are still not liberated from the cycle of birth and death in the six realms. However, Tushita Pure Land is Buddha’s pure land, it is not within the six realms. Master Atisa resides in this pure land. In addition, it is said in the Sutra that in the future, Maitreya will show the way to become a Buddha and to preach the dharma in the human world, besides the exoteric teachings, he will also deliver the supreme and hard to find esoteric teachings.
