Me-le Pusa is also known as Maitreya Bodhisattva. There are some who say Maitreya Buddha or Me-le Fo. In fact Me-le is not a Buddha yet, however those who call him a Buddha are not wrong. To Buddhist, we see that all beings in the universe have the buddha nature already within themselves, and will one day come to realize that,  so we can say that they are all future Buddhas, and Me-le being a tenth level pusa (bodhisattva) only one level away from complete and perfect buddhahood is closer than all those beings to becoming a buddha. Actually, he is closer than all the other tenth level Bodhisattvas to becoming a Buddha. Sakyamuni Buddha, the previous Buddha said that Me-le Pusa would be the next Buddha to enter into this world. 

In the Sutra of Me-le's Next Life becomes a Buddha, Buddha said that after 5.6 billion years Me-le Pusa will enter the human world and become a Buddha under the Dragon Flower Tree. As you read this Me-le Pusa is in the Tusita Heaven awaiting his next life in this very world. 

One might think that it is strange that Me-le Pusa is so fat. This is just the way he teaches those in China. He once appear as a monk in China. No matter what people gave him he would take it happily, always taking. What do you think the people of that time and place thought? This fat greedy old monk. All he does is take and take and take. But in bad times he would give and give and give. The people would think that there was nothing left to give, but then he would pull out something else for the people. All the time that he was giving he was very happy. Now what do you think those same people thought then? 

That was his method of teaching and after he died it became known who he really was, Me-le Pusa. So we should be happy when we take, but even more happy when we give, then we will just be like Me-le Pusa, the next future Buddha. 

There is another reason he is shown as a fat monk. Me-le Pusa made the vow that if anyone rubed his abdomen he would save them when he becomes a Buddha. Here in Taiwan they have a lot of Me-le Pusa statues everywhere. When someone walks by one of them they usually feel drawn to touch it, and which part do think the would touch first? 

If you wish to be saved by Me-le Pusa, move your mouse so that the cursor goes over the top of his abdomen on the image above, that is if you have not already done so.