Another source adds:

Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, is the harbinger of a new age, who awaits his final rebirth as Buddha in his Tushita
Heaven of Joy. His role was especially celebrated in the pantheon and rituals of the reformed Gelugpa order as the next
Buddha as well as the source of a significant group of tantras. Tsongkhapa named his first monastery Ganden, after
Maitreya's heaven, and he and his followers "went to Ganden" when they died. Maitreya fulfilled many needs, both
spiritual and political. He was the anointed heir-apparent to Shakyamuni and the model for kings and emperors who saw
themselves as enlightened chakravartin world rulers. Tibetan and Mongolian monasteries usually housed Maitreya
images, which were used in the annual Maitreya Festival instituted by Tsongkhapa in 1409 and promulgated in Mongolia
by Zanabazar after his miraculous, fateful visit with the Panchen Lama in 1655. 

Held at the New Year in Da Khree (Urga), the Maitreya Festival had great appeal to Buddhists in Tibet and Mongolia
yearning for stability after years of political uncertainty. Zanabazar must have understood the complex ramifications of his
devotion to Maitreya; he is known to have focused on him in his own prayers and practice. He also cast images of the
Future Buddha, several of which survive.

At least two representations of Maitreya attributed to Zanabazar's hand follow a classic, Nepalese-inspired model, best
seen in a Tibetan Maitreya from Narthang, dated to 1190 (fig. 1). One is now kept at Gandantegchinlin Monastery in
Ulaanbaatar (fig. 2) and the second and larger of the two, seen here, was the very Maitreya used in the annual festival
held at Da Khree, Zanabazar's monastic encampment. Yet another, strikingly similar image, which bears all the earmarks
of Zanabazar's own work, has a double-lobed aureole and a square pedestal (see Bartholomew, "Introduction to the Art
of Mongolia," fig. 5).

In all these works, the Future Buddha is shown as a young bodhisattva. His hair, once washed blue, is piled high in a
Brahmanic style that repeats the form of the stupa-reliquary resting above his brow. He holds in his left hand a kundika
bottle filled with the elixir of immortality and raises his right hand in the vitarka mudra, the gesture of argumentation. His
nearly evanescent dhoti is ringed by two sashes and crossed with a Brahmanic thread. A flayed antelope skin covers his
left shoulder. The lotus pedestal that supports his smooth, flat, nearly ankleless feet is radically simplified into a form
Zanabazar often used, with two rows of upturned petals interspersed with round tipped stamens.

-P.B. 

Published: Tsultem, Mongolian Sculpture, fig. 78; Beguin, Tresors de Mongolie, no. 6

THE Treasure is returning from the West. On the mountains the fires of jubilation are kindled. Behold the road! There walk those who carry the Stone. Upon the Shrine are the signs of Maitreya. Out of the Sacred Kingdom is given the date when the carpet of expectation may be spread. By the sign of the seven stars shall the Gates be opened. By fire shall I manifest My messengers. Gather the prophecies of your happiness. Thus are fulfilled the prophecies of the ancestors and the writings of the wise ones. Gather thy understanding to hail the Predestined. When in the Fifth Year the heralds of the warriors of Northern Shambhala shall appear, gather understanding to meet them. And receive the New Glory! I shall manifest My Sign of Lightning. 

I have many treasures but only upon the appointed day may I bestow them upon My People. When the legions of Northern Shambhala shall bring the Spear of Salvation then shall I uncover the depths of the mountains and you shall divide My treasures equally among the warriors and yourselves and live in justice. The time shall soon come for that command of Mine: to cross all deserts. When My gold was scattered by the winds I ordained the day when the people of Northern Shambhala would come to gather My possessions. Then shall My people prepare their bags for the treasures. And to each shall I give a just share. 

# # # 

One may find sands of gold. One may find precious gems. But the true wealth shall come only with the People of Northern Shambhala. When the time is come to send Them forth. Thus is ordained. The approaching Maitreya is symbolized with His feet set upon earth-the symbol of haste. It is predicted that the manifestation of Maitreya shall come after the wars. But the final war shall be for the True Teaching. But each one rising up against Shambhala shall be stricken in all his works. And the waves shall wash away his dwelling. And even a dog shall not answer to his call. Not clouds but lightning shall he see on the final night. And the red messenger shall rise up on pillars of Light. The teaching indicates that each warrior of Shambhala shall be named the Invincible.

The Lord Himself hastens. And His Banner is already above the mountains. The Blessed Buddha bestowed upon you the cherished Maitreya to approach the New Era. Thy Pastures shall reach the Promised Land. When thou tendest thy flocks, cost thou not hear the voices of the stones? These are the toilers of Maitreya who make ready the treasures for thee. Fulfilled is the circle of the bearing of the Image! In the sites of Buddha; in the sites of Maitreya is brought the Image. Pronounced is "Kalagiya," as the banner of the Image unfurls. 

What has been said is as true as that under the Stone of Chum lies the Prophecy of Sacred Shambhala. The Banner of Shambhala shall encircle the central lands of the Blessed One. Those who accept Him shall rejoice. And those who deny him shall tremble. The Tashi Lama shall ask the Great Dalai Lama: "What is predestined for the last Dalai Lama?" The denier shall be given ova to justice and shall be forgotten. And the warriors shall march under the banner of Maitreya. And the city of Lhassa shall be obscured and deserted. "Those rising against Shambhala shall be cast down. To the obscured ones the Banner of Maitreya shall flow as blood over the lands of the new world. To those who have understood, as a red sun. The Tashi Lama shall find the Great Dalai Lama and the Great Dalai Lama shall thus address him: "I will send thee the worthiest sign of my lightning. Go, overtake Tibet! The ring shall guard thee."