彌勒信仰在回鶻中流行時間長、傳播廣、影響大，可以說是回鶻佛教 的一大特色。回鶻佛教主要是在漢傳佛教的影響下形成，故其經典、教義都與中 原地區相差不大。回鶻之彌勒信仰也是在漢傳佛教的強大影響下形成的。彌勒， 雖有佛弟子、菩薩、未來佛等多種身份，但在印度佛教中，他多以菩薩身份出現， 但在中國，更多地以未來佛的身份而為人敬仰。受其影響，回鶻人一般也都不稱 其為菩薩，而寫作彌勒佛（Maitri Burxan）。四∼八世紀間，彌勒佛信仰在中原 及西域地區都非常流行。九世紀以後，彌勒佛信仰在中原地區漸趨衰落，但在回 鶻中卻一直盛行不衰，直到十五世紀佛教在回鶻中消亡為止。 在敦煌、吐魯番出土的回鶻文獻中，有大量的回鶻文寫經題記和發願文都將 與彌勒佛相會、往生兜率天宮作為信仰的終極目的，著名的回鶻文《彌勒會見記》 （Maitrisimit）就是彌勒信仰在古代回鶻人中盛行的真實寫照。由於受這種信仰 的影響，回鶻人在翻譯佛經時，往往會有意地在文末加上一些彌勒崇拜的內容， 有時還特地選譯一些與彌勒崇拜有關的高僧傳記，如《大慈恩寺三藏法師傳》。 其中特別有趣的現象是譯者勝光法師（Sangqu srli Tutung）在翻譯時，有意地強 調並擴充玄奘法師對彌勒崇拜的內容。

　　　　　The worship of Maitreya spread far and wide in the Uighurs. The practice was in vogue for a long period of time, and its influence was significant. Maitreya worship is a major characteristic of Uighur Buddhism, which took shape under the influence of Chinese Buddhism and therefore does not differ much from Buddhism in the central plains in terms of sutras, doctrine. Maitreya worship in the Uighurs also developed under the strong influence of Chinese Buddhism. Despite his many roles as a Shravaka, Bodhisattva, and future Buddha, Maitreya mostly appears as a Bodhisattva in Indian Buddhism. In China, however, he is mostly worshipped as a future Buddha. During the period from 4th to 8th Centuries A.D., Maitreya worship was very popular in China. Under this influence, the Uighurs also called him Maitri Burxan (Maitreya Buddha) rather than Bodhisattva. After 9th Century A.D., Maitreya worship declined in the central plains, but continued to flourish in the Uighurs until the 15th Century, when Buddhism declined in the Uighurs. In the Uighur literature excavated from Duen Huang and Turpan, a large bulk of the chronicles (題記) and prayers were written with the motif of meeting Maitreya Buddha and being reborn in Tushita. The famous Maitrisimit (Encounter with Maitreya) is realistically reflects the popularity of Maitreya worship in the ancient Uighurs. Influenced by this practice, the Uighur translators would add some contents related to Maitreya worship at the end of their sutra translations. Sometimes they would even add the life story of highly accomplished Sangha member, such as Master Sanzang (三藏) of Dacien (大慈恩) Monastery.　Of special interest is the translator Singqu Sali Tutung's deliberate emphasis on Xuan-zang's (玄奘) worship of Maitreya in his translations.