Another thesis asserts that Miroku Bosatsu was created by incorporating the sun god ミスラ, who had been admired in Western Asia and believed in as Bosatsu, so that its character as the savior stemmed from this.
弥勒菩薩は、西アジアで崇められた太陽神ミスラが仏教に取り入れられ、菩薩として信仰されたものとする説もあり、その救世主的性格はここに由来するという。