How does buddha relate to the deities?

Question

I am doing a school project and cant find the answer to this question anywhere. If you know can you please provide a source.

Answer 1

As the others have stated, the Buddha Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha) did not claim divinity--he only stated he was enlightened and awake, which is what the term "buddha" loosely translates into English. There were Buddhas (enlightened individuals) before Buddha Shakyamuni and there will continue to be Buddhas in the future.

In some Buddhist traditions, for example Tibetan, there are many deities. These may have been incorporated into Buddhism from the Bon religion which predated Buddhism in Tibet. Many modern Buddhists would view these deities more as qualities we should emulate rather than actual personae.

Think of the deities in Buddhism as similar to the saints in Roman Catholicism. I do not look upon Buddhist deities as "Gods" in the traditional Judeo-Christian concept but rather as aspects of a greater power; "God" if you will—just as Roman Catholics view St. Jude as the patron of impossible causes (the manifestation that all things are possible with proper intention); St. Francis of Assisi as the saint of animals and gentleness (manifesting the love of other living beings); etc. In the same vein the deity Tara, for example, is the aspect of total and immediate compassion—it is this aspect that is the mother of all Buddhas—immediate and total unconditional love (giving). You request something and your mother would never deny the request if it is in your best interest—neither would Tara. So, you see, there are many parallels from one belief structure to another.

Another example are the Five Dhyani-Buddhas (i.e., Vairocana, Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghavajra). These are not historical Buddhas in the same sense as Buddha Shakyamuni who actually existed, walked on this planet, and taught the Dharma. The Five Dhyani-Buddhas are what are called "celestial Buddhas." Without delving too deeply, each Dhyani-Buddha embodies one of the five wisdoms which is an antidote to one of the corresponding five deadly poisons (delusion or ignorance, anger or aggression, passion, pride, and envy or jealousy). These poisons are the real dangers to our spiritual progress, keep us tied to worldly existence, and thus keep us from achieving enlightenment.

Each of the Dhyani-Buddhas in the order mentioned above represent the following positive attribute: the wisdom of the universal law; the wisdom of the mirror; the wisdom of equality; the wisdom of distinction and discernment; and the wisdom of accomplishing works. It is believed that the devote should meditate on the Dhyani-Buddhas so that their wisdoms will replace the negative forces that we have permitted to become a part of us.

I'm not sure if this even begins to answer the question for your project which is rather daunting in its scope. You may wish to refer to the sites listed in the source section for additional information.

I do hope this is of some help.

May all be at peace.

John

Answer 2

Buddhism is a spin off from Hinduism. It is claimed the the Hindu God, Lord Vishnu took that sort known as Buddha, so it could look right to mention, sure Buddhism entails different deities hence of Hinduism having deities too.

Answer 3

To be a Buddha means to be in a state of enlightenment. There have been many Buddhas, Shakyamuni is the first recorded and passed his teachings on to others. He is not a deity, he was a common man. A teacher. Nothing more.

Buddhism is a philosohpy that does not address god or gods although they are used in analogous stories to teach lessons by expedient means. They are fictitious characters in a story that are not meant to be taken literally just like the muppets are used on sesame street to teach children ABCs and 123s.

Answer 4

Heaven is one of the six destinies in the Samsara world as described in the scriptures.

Heaven is further divided into 3 realms: desire, form, and formless. The heaven of desire is known commonly (there are 2 sexes, and deities here indulge in 5 senses enjoyment). Heaven of form and formless are where deep meditators are reborn (depending on the level of achievement). There are no sex difference here and no enjoyment from 5 senses (but enjoyment from meditation).

Heaven is still in Samsara world. Deities have a life span ranging from 900 thousand years to 84000 kalpas (each kalpa a formation and destruction of an earth). Very long indeed, and often mistaken as eternal. Upon death, deities could be reborn in any of the other 5 destinies (asura, human, animals, ghosts, hell). And thus Buddha say heaven is still suffering.

Buddha sometimes appear in heaven to teach deities, and deities also came to the earth to pay homage and to listen to teachings. Thus Buddha is also known as the great teacher of deities and human, both capable of achieving Sainthood.

Buddha has ceased Samsara. He is no more subjected to rebirth. He is non-human, non-deities.

Answer 5

Great question. In Buddhist literature deities are mentioned somewhat frequently. However it is important to know that Buddhists do not HAVE to believe in deities.

According to Buddhist literature deities are beings living in different terrestial planes of existence. People who live peaceful, benevolent lives after death may be born as deities in these heavenly states. (somewhat like angels). They may be devoid of body but mind only. Generally these states are considered to be happy places (or states) to be born. Many Buddhists, after their religious activities think of these deities and transfer merits of good deeds to them. This is done because the deities just live happily and are unable to collect good karma needed for enlightenment.

However, according to Buddha's teachings an individual need not believe in these unless he/she can develop the mind to understand their existence or non existence.

Answer 6

The original Buddha was a teacher, I believe. He is not considered to be a deity.

Answer 7

Buddha himself was a man. He ate, slept, drank, and pooped just like any other man. He made mistakes, social faux pas', and probably made fun of people every now and again. He was in no way divine. The gods are supposed to be other worldly, of some other nature than ours. Buddha was firmly rooted in this world, he said ALL things are of the same nature.

Answer 8

Buddha was not a god. He was a man who was awake. Though his followers asked, he never said anything about the existance of a god one way or another. Such questions were not important to the here and now.

Answer 9

He was simply a man who broke the cycle of death and reincarnation. He didn't spend a lot of time talking about deities or gods, but it seems as though, if they existed, were mostly indifferent to us.

Answer 10

Buddha was a man, not a god.