Gods are not the centre
Buddhism does not centre on a creator god. The Buddha is revered as a teacher who woke to the nature of reality, not as a deity who answers prayers in the way gods are understood in some other religions. Yet Buddhist art and ritual are full of figures that look divine or demonic. They include celestial beings, guardians, bodhisattvas and tempters, and how they are understood differs by tradition and by individual. This article gives a general picture, without describing restricted practices.
Devas and other beings
Early texts describe many beings in the heavens, called devas, as well as spirits of the land and local deities. They are part of the cosmos, subject to impermanence and to karma like humans, and they are not objects of ultimate refuge. Some appear in stories as listeners to the Buddha’s teaching or as protectors. In South and Southeast Asian practice, people often make offerings to local spirits or to Hindu-derived gods alongside Buddhist worship, and monks may chant protective verses (paritta). Many Buddhists consider this normal, while some reformers discourage it. This is a good example of how practice varies by country.
Bodhisattvas
A bodhisattva is a being who aims at awakening for the sake of all beings. In Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, certain great bodhisattvas are widely venerated, and visitors will recognise them in temples. Examples include:
- Avalokiteshvara, associated with compassion, known in China as Guanyin, in Japan as Kannon and in Tibetan tradition as Chenrezig;
- Manjushri, associated with wisdom, often shown with a sword and a book;
- Maitreya, the future buddha according to tradition;
- Tara, a compassionate female figure especially in Tibetan practice;
- Kshitigarbha, linked with the suffering of those in hell realms in East Asia (known as Jizo in Japan).
Devotees may pray to them for help and guidance, and many see them as expressions of qualities that practitioners hope to develop. The article on bodhisattva images at pilgrimage sites covers how to recognise them, and Theravada communities also honour the idea of bodhisattvas, especially as the Buddha’s earlier lives, but do not generally focus devotion on the heavenly ones.
Protector figures
At temple gates and in shrine rooms you may see fierce guardians. They include the Four Heavenly Kings, who are widely shown at gates in East Asia, and the muscular Nio guardians at the entrances of many Japanese temples. These temple guardian figures are traditionally understood to protect the teaching and the community.
In Tibetan Buddhism, a distinct group of protector deities, called dharmapalas, are depicted with wrathful faces, ornaments of bone and flames. Many Tibetan teachers explain that wrath here is a form of compassion that cuts through obstacles and ignorance; the fierce appearance is symbolic. Some practitioners understand them as real beings, and others as expressions of awakened energy or aspects of the mind. These figures are usually kept in special chapels, and some halls are closed to visitors or to women. Respect such rules without protest, and do not enter spaces marked as restricted.
Mara
Mara is the figure who embodies temptation, fear and death in the Buddha’s story. In the awakening story, Mara sends armies and then daughters to disturb the Buddha, and the Buddha touches the earth to call it as witness to his merit; this is the origin of the earth-touching pose seen in so many statues. Mudras like this one are explained in our article on Buddha mudras. Mara can be read as an external demon in the stories and, in many modern explanations, as a symbol of inner obstacles such as doubt and desire. Traditions encourage both readings.
Demons and wrathful imagery
Painted hell scenes, skeletal dancers and fanged faces can be startling to visitors. In temple murals they commonly teach consequences or urge awareness of impermanence. In the Wheel of Life mural, Yama or another death-figure holds the entire wheel, showing that all realms are subject to impermanence. The Cham masked dance of Bhutan and neighbouring regions uses demonic and protective masks as part of religious dance, and its meaning is explained by teachers. Images in thangkas are made according to detailed conventions, as described in our guide to thangka painting.
How Theravada and Vajrayana differ
In general terms:
- Theravada stresses the Buddha, the teaching and the community, and views devas and spirits as beings within the cycle of rebirth. Protective rituals exist, but there is no elaborate system of wrathful deities.
- Vajrayana includes an extensive iconography of peaceful and wrathful deities used in meditation, understood as expressions of awakened qualities. Much of the detailed practice is restricted to initiates and is not described here.
- Mahayana in East Asia emphasises bodhisattva devotion and guardian figures at gates, with great regional variety.
No tradition is more correct than another; each has its own way of using images to teach.
Visiting respectfully
Treat statues as sacred, even if you do not share the belief. Dress modestly, remove shoes where required, ask before photographing, and do not touch images. Walk clockwise around shrines where that is the custom, and follow local guidance on restricted halls.