In fact, we might say that in Buddhist understanding, there really are no such things as “demons.” There are only powers, energies, and deities to be worked with; the skillfulness, compassion, and attainment of the practitioner determine the outcome of the encounter.
Mara is described both as an entity having an existence in Kāma-world, just as are shown existing around the Buddha, and also is described in pratītyasamutpāda as, primarily, the guardian of passion and the catalyst for lust, hesitation and fear that obstructs meditation among Buddhists.
In Buddhism mythology, Māra, the demon, sends his three daughters to tempt the Buddha as he meditates under the bodhi tree. The first daughter, Trsna, represents the thirst, or desire, for elements in the world that ultimately lead to attachment.
Wrathful deities
While some of these deities have a hideous and fierce appearance, they are not personifications of evil or demonic forces. The ferocious appearance of these deities is used to instill fear in evil spirits which threaten the Dharma.
Ānantarya Karma (Sanskrit) or Ānantarika Kamma (Pāli) are the most serious offences in Buddhism that, at death, through the overwhelming karmic strength of any single one of them, bring immediate disaster. Both Buddhists and non-Buddhists must avoid them at all costs.
The three poisons are: greed (raga, also translated as lust), hatred (dvesha, or anger), and delusion (moha, or ignorance).
There are five sins of this kind: killing one's mother, killing one's father, killing an arhat (saint), injuring the body of a buddha, and causing a division in the Buddhist community.
e Buddha has taught that there are three roots of evil: greed, hatred and delusion. ese three states comprise the entire range of evil, whether of lesser or greater intensity, from a faint mental tendency to the coarsest manifestations in action and speech.
Although Māra, the Buddhist symbol of evil, has been the subject of a number of books and essays, little has been written about the numerous Pali and Sanskrit textual references to a plurality of Māras.
(Skt.; Pāli, akusala-mūla). Collective name for the three roots of evil, being the three unwholesome mental states of greed (rāga), hatred (dveṣa), and delusion (moha). All negative states of consciousness are seen as ultimately grounded in one or more of these three.
The four devils are (1) the hindrance of the five components,*6 (2) the hindrance of earthly desires, (3) the hindrance of death, and (4) the hindrance of the devil king.
In [that space between the two diamond mountain ranges] there are eight major hells. Along with each major hell are sixteen smaller hells. The first major hell is called Thoughts. The second is called Black Rope.
The Nio are there to guard and protect the temple from evil spirits and demons but also human robbers. The vast majority of Nio are made out of wood and are usually housed in their own gate houses to protect them from the weather. These Niomon, Nio gates, are often the first gate leading to a temple.
The basic Buddhist attitude to evil is not to deny its existence nor merely to reconcile its presence in the world, but to observe carefully, and study its nature and causes in order to eliminate it. In the Dhammapada, the Buddha dictates: "Never commit any evils; but practice all the goods.
While there is no shortage of serene and benevolent buddhas, Buddhist folklore abounds with hell-raising zombies, vampires, ghouls, and ogres.
In cultures with Buddhist spiritual influence, both good and evil are perceived as part of an antagonistic duality that itself must be overcome through achieving Śūnyatā meaning emptiness in the sense of recognition of good and evil being two opposing principles but not a reality, emptying the duality of them, and ...
In this realm, the Buddha is colored black. Black symbolizes killing and anger as well as primordial darkness. Fierce deities are often rendered in black in order to signify the darkness of hate and ignorance as well as the role that these qualities have to play in the awakening of clarity and truth.
Generally, Buddhist teaching views life and death as a continuum, believing that consciousness (the spirit) continues after death and may be reborn. Death can be an opportunity for liberation from the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
Spreading rumors, holding grudges, feeling contempt and anger toward others, being ruled by fear and following misguided individuals are all telltale signs that devilish functions are at work, causing us to separate from others or sow disunity in our families, in our various communities or among fellow practitioners.
The Three Powerful Enemies
These are: 1) arrogant lay people; (2) arrogant priests; and (3) arrogant false sages who conspire with secular authorities to persecute the sutra's votaries. The common thread among these “three powerful enemies” is arrogance—their belief that they are better than others.
Karma and karmaphala are fundamental concepts in Buddhism. The concepts of karma and karmaphala explain how intentional actions keep one tied to rebirth in samsara, whereas the Buddhist path, as exemplified in the Noble Eightfold Path, shows us the way out of samsara.
They are the three physical evils of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; the four verbal evils of lying, flattery or indiscriminate and irresponsible speech, defamation, and duplicity; and the three mental evils of greed, anger, and foolishness or the holding of mistaken views.
The Dhammasangāni [5] regard five acts – matricide, parricide, slaying an Arhat, slaying a Buddha, and causing division among priesthood to be five unpardonable sins.
Traditionally in Buddhism, forgiveness is done through the practice of repeating phrases of forgiveness toward oneself, toward those who have harmed us, and toward those whom we have harmed.
Buddhism, the Thai state religion, teaches that use of intoxicants should be avoided. Nonetheless, many Thai people drink alcohol, and a proportion are alcohol-dependent or hazardous or harmful drinkers.