A Brahmā in Buddhism is the generic name for a type of exalted, passionless deity (deva), of which there are a very large number in Buddhist cosmology. A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found in Sarnath, near Varanasi. ... This article is about Buddhist deities. ... Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ...

Origins

The name Brahmā is also found in Vedic tradition. In Hinduism Brahmā is the name of a single creator-deity. In early Buddhist texts, however, we find several different Brahmās described, some of whom think they are "all powerful" creators of the world whom the Buddha corrects. The myths, characters, and functions of these Brahmās are quite distinct from those of the Vedic Brahmā. However, at least one of the Buddhist Brahmās is identified as being the object of worship of pre-Buddhist brahmins. The Buddhists seem to have regarded the Hindu Brahmā as a misunderstanding or faulty memory of one or more of the Buddhist Brahmās, as explained in the Brahmajāla-sutta (DN.1). Vedic may refer to: Ancient India the Vedic civilization the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indo-Aryan texts Vedic Sanskrit, their language (see also Vedic meter, Vedic accent, Vedic chant and Shrauta) the historical Vedic religion traditional Hindu culture: Vedic astrology the Ayurveda (Vedic medicine) Ancient Vedic weights and measures modern... Hinduism (Sanskrit: , , also known as , ) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. ... Brahma (written Brahmā in IAST) (Devanagari ब्रह्मा, pronounced as ) is the Hindu God (deva) of creation, and one of the Hindu Trinity - Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. ... A Brahmin (anglicised from the Sanskrit word IAST ; Devanagari ), also known as Vipra, Dvija, Dvijottama (best of the Dvijas), (god on Earth) is a member of an upper caste within Hindu society. ... Vairochana as described in the Brahmajala Sutta The Brahmajala Sutta is the first sutta of 34 suttas in Digha Nikaya, the Long Discourses of Buddha. ...

There is no connection between the Buddhist Brahmās and the Hindu conception of brahman as an all-encompassing divine force (but see the brahman article for the etymology of the name). Hinduism (Sanskrit: , , also known as , ) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. ... Brahman (Devanagari: ब्रह्म ) in the Vedantic schools of Hindu philosophy, is the signifying name given to the concept of the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality of all things in this universe. ...

Classification

There are at least four ways of interpreting the term Brahmā. It may refer to:

1. Any of the deities of the Ārūpyadhātu or of the Rūpadhātu
2. Any of the deities of the nine lowest worlds of the Rūpadhātu, from Śubhakṛtsna to Brahmapāriṣadya.
3. Any of the deities of the three lowest worlds of the Rūpadhātu
4. A Mahābrahmā, one of the highest deities of preceding group.

In the sense of "a being of the Rūpadhātu", the term Brahmā may be related to Brahmavihāra, a term referring to the meditative states achieved through the four Rūpajhānas, which are shared by the inhabitants of the Rūpadhātu. Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... Brahmaviharā (Pali and Sanskrit) can be translated as Sublime Attitudes or Abodes of God. ... In Buddhism, rÅ«pajhānas (Sanskrit: rÅ«padhyāna form meditation) are successive levels of meditation in which the mind is focused on a material object: it is a word used in Pāli scriptures. ...

Individual Brahmās

Several Brahmās are specifically named in the Buddhist texts. In light of the ambiguity of the term "Brahmā", there is often some uncertainty about how to place these individuals within the cosmological context. In terms of the texts where they appear, they either are presented as figures of authority or as characters with an exaggerated sense of their own importance.

Baka Brahmā

Baka Brahmā (literally "crane-Brahmā") appears in the Majjhima Nikaya, where he is a deity who believes that his world is permanent and without decay (and that therefore he is immortal), and that therefore there are no higher worlds than his. The Buddha refutes Baka's claims, relating the concept of anitya or impermanence, but one of Baka's attendants (influenced by Māra) asserts that Baka is the Creator, that those who praise him will be rewarded, but those who deny his powers will be terribly punished. The Buddha identifies the real speaker as Māra, and states that he is free of his power. The Majjhima Nikaya, or Middle-length Discourses of the Buddha, is the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka. ... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... Impermanence (Sanskrit: anitya; Pali anicca; Tibetan: mi rtag pa; Chinese: 無常, wúcháng; Japanese: mujō) is one of the essential doctrines or the three marks of Buddhism. ... An aniconic representation of Maras assault on the Buddha, 2nd century CE, Amaravati (India). ...

Baka then states that it is futile to escape his domain (which he imagines to be universal), and points out that if the Buddha depends upon any of the things within Baka's cognizance, he will be within his realm, and Baka can act upon him as he sees fit. The Buddha responds that Baka does have this much power, but that there are realms which Baka knows nothing of, and that the Buddha's knowledge places him beyond Baka's power. Baka is at last convinced by a display of the Buddha's superior magical power and his ability to explain his present situation by reference to his past lives.

Baka was in a past life a human ascetic named Kesava; by various means he saved many people from destruction. For his meditative prowess he was born as a Bṛhatphala deva, and in successive rebirths gradually sank through the levels of the Rūpadhātu until he became an ordinary Brahmā. Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ...

On another occasion, Baka believes that no monk or ascetic can enter his world (through supramundane powers of manifestation), but the Buddha himself and several of his disciples visit him to prove him wrong.

Baka Brahma appears in the Bakabrahma-sutta and the Brahmanimantanika-sutta.

Brahmā Sahampati

Brahmā Sahampati (Phra Phrom) statue

Brahmā Sahampati, said to be the most senior of the Mahābrahmās, was the deity who invisibly attended on the Buddha when he attained enlightenment, and when the Buddha was meditating at Uruvelā afterwards, encouraged him to teach the Dharma to humans. According to some commentaries he was one of the Śuddhāvāsa deities. He was the rebirth of a monk named Sahaka, who had been in the Saṅgha of Kāśyapa Buddha. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (736x907, 252 KB) Summary Four-faces Brahma statue Pra Prom in the Erawan Shrine, Bangkok, Thailand. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (736x907, 252 KB) Summary Four-faces Brahma statue Pra Prom in the Erawan Shrine, Bangkok, Thailand. ... The Legend of Phra Phrom / Phra Phom Si na / 4 faced deva / 4 faced buddha For more than 5000 years, the disciples of Brahmana were known to have paid homage to Phra Phom as their highest esteemed God in their religion. ... Bodhi, the Pāli and Sanskrit word for awakening or enlightenment, is an abstract noun formed from the verbal root budh (awake, become aware, notice, know or understand), corresponding to the verbs bujjhati (Pāli) and bodhati or budhyate (Sanskrit). ... In East Asia, the character for Dharma is 法, pronounced fÇŽ in Mandarin and hō in Japanese. ... Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... It has been suggested that bhikkhu be merged into this article or section. ...

On one occasion, he encouraged a woman whose son was a bhikṣu not to make offerings to Brahmā, but instead to give alms to her son (who coincidentally was named Brahmadeva). Categories: Buddhism-related stubs | Buddhist terms ...

The Saṃyutta Nikāya contains verses said to have been spoken by Brahmā Sahampati, when he, together with Śakra, attended on the Buddha. He also attended upon the Buddha at his death, and verses attributed to him are included in the Mahāparinibbāna-sutta. The Samyutta Nikaya, the third Nikaya (division) of the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka, contains 2,889 suttas grouped into five sections (vaggas). ... Åšakra (Sanskrit) or Sakka Pāli is the ruler of the Heaven of the Thirty-three gods in Buddhist cosmology. ... For the Mahāparinirvāṇa SÅ«tra, a text of East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, see Nirvana Sutra. ...

Of all the Brahmās he seems to have been the closest to the Buddha.

Brahmā Sahampati, described as having four heads, has become very popular among Thai Buddhists as a deity who brings prosperity to the people. His shrines can usually be virtually seen everywhere, such as the Erawan Shrine. Brahmā Sahampati has also gathered a following amongst Chinese Buddhists, who frequently misinform him as the Four-face Buddha (四面佛). View of the shrine from the skytrain The four-faced Brahma (Phra Phrom) statue Flowers and incense around the shrine Thai dance performed for Brahma The statue after restoration The Erawan Shrine (Thai: , read San Phra Phrom) is a Hindu/Buddhist shrine in Bangkok, Thailand that houses a statue of...

Brahmā Sanatkumāra

Brahmā Sanatkumāra (Sanskrit) or Brahmā Sanaṅkumāra (Pāli), the "Ever-young", appears in the Janavasabha-sutta (DN.18), where he is recalled as having created an illusionary presence to make himself perceptible to the coarser senses of Śakra and the gods of Trāyastriṃśa. He addressed these deities, in such a way that each of them thought that he was being spoken to alone, and advised them to follow the precepts and practices of the Buddha, and explained the good results that would come from such practice. Åšakra (Sanskrit) or Sakka Pāli is the ruler of the Heaven of the Thirty-three gods in Buddhist cosmology. ... The Trāyastriṃśa (Sanskrit; Pāli Tāvatiṃsa) heaven is an important world of the devas in Buddhist cosmology. ...

Commentators explained the epithet of "Ever-young" by saying that he had chosen the appearance of a very young man, whose hair was still tied up in the adolescent style of five knots.

Mahābrahmā

The name Mahābrahmā, more of a title than a name, appears in several suttas. It properly belongs to the deity or deities of the third world of the Rūpadhātu, but may be used for even higher deities. A Mahābrahmā's titles are: "Brahmā, Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, the Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be." According to the Brahmajāla-sutta (DN.1), a Mahābrahmā is a being from the Ābhāsvara worlds who falls into a lower world through exhaustion of his merits and is reborn alone in the Brahma-world; forgetting his former existence, he imagines himself to have come into existence without cause. Beings who have been reborn from his world into the human world and are able to gain a memory of it, believe him to be the creator of the world. In the Kevaddha-sutta (DN.11), a Mahābrahmā is unable to answer a philosophical question addressed to him by a monk, but conceals this fact from the devas of his retinue so as not to lose face in front of them. Addressing that monk privately, he tells him to ask his question of the Buddha. Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... Vairochana as described in the Brahmajala Sutta The Brahmajala Sutta is the first sutta of 34 suttas in Digha Nikaya, the Long Discourses of Buddha. ... This article is about Buddhist deities. ...

See also

• Brahma
• Buddhist cosmology
• Deva (Buddhism)