Home›Buddhist Deities›Theology›Non-theistic: no creator god is centralBrowse ByNon-theistic: no creator god is centralThis page groups deities by the theological framework used to describe their nature, since traditions disagree about whether a god is a distinct being, an aspect of a single divine reality, or something else again. Wikipedia describes theology as "the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity and the history behind religion." Browsing this way lets a visitor compare how differently two traditions can explain what a deity actually is.FactsLearn MoreNon-theistic: no creator god is centralSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsAttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedInherited devas appear in the earliest canonical strata; the celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas emerge with the Mahayana sutras around the turn of the era; the wrathful tantric deities from about the seventh century CE. All remain in worship. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedVenerated today across the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedCelestial and enlightened figures venerated across the Buddhist world: buddhas and bodhisattvas, tantric deities and protectors, and devas inherited from Indian and local pantheons. Buddhism posits no creator god and the historical Buddha is not one. The grouping is a convenience of this atlas rather than a category the tradition uses. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedCalling buddhas, bodhisattvas and protectors deities imports a category Buddhist doctrine does not use. The tradition's own classes - buddha, bodhisattva, deva, dharmapala - do not map onto one another, and none of them maps onto the word god. 2Learn MoreThe divine figures of Buddhism This group gathers the celestial and enlightened figures venerated across the Buddhist world. Classical Buddhism does not posit a creator god, and the historical Buddha is remembered as an awakened teacher rather than a deity; yet the tradition developed a vast pantheon of buddhas, bodhisattvas, protectors and inherited gods, especially in its Mahayana and Vajrayana forms. The browser will find cosmic buddhas such as Amitabha and Vairocana, the compassion-bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin, Chenrezig) and the wisdom-bodhisattva Manjushri, the future buddha Maitreya, wrathful protectors, and devas absorbed from Hindu and local traditions. Provenance and school (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana) shape which figures appear and how they are understood.Non-theistic: no creator god is centralFilter Results33 entriesMember OfAllThe Twenty-One Taras (2)Attested InAllBhaishajyaguru Sutra (1)HistoricityAllHistorically attested (3)Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical record (2)Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (28)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (8)The Creator (1)The Explorer (1)The Hero (3)The Innocent (2)The Lover (1)The Magician (1)The Rebel (7)The Ruler (2)The Sage (5)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (33)Era Attested Start YearAll-450 (1)-100 (6)150 (2)200 (4)400 (4)500 (1)550 (1)671 (1)700 (5)750 (1)800 (3)900 (1)1000 (1)1357 (1)Worshipped InAllBuddhism (33)Domain / FunctionAllAwakening and liberation (14)Childbirth (1)Commerce and wealth (1)Compassion and mercy (6)Cosmic order and truth (1)Death (2)Destruction and dissolution (4)Disease and plague (1)Guide of the dead (1)Healing and medicine (2)Magic and sorcery (1)Protection and guardianship (15)Purification (1)Sun (1)The underworld (1)Wisdom and counsel (6)GenderAllCollective / plural, not a single figure (1)Female (6)Gender-fluid across the tradition (1)Male (25)PantheonAllBuddhist (33)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 33AcalaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralAkshobhyaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralAmitabhaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralAmoghasiddhiNon-theistic: no creator god is centralAvalokiteshvaraNon-theistic: no creator god is centralBhaishajyaguruNon-theistic: no creator god is centralBodhidharmaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralChakrasamvaraNon-theistic: no creator god is centralHaritiNon-theistic: no creator god is centralHayagrivaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralKshitigarbhaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralMahakalaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralMahasthamapraptaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralMaitreyaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralManjushriNon-theistic: no creator god is centralNagarjunaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralPadmasambhavaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralPalden LhamoNon-theistic: no creator god is centralPrajnaparamitaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralRatnasambhavaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralSamantabhadraNon-theistic: no creator god is centralShakyamuni BuddhaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralTaraNon-theistic: no creator god is centralThe Twenty-One TarasNon-theistic: no creator god is centralTsongkhapaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralVairochanaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralVaishravanaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralVajrakilayaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralVajrapaniNon-theistic: no creator god is centralVajrasattvaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralVajrayoginiNon-theistic: no creator god is centralWhite TaraNon-theistic: no creator god is centralYamantakaNon-theistic: no creator god is centralSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhismtier 1Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., Princeton University Press, 2014s.v. deva; s.v. bodhisattvaView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.