ཚངས་པ། | Glossary of Terms

The personification of the universal force of Brahman, the deity in the form realm, who was, during the Buddha’s time, considered the supreme deity and creator of the universe. In the cosmogony of many universes, each with a thousand million worlds, there are many Brahmās. Also called Mahābrahmā.

Lord of the Sahā world, regarded by Buddhists as occupying a high position in cyclic existence, with a very long life and a great deal of power

A high-ranking deity who presides over a divine world where other beings consider him the creator; he is also considered to be the Lord of the Sahā-world (our universe).

The personification of the universal force of Brahman, the deity in the form realm, who was during the Buddha’s time considered the supreme deity and creator of the universe. In the cosmogony of many universes, each with a thousand million worlds, there are many Brahmās.

Lord of the Sahā world (q.v.). Buddhists see Brahmā as a god occupying a high position in cyclic existence, with a very long life and a great deal of power.

The personification of the universal force of Brahman, who became a higher deity than Indra, the supreme deity of the early Vedas.

The personification of the universal force of Brahman, the deity in the form realm, who was, during the Buddha’s time, considered in India to be the supreme deity and creator of the universe.

One of the trinity of Hindu gods, a protagonist and ally of the Buddha; when spelled with the lower case, it denotes any god from the multiple worlds of Brahmā.

One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two deities (the other being Indra/Śakra) that are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Among his epithets is “Lord of Sahā World” (Sahāṃpati).

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world where other beings consider him the creator; he is also considered to be the Lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two deities (the other being Indra/Śakra) that are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are multiple universes and world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them.

(1) In this text, the term is frequently used as a shorthand for Brahma­viśeṣacintin, one of the main interlocutors in this sūtra. (2) A high-ranking deity, presiding over a divine world where other beings consider him the creator; he is also considered to be the “Lord of Enduring” (our universe).

One of the primary gods of the Brahmanical pantheon, Brahmā rules the brahmā realm; a member of the Buddha’s retinue.

One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two deities (the other being Indra/Śakra) that are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are multiple universes and world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them; however, The Question of Mañjuśrī describes sequentially higher brahmā gods as ruling over sequentially more numerous world systems. The image of the singular deity, Brahmā, is depicted as the forty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Creator-lord of a universe, there being as many as there are universes, whose number is incalculable. Hence, in Buddhist belief, a title of a deity who has attained supremacy in a particular universe, rather than a personal name. For example, the Brahmā of the Aśoka universe is personally called Śikhin, to distinguish him from other Brahmās. A Brahmā resides at the summit of the realm of pure matter (rūpadhātu), and is thus higher in status than a Śakra.

God who presides of the realm of Brahmā (brahmaloka) associated with the first concentration level in the realm of forms. In the Buddhist Avataṃsaka cosmology of innumerable (asaṃkhyeya) interpenetrating buddha realms, there are myriad Brahmās, each presiding over its own world-system.

Vedic creator god. In Buddhist texts Brahmā refers to various gods in high situations of cyclic existence.

Divinity in the intermediate realm within the first concentration (dhyāna). The deity in the form realm who was during the Buddha’s time considered the supreme deity and creator of the universe. In the cosmogony of many universes, each with a thousand million worlds, there are many brahmās.

Also used in this text as a shorthand for Brahmaviśeṣacintin, the main interlocutor in this discourse.

One of the primary deities of the purāṇic Hindu pantheon, and perhaps the first to take on the status formerly held by the cosmic being Prajāpati in the literature of the brahmaṇas. As a creator god in the purāṇas, Brahmā is said to have pronounced the mantras of four vedas from each of his four faces and thus established the sonic foundation for the manifestation of the cosmos. Though not considered a creator god in Buddhist literature, in his form as Sahāṃpati Brahmā, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two deities (the other being Indra/Śakra) that are said to have exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma in the hagiographic literature. The particular heavens over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Among his epithets is “Lord of Sahā World” (Sahāṃpati).

A major deity in the Brahmanical pantheon presiding over a divine world where other beings consider him the creator. He is also considered to be the “Lord of the Sahā world” (our universe).

As one of the three primary deities of the Hindu pantheon, in the Purāṇic cosmogony Brahmā is said to issue the four Vedas (Ṛg, Yajus, Sāma, and Athārva) from his four mouths, from which the entirety of creation unfolds. In Buddhist traditions, Brahmā is said to be a worldly deity who exists at the zenith of cyclic existence. He is thus added to the list of the eight guardians of the directions as the guardian of the zenith. In most narratives of the life of the Buddha, Brahmā is said to appear together with Śakra to request that the Buddha Śākyamuni teach the Dharma.