tion should also be made of the use of lineage in Ti-
betan Buddhism, where incarnate lamas, leaders of the
Buddhist community, are assumed to be successive
embodiments of leading buddhas and bodhisattvas,
following a notion introduced with the first KARMA
PALama, Dus gsum mkhyen pa (Düsum Khyenpa;
1110–1193). This is the most distinctive of Tibetan
hierarchical institutions, which identifies a future lama
as the rebirth of his deceased predecessor. The most
famous example of this is the DALAILAMA, considered
to be an incarnation of Tibet’s patron bodhisattva,
Avalokites ́vara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
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semantic area as the English word DIVINITIESor its
equivalents, such as deities, gods, and supernatural be-
ings. In fact, Buddhist COSMOLOGYrecognizes several
kinds of divine or semidivine beings, all endowed with
superhuman faculties: BUDDHASand BODHISATTVAS;
former disciples of the Buddha (s ́ravakas); saints of
various kinds (arhats in particular); angelic figures
(gandharva, kimnara); “gods” proper (Sanskrit devas;
Japanese kami; Burmese nats); anti-gods (asura); var-
ious kinds of ghosts; demonic and monsterlike figures
(preta, yaksa, raksasa); mythological animals (naga,
garura, mahoraga); and devils and other denizens of
hell. Each of these classes has its own place in cosmol-
ogy and its role in SOTERIOLOGY.
Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhist saints are not
gods, but they are often worshiped as such. A major
doctrinal distinction separates buddhas, bodhisattvas,
and other saintly figures from all other superhuman
entities in that the former are situated outside of the
realm of transmigration. Gods, spirits, ghosts, and the
like, in contrast, are still prisoners of the law of KARMA
and will accordingly be reborn in the future in differ-
ent shapes until they attain the supreme liberation.
Even though Buddhist cosmology attributes a clear
preeminence to the Buddha and other enlightened be-
ings, local deities still play an important role in the life
and the liturgy of Buddhists in many parts of the world.Buddhism and local deities:
approaches and problems
The role and status of divinities within the Buddhist
tradition is complicated. Deities are often seen asLOCALDIVINITIES ANDBUDDHISM