The Christian God Jehovah (Hebrew, YHWH or Yahweh) exists but is neither sole creator, nor almighty, nor all-knowing. On a Buddhist cosmological scale, it is possible to place Jehovah at Level 10 (the tenth of 31 planes of existence). That realm is called "Devas Delighting in Creating" (nimmanarati). If that is the correct placement (others may argue for a different placement; see the 31 Planes of Existence below), the God worshipped in the West still deals with anger (by his own admission he is a jealous, proud, and angry god), desire, and delusion.
The arch-opponent of Christian lore, "Satan" (in Buddhism Mara), might be placed at Level 11: "Devas Wielding Power over the Creation of Others" (paranimmita-vasavatti). But like the Christian devil, "Mara" does not refer to a single being. Mara-Devaputra is a deva (a kind of "Lucifer"); another Mara is a personification of "Death," which rules the Sensual World in its entirety (because all beings are attached to lust and of a nature to decay, pass away, and be reborn).
In this German depiction, the Devil looks quite like a Reptilian (Naga). Other beings on earth are called Maras, and these may be thought of as "demons" or spiritual soldiers dedicated to the cause of Death, corruption, anger, revenge, and spoilage.Interestingly, just as in JudeoChristian records (Ezekiel 28:11-19, King James Bible), this being is associated with gandhabas or "heavenly musicians"* (of the lowest celestial realm, known as the Angelic Realm of the Four Great Kings). The Bible often simplifies various characters into a single being [not just monotheistically, but Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Ouroboros (the snake in the Garden of Eden), Lucifer, the Devil are either the same being over time, in different personas, or different beings controlled or said to be under the sway of Satan.]
Similarly, in Buddhist terms it could be said there are many "devils," monsters known as Nagas (serpents, dragons, or Reptilians both on earth and in celestial realms), Asuras ("Titans" who fight angels), rakshasas (demons)... Is one to believe they are all at the beck and call of Mara? No, certainly not. They have their own agendas. But in a sense, as negative influences or corrupted beings, they can be said to be "in league with Mara or Satan" because of the corrupting effect they try to exert. They may generally be called Maras ("killers") as a class as when the Buddha frequently describes this world as one "with its Brahmas and Maras, princes and humans, this generation with its priests and ascetics, its devas..." All of these types of beings are well known and numerous, except for Mara ("the killer"), a term which in the earliest discourses almost exclusively refers to a "tempter," a being also called Namuci ("the Non-liberator") or Papima-maro ("the Evil One").
One might even say that Yama, Lord of the Dead, is a kind of Devil ruling over a low "hell." That Yama is certainly not the same as Mara Devaputra anymore than discussions of beautiful Lucifer would say that the angelic being is the hellion; perhaps one became the other, but they cannot be condensed all into one being as often happens to make things simple. Beyond that there are other beings Christians would likely regard as demons. These are yakshas (ogres, goblins, yetis) and poltergeists (pretas, "hungry ghosts," departed earthbound beings who linger in a kind of Jewish or Greek hades alongside humans) or petty bhumi-devas (nature spirits).
In Buddhism, many of these are titles (Brahma, Sakka, Mara, Buddha, Yama, etc.) occupied like offices over time by many individuals. Because the time periods "in office" are usually so incredibly long -- even lasting an entire world cycle -- people forget that the titles only refer to general stations not special individuals. Anyone can become a Mara (Devil), or a deva (angel), a Brahma (God), a preta (ghost), naga (snake), animal, or even a Buddha (an "Awakened One"). It's not likely, but it is technically possible. The Buddha explained the course of actions (karma) leading to all destinations. Of these destinations, liberation is superior; nirvana ("the end of all suffering") is best.
Lucifer, Satan, demons, and "unclean spirits" -- just like God, godlings, angels, light-beings -- all still deal with varying degrees of lust, hatred, and ignorance. Mara/Satan may have developed a particularly polluted mind (as for example the story of Mara Dusi, MN 50).
Buddhas and Arhats are beyond and above deities, gods, and other beings, since they irreversibly have eliminated all greed, all hate, and all delusion! They have transcended existence and continued wandering in Samsara by attaining nirvana. Nirvana is the deathless absolute peace, the supreme bliss, the highest bliss. No trace of craving, anger, or confusion remains.
More Details
- See the 31 Planes of Existence here.
- On the recurring re-Creation, or cyclic genesis of the world, see the Aggañña Sutra (DN 27).
- Understanding Beginnings is a fundamental book on the historical Buddha.
Humorous billboard graffiti indicating that even God listens to Satanic metal music since most of Slayer's songs are about God (belowtopsecret.com).God created Evil and the Devil?
It says so in the Book of Ezekiel (28:11-19), where God gets wrathful on Lucifer, displaying quite a bit of jealously and anger, claiming the inadvertent creation of evil, mentioning Lucifer's musicianship along the way:
"Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation...Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;..the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
"Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. [He was created with sinfulness to be found inside him?]
"By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
"Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more."
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