Satan in religions around the world

MSN.com edited and clarified by Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

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Most belief systems center around the necessity to improve ourselves and avoid wrongdoing (bad karma, missing the mark, sin).

In almost every major religion, there is a source of good and a source of bad. Good is usually associated with multiple gods or one god, while bad is often embodied by a malicious, destructive character.

In Buddhism, Mara is a character who fancies himself the leader of the sensual sphere and wants to keep beings in it. In Christianity, Satan is the personification of bad.

Legend has it that he was once an angel called Lucifer who lived in a certain heaven, but he fell from grace and was thrown out by St. Michael the archangel. He was cast out onto earth and hell (a subhuman world), a realm of unrelenting fire where to suffer with demons and the tortured souls of sinners.

This story has an interesting parallel in Buddhism, where the asura (titan) Vepacitti was thrown out of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three by Sakka, King of the Devas. He and the other asuras were cast out to the foot of Mt. Sumeru (the surface of the earth), where they swore vengeance and started a war in heaven, titans versus shining ones.

Satan's role in the New Testament/Christian Bible is to tempt Jesus away from his righteous path, and subsequently to inspire sin in humankind. Morality, sin, and evil are themes that appear in many religions and are often represented by a monstrous figure like Satan.

Māra in Buddhism

In Christianity, the devil appeared in many forms to try to tempt Jesus. In Buddhism, a benighted being called Māra played a similar role with Siddhartha who became the Buddha.

Māra is a deva (devaputra, "born among the devas") living in a lofty heaven like Lucifer where he considers himself the Lord of the Senses. He is associated with cupidity, craving, and ignorance, all things contrary to enlightenment.

As Siddhartha sat under a tree striving for enlightenment through the meditative absorptions (jhanas), Māra appeared and tried to get him to abandon his aim.

His first attempt was unsuccessful, so Māra sent his three daughters (Thirst, Desire, and Delight) to seduce the wandering ascetic Siddhartha.

Siddhartha persevered and experienced enlightenment (awakening from ignorance). He wanted to each what he had rediscovered, but he had doubts as to whether others would be able to understand it or not.

Māra fueled the doubts of Siddhartha, now the Buddha or "the Awakened One," and tried to convince him to abandon any hope of teaching escape from misery and samsara.

Emma-ō [Yama] in Japanese Buddhism

Tibetan conception of Yama as a wrathful deity

There are other devilish figures in Japanese Buddhism. Hell, known as Jigoku, is ruled over by a demon called Emma-ō (aka Yama).

Emma-ō is the "Lord of Death" or "Lord of the Dead," who judges each soul who enters his realm.

Like some kind of terrifying Santa Claus, Emma-ō consults his long list of every wrong ever committed. He is assisted in his decision-making by two disembodied heads that usually sit on either side of him.

The female head, Miru-me, has the power to see the deceased’s deepest flaws, while the male head, Kagu-hana, can detect any misdeeds they’re trying to hide. Emma-ō sentences each soul to a set period of damnation accordingly. More