Buddhism+v.+Greeks+gods

=Main Points=

toc
 * The Buddhist and Greek religions have specific gods to represent different aspects of the world
 * Buddhist gods work together toward liberation for all humans and the ending of suffering in the world while Greek gods have more power than goodness
 * The gods in both religions have many differences and similarities, some of which include their lifestyle, appearance, and human interactions

=Buddhist Gods=

In Buddhism, each Buddhist god is in charge of something different, but they all work together for the liberation of all humans and for spiritual enlightenment. Three gods that illustrate this point are Shakkra, Yama and Tara. Shakkra is best known as the king of all gods. He controls all the other gods and goddesses and is one of the three chief guardians. Yama is the lord of death and gathers the dead from earth. Yama determines what a reincarnated person becomes in the next life based on what kind of karma he or she had. Tara is the best known goddess in Buddhism. She is the mother goddess and has seven eyes on her feet, hands, and head. There are four different kinds of Tara: White Tara, Green Tara, Blue Tara, and Yellow Tara. Each Tara is the goddess of something different. An example is that the White Tara is the goddess of Compassion and Love. When all of her different symbols are put together, Tara represents success and liberation.

**Greek Gods**

Unlike the Buddhist gods, all of the Greek gods have a particular area for which they are responsible and don’t work together toward a common goal. Zeus, Hades, and Hera are three powerful Greek gods. Zeusis the King of the gods, the sky god and the god of hospitality. The Greeks call Zeus the “supreme god”. Zeus is known for throwing lightning bolts when he gets angry. Hades is the god of the underworld. He shows little mercy to the dead. In fact, he requires them to pay for his help in crossing the River Styx. Hera, the queen of the gods, is Zeus’ sister as well as his wife. Hera is the goddess of married women and the daughter of the earth and time.



=Similarities=

Buddhist and Greek gods have several similarities which include their hierarchy, appearance and lifestyle. For example, each religion has a king of the gods; Shakkra and Zeus, who control the other gods. Each religion also has a queen of the gods; Tara and Hera, each who are also responsible for another aspect of the earth. Yama and Hades are gods of the underworld who handle the dead. The second and third similarities are the gods’ lifestyles and appearances. In each religion, the gods can assume a human appearance if they choose to make a journey down to earth. The gods also have another appearance in their dwelling place. For example, the Greek gods are giant size on their mountain, but can shrink down to human size when it is necessary. Buddhist gods can have one thousand arms, but only show two of them on Earth. In addition, the gods in both religions live on mountains. The Greek gods live on Mount Olympus and the Buddhist gods’ abode is the highest mountain in India, Mount Nanda Devi. One of the last similarities of the gods is the way that they are able to interact with humans and earthly creatures. The gods are able to go to Earth and interact with human beings when they need to fulfill a duty that Zeus or the Buddha has given them. For Hades and Yama, these tasks might include collecting the dead from earth and for Zeus and Shakkra a task might be redirecting a human.


 * ~  ||   || King of the gods || Queen of the gods || God of the Underworld ||
 * ~  || Buddhist god || Shakkra || Tara || Yama ||
 * ~  || Greek god || Zeus || Hera || Hades ||

=Differences=

As there are similarities, there are a multitude of differences in both religions. These differences distinguish each culture and how the religion functions. The first difference is the mortality of the gods. In ancient Greece, the citizens believed that the gods and goddesses were immortal. To make sure that the gods remained immortal, they must eat a special food called ambrosia. The Buddhist view of the mortality of the gods is different. Buddhists believe that the gods are not immortal and when they die, they are reincarnated back onto earth and pursue another life. When Buddhist gods become jealous of another god, they become ill and die. In Buddhism, if Shakkra dies, another Shakkra is born immediately. This is the same for all the buddhist gods so that there is always a god for everything. A second difference between the Greek and Buddhist gods is marriage. Greek gods are allowed to marry anybody including their family members. An example of the gods marrying their kin are Zeus and Hera, who are siblings and have multiple children, some of whom include Hebe, Hephiastos and AresAres. Buddhist gods are not allowed to marry for it might cause as a distraction from their duties. The third difference between the two groups of gods is power and how much of it they have. Greek gods “do not have goodness, but power” and can change anything in the world, whenever they like. Zeus, for instance, can change the weather to thunder and lightning if he is angry, and Demeter the goddess of harvest, can kill all the plants if she gets sad. Buddhist gods however, are not allowed to change the world or liberate whomever they like. Buddhist gods have goodness rather than power and must follow specific direction from either the Buddha or Shakkra.

**Bibliography**

"Buddhist Deities.". www.buddhanet.net. 24 April 2011. http://www.buddhanet.net/deities

"Greek Gods.". www.cs.Williams.edu. 24 April 2011. http://www.cs.Williams.edu/greekgods

"The Olympian Greek gods and goddesses.". www.greek-gods.info. 25 April 2011. http://www.greek-gods.info

"Deities in Buddhism.". www.Khandro.net. 26 April 2011. http://Khandro.net/deities

Macquitty, William. __Buddha__. New York: Viking Press, 1969.

"Greek Gods.". www.Metmuseum.org. 26 April 2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/greekgods

Powers, John. __An Intro to Buddhism__. New York: Snow Lion Publications, 1957.

"Buddhist Deities.". www.religionfacts.com. 27 April 2011. http://religionfacts.com/buddhism

Stassinpoulos, Arrianna, and Roloff Beny. __The Gods of Greece__. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1983.

Trainor, Kevin. __Buddhism- The Illustrated Guide__. New York: Oxford Press, 2001.

"Ancient Greek Gods.". www.thinkquest.org. 28 April 2011. http://thinkquest.org/ancientgreekgods

Von Glasenapp, Helmuth. __Buddhism- A Non-Theistic Religion__. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1966.

**Picture Credits**

www.iloveulove.com. 12 May 2011. http://www.iloveulove.com/buddhistdieties

www.mlahanas.de. 12 May 2011. http://www.mlahanas.de/greeks/mythology