About Twenty-Four Protective Deities

The Twenty-Four Protective Deities or the Twenty-Four Devas, sometimes reduced to the Twenty Protective Deities or the Twenty Devas, are a group of dharmapalas in Chinese Buddhism who are venerated as defenders of the Buddhist dharma. The group consists of devas, naga kings, vajra-holders and other beings, mostly borrowed from Hinduism with some borrowed from Taoism.
The Five Wisdom Kings is the most important grouping of Wisdom Kings (Vidyaraja)

Buddhist deities – Conceptual and metaphoric refuge

16
Jul
2022
Deities, Dharma
Buddhism includes a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various ritual and popular contexts. Initially they included mainly Indian figures such as devas, asuras and , but later came to include other Asian spirits and local gods. They range from enlightened Buddhas to regional spirits adopted by Buddhists or practiced on the margins of the religion. The Pali Canon and others suggest that the Buddha taught that belief in a Creator deity .
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Tibetan (Citipati mask depicting Mahākāla

Dharmapalas – Defenders of the Justice

18
Jul
2022
Deities, Dharmapalas‎, Vajrayāna
A dharmapāla is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "dharma protector" in Sanskrit, and the dharmapālas are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of , Worldly Guardians () and Wisdom Protectors (jnanapala). Only Wisdom Protectors are enlightened beings. In Vajrayana iconography and thangka depictions, dharmapala are fearsome beings, often with many heads, many hands, or many feet. Dharmapala .
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