Buddhist Creation Legend

   According to Buddhist myth our universe is divided into three regions: Kama Loka, the world of desire; Rupa Loka, the world of form; and Arupa Loka, the world of the spirit. In Tibetan Buddhism there is yet another region above the Arupa Loka, that of the Five Celestial Ginas or Dhyani Buddhas, crowned by the realm of Adi Buddha, the primeval Buddha. The Kama Loka is divided into six regions, beginning with that of the four maharajas, the guardians of the four cardinal points, situated on the top of Mount Meru; the Trayastrinska, the abode of Indra and of the thirty-three subordinate divinities; the kingdom of Yama, the realm of the dead; Tushita, the home of the Boddhisattvas; the Nirmanarati, the abode of the creative gods, and at the top, Paranirmita-Vasavartin, the abode of Mara, the great tempter.

   Below this and still forming part of the Kama Loka are, in descending order, the world of men, that of the Asuras, that of animals, that of ghosts, and at the very bottom the various hells. For further details See Buddha, Hsi-Yu-Chi, Karma, Kuan-Yin, Nirvana, Sakyamuni, Sun-Houtzu, and Tripitaka. The Japanese Buddhist deities were Amida, Binzuku, Dainichi, Emma-O, Fudo, Jizo, Kompira, and Kwannon.