Asura (Buddhism)
in Buddhism, name of the lowest ranks of the deities or demigods of the Kāmadhātu
An asura (Sanskrit and Pali: असुर) in Buddhism is a demigod or titan of the Kāmadhātu. They are said to live more pleasurable lives than humans, but are also in thrall to qualities such as wrath, pride, envy, and insincerity.
Origins and etymology
The Buddhist asuras have a few myths distinctive from the asuras of Hinduism, which are only found in Buddhist texts. They are thought to originate from the earlier Hindu origin asuras.
In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated "titan", "demigod", or "antigod".
Buddhaghosa explains that their name derives from the myth of their defeat at the hands of the god Śakra. According to the story, the asuras were dispossessed of their state in Trāyastriṃśa because they became drunk and were thrown down Mount Sumeru. After this incident, they vowed never to drink sura again.
Character
While all the gods of the Kāmadhātu are subject to passions to some degree, the asuras above all are addicted to them, especially wrath, pride, envy, insincerity, falseness, boasting, and bellicosity.
The Great Calm-Observation by Zhiyi says:
Always desiring to be superior to others, having no patience for inferiors and belittling strangers; like a hawk, flying high above and looking down on others, and yet outwardly displaying justice, worship, wisdom, and faith — this is raising up the lowest order of good and walking the way of the Asuras.
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This entry incorporates text from “Asura (Buddhism)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.