What the Devil?

Buddhism
The Buddhist concept of the devil is called Mara, the head of the heavenly demons and the Sense Desire realm. Buddhists believe that Siddhartha (later, the Buddha) was tempted by Mara before enlightenment, but he could not be swayed from his path. Mara symbolizes desire and everything that hinders humans from proceeding along the right path.

	I believe the devil:
	Is real and can possess people Is real and can directly influence human action, but can't possess people Is just a metaphor for the evil humans are capable of Is a dangerous idea that leads us to demonize other people
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Christianity: General
Christianity teaches that the devil (or Lucifer/Satan) is a fallen angel, after Isaiah 14:12: "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!" Lucifer was an angel who rebelled against God and was ejected from heaven.

Christianity: Catholicism
Catholics believe that the devil and other demons were angels created by God but became demonic--or adversaries of God--after their fall. Satan, lord of demons, exists and can cause humans harm, but he is still a creature and not equal to God.

Hinduism
Though Hindus believe there is evil in the world, there is no single devil-like entity in Hinduism. However, there is a concept of asura, or evil sprit. Evil spirits do not remain evil forever--they are beings of Naraka, the lower plane, and can evolve to goodness. The Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism's most important texts, tells the story of Arjuna's fight against evil and lower desires, embodied by the army of Kauravas.

Continued on page 2: What Wiccans and Zoroastrians believe about the devil »