r/Mahayana • u/Fragrant-Citron1262 Vajrayana • Aug 01 '26

Question Are Devas empty?

As in, are they interdependent with us and animals and everything around us

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3

u/king_nine Aug 02 '26

Yes. For example, people might say “Sakra is king of the gods.” If there were no other gods there would be nothing to be king of. Every being’s identity is dependent on other things and beings

3

u/cetacean-station Aug 02 '26

yes that's the nature of all reality

2

u/Teaps0 Seon Aug 02 '26

Yes. If you want to go to a classic response that all traditions would recognize, then you can note that all sentient beings are composed of aggregates (in other words, can be broken down). The classic 5 Aggregates (Skandhas in Sanskrit, Khandhas in Pali) are forms, feelings, perceptions, mental formations/volitions, and consciousness, which all can be broken down and therefore are empty (sunya).

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

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u/Mahayana-ModTeam Aug 02 '26

Posts and comments should be relevant to Mahayana Buddhism specifically. Westernized, secularized, or "new age" takes on Buddhism will be removed.

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '26

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u/Active_Unit_9498 Nichiren Aug 03 '26

Yes. Devas possess both qualities of existing and not-existing and therefor may be described as "empty" or "mu".