Yama was understood by Buddhists as a god of the dead, supervising the various Buddhist "hells". His exact role is vague in canonical texts, but is clearer in extra-canonical texts and popular beliefs, which are not always consistent with Buddhist philosophy.
In popular belief in Theravādin Buddhist countries, Yama sends old age, disease, punishments and other calamities among humans as warnings to behave well. When they die, they are summoned before Yama, who examines their character and dispatches them to their appropriate rebirth, whether as a human, to a heaven, or to one of the hells that Yama presides over. Sometimes there are thought to be several Yamas, each presiding over a distinct Hell.
|
