What role did deities and supernatural creatures such as nāgas play in early Buddhist mythology? We'll consider three ways the Buddha used and transformed mythic elements of his day to reinforce the dharma.

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✅ Suttas mentioned:
Mucalinda Sutta: https://suttacentral.net/ud2.1/en/sujato (Nāga)
Devadūta Sutta: https://suttacentral.net/mn130/en/sujato (Yama)
Kevaḍḍha Sutta: https://suttacentral.net/dn11/en/sujato (Brahma’s foolishness)
Mahāmaṅgala Sutta: https://suttacentral.net/snp2.4/en/su...

✅ Other references:
https://www.themindingcentre.org/dhar...
https://www.themindingcentre.org/dhar...

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00:00 Intro
02:45 Leveraging familiar myths
04:21 Innovating the dharma with myth
05:43 The Mahāmaṅgala Sutta
06:19 The Devadūta Sutta
07:58 The Kevaḍḍha Sutta
09:58 Buddhist mythic inversions
11:28 Mucalinda the Nāgarājā
13:12 The Buddha’s attitude

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