How many categories of divine beings are mentioned in Buddhism?
There are three as follows: 1. A divine being by convention (Sammati deva) means a king a and royal family. 2. A divine being by birth (Upapatti deva) means a born deity. 3. A divine being by absolute purity (Visuddhai deva) means a Buddha and Arahanta (the Worth One) whose mental defilements (greed, hatred and delusion) are utterly done away with. This kind of divine being is classified as the highest. There is the Buddha’s saying that a person who is endowed with “knowledge” and “conduct” is superior to divine and human beings. The word “knowledge” here means the Insight which puts an end to all defilement and suffering, while “conduct” means high moral and spiritual standard.
