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lha srin sde brgyad

Eight classes of gods and demons. There are various descriptions but in the sutras the most general is: devas, nagas, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. All of them were able to receive and practice the teachings of the Buddha. These eight classes can also refer to various types of mundane spirits who can cause either help or harm, but remain invisible to normal human beings: ging, mara, tsen, yaksha, raksha, mamo, rahula, and naga. On a subtle level, they are regarded as the impure manifestation of the eight types of consciousness