The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1419 page)

), the ‘Steadfast’ (
Nicco
), the ‘Immutable’ (
Dhuvo
), the ‘Eternal’ (
Sassato
), and the ‘Unchangeable’ (
Aviparin
madhammo
).
The belief in a creator deity of such or any other description was not acceptable to Buddhism, as the world according to Buddhism is not the product of such creative activity, but of an on-going evolutionary process.
The Buddhist reinterpretation of the Hindu belief in the creator deity Mah
brahm
was designed not only to deny this belief, but also to build the case against it.

 
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(Skt., ‘great Lord’).
1
In Hinduism, a name of
iva
.
2
In Buddhism, Mah
deva is associated with the first major schism in Buddhist history, the division into
Mah
s
ghika
and
Sthavirav
da
which led to
Therav
da
. Five theses are attributed to him concerning the exact attainments of the
arhat
. Nothing certain is known of him or of his life.

 
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