deity / divinity / god

I'm translating some Buddhist texts to English and I'm wondering if there are any subtle differences in usage between the words deity, divinity, and god (in the lower case sense)?

What is the word for their "earthly" counterpart (by which I mean "natural being" or "ordinary people")?

Thank you!

Solution 1:

I don't think we make much distinction in common speech between "a deity" "a divinity" and "a god," although "a divinity" is rather rare and leaves me, at least, with the feeling you're speaking of something vague. "There is a divinity that shapes our ends . . ." is probably the best-known use of it. Deity seems a bit more formal than "god."

The earthly manifestation of a god is sometimes called an incarnation.

The earthly counterparts you're looking for are probably "mortals." "The gods do not often speak plainly to mortals."

Solution 2:

In Buddhist texts in the English language, god refers to a being in the god realm, the other realms being the demigod realm, the human realm, the animal realm, the hungry ghost realm, and the hell realm. Deity usually refers to bodhisattvas in Mahayana. Divinity is not usually used.