My brother just got back from Japan and had this conversation:
Japanese Student: This is a very special temple.
Bro: Why?
JS: It’s a temple to Canon
Bro: Who’s that?
JS: The god of Buddhism.
Bro: Is he one of the gods of Buddhism?
JS: The main god.
I’ve finally found this mentioned as “Kannon”, and I see that there does seem to be a Buddhist god, but I was under the distinct impression that Buddhism didn’t have gods. Is there someone who can expand on this?
I don’t know if I’d call Kannon a goddess in the western sense of the word, but it’s probably the easiest way to translate it to English, especially since “bodhisattva” doesn’t usually show up on the TOEIC test.
Incidentally, it’s where the camera company took its name.
While different variants of buddhism understand the word bodhisattva differently, a bodhisattva usually is not seen as a god, but as enlightened being that has decided not to enter nirvana, but out of compassion stays around to point the way to others
There are some Buddhist sects that believe that there are other worlds populated by powerful beings. Some are heavens, populated by gods. Others are hells, populated by devils. Although much more powerful than humans, these beings are still born, and still die, and with proper karma, you might find yourself reincarnated as one.
These “gods” may or may not be bodhisatvas.
Buddhist sects lived side-by-side with more traditional religions, and many people are quite capable of believing in both supernatural beings and in the concept of Enlightenment.
Buddha starring in Action Comics issues 1-572, as well as the first “Buddha” series have not been canon since the “Crisis on Infinite Karmas.” Modern canon now only recognizes the new “Buddha” series, the “Adventures of Buddha”, and the issues of Action since 573. However, the “Buddha: Birthright” series has thrown the canon status of some of that into question as well.
Buddha is basically an enlightened being - not to be confused with the Boddhisattva - enlightenment being - not to be confused with Bodhicitta or mind of enlightenment or spirit of awakening. Now when you have that right let me know 
Getcherself a copy of Alice Getty’s wonderful book The Gods of Northern Buddhism, which has been reprinted by Dover publications. I think of my copy as my Peterson’s Guide to the Buddhas. It has more than you ever wanted to know about the many figures in Buddhism from all over (despite the title). If you come upon a gifure with 72 arms and three heads – which is by no means an exaggeration or an unlikely possibility – this book wil tell you who it is and how it fits into the structure of Buddhism. I take my copy when I go to an art museum, and have been adding annotations to it for years.
You have to understand. Buddhism encompasses a collection of faiths and a spectrum of beliefs that is, I think, much broader than “Christianity” (which itself includes Roman Catholics, Eastern and Russian Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Unitarians, and, in a fair system, Mormons). You have the Pure Land sect people with their vision of Heaven, the Tibetan Bon Buddhists with their weird supernatural creatures, the Zen Buddhists with their spare meditative Buddhism without figures, and the pure Hinayana Buddhists, among a great many others.
Henrsy S. Olcott, about a century ago, tried to come up with A Buddhist Catechism that would provide a structure that all Buddhists could agree on:
It strikes me as a very Western-Science-Oriented, and un-Buddhist, thing to do. But it IS interesting, and worth a read.