In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, a dharmapala is a wrathful deity who is bound to protect the Buddhist teachings and its followers. Many dharmapalas were originally non-Buddhist deities, who were adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as fierce or wrathful protectors, for instance Bektse or Mahakala. There are many dramatic stories of forced conversion, or pacification of local gods by powerful masters, such as Padmasabhava who were assimilated to become protectors.