"I have also manifested in Jambudvīpa assuming the form of the deity Brahmā, thereby enabling those who serve Brahmā to situate themselves in the true-dharma. Although in truth I was not him, those living beings all assumed that I was the true Brahmā deity. I appeared in the form of deities worshiped widely in local shrines in just this same way."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brahm%C4%81_(Buddhism)