Does Buddhist Meditation Involve Prayer to Saints and Spirits?
As implied by this articles earlier discussion of the various spheres of beings, the Buddha did not refute the existence of gods, spirits, demons, and the like. He just confirmed that they, too, were bound by the cycle of samsara. In traditional Buddhist philosophy, there are gods, humans, spirits, animals, beings of hell, and, according to some sources, a separate sect of demons. Humans are actually in the most desirable position because they are most likely to understand the need for enlightenment, and they are the beings who can be exposed to and observe the Buddhas teachings. So there is no need to pray to other samsaric beings for aid or guidance. However, saintscalled arahantsand Buddhas are beings who have reached enlightenment. Remember, a Buddha differs from a saint in that he attained nirvana on his own, without the tutoring of a dharma teacher. Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism schools state that help can be obtained from saints and Buddhas who have compassionately committed t
