Editing Demon (section)

=== Buddhism ===
{{further|Mara (demon)}}
[[Buddhism]] classifies sentient beings into six types: Deva, Asura, human, animal, ghost, hell-being. When Buddhism spread, it accommodated itself with indigenous popular ideas about demons.<ref name="dictionary" /> As in Hinduism, all these beings are part of the ''[[Saṃsāra]]''.<ref name="dictionary" /> As with devas, Buddhism does not deny the existence of demons, but considers them equally impotent in search for [[Nirvana|liberation]].<ref name="dictionary" /> Demons (''[[Bhoota (ghost)|bhūta]]'', ''[[Hungry ghost|preta]]'', ''[[Pishacha|piśāca]]'') may thus be understood as personifications of correlative mental states projected onto the external cosmos.<ref name="Religion Macmillan Publishing 1986 p. 284">Mircea Eliade Encyclopedia of Religion Macmillan Publishing (1986) p. 284</ref> The [[Pali Sutras]] represent the unenlightened people as "possessed" by the demons of "desire" and "craving".<ref name="Religion Macmillan Publishing 1986 p. 284"/> These two self-destructive feelings then cause the images of horrorfying demons.<ref name="Religion Macmillan Publishing 1986 p. 284"/> In a state of enlightenment, the [[Buddha]] has overcome such passions and by that, conquered the demons.<ref name="Religion Macmillan Publishing 1986 p. 284"/>