Buddhist: magic in this belief world
Protective chants and amulets, Tibetan ritual, and the spirit cults that live beside Buddhism.
Buddhism teaches liberation, yet in practice nearly every Buddhist land has protective chants, blessed threads, amulets, tattoos and rites for the dead. Thai monks bless sacred tattoos, Tibetan lamas perform protection rituals, Japanese temples sell omamori, and Sri Lankan monks recite paritta. This page looks at how Buddhism has met spirit cults and magical practice, and the debates over what counts as the teaching. Practice differs between Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, and across countries.
Protection and blessing
Many Buddhist communities use chants believed to protect, such as the paritta of Theravada lands. Monks bless water and thread, and lay people wear amulets of famous monks in Thailand. Tibetan Buddhism includes elaborate rites with mandalas, mantras and deity visualisation. Practitioners explain these as work with merit and compassion, and not as forcing events. Tibetan lamas and Mongolian monasteries keep protective deities and rites for the dead, and ordinary people ask for blessings, divination and long-life ceremonies.
Spirit cults beside the faith
Buddhism often lives alongside older spirit worship. Thai homes keep spirit houses, Burmese people honour the 37 nats, Sri Lankans make offerings to local deities, and Japanese temples sit beside Shinto shrines. Scholars debate whether to call this syncretism or a division of labour in which spirits deal with this life and the Buddha with the next. Some of these spirits are said to have been bound by Buddhist teachers in the past, so Buddhism takes credit for ordering the unseen, which is a historical claim scholars view as a theme in the faith's spread.
Lay, monastic and gender
Authority sits with ordained monks and lamas, and ordination for women is limited or disputed in several traditions. Monks who sell amulets or claim miracles have been criticised, and Buddhist teachers who promise supernatural results have been caught in scandals. In Thailand, authorities have acted on fraudulent monks. Women's roles are mixed: female mediums and nuns are active in many Buddhist lands, while institutional authority is largely male. Thai police and the Sangha Supreme Council have disciplined monks for fraud, which shows the limits that Buddhist institutions put on claims of power.
State, history and the West
Buddhism has been suppressed, as in Tibet after 1950 and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, and promoted by states for national identity. In the West, mindfulness has been separated from ritual, while Tibetan and Zen institutions face their own questions about abuse. Reformers such as Buddhist modernists have long argued that magic is a corruption of the teaching. Debate continues over whether such practice belongs to the religion, and many Buddhists in the West, in Japan and in Sri Lanka explain it as cultural habit and a form of kindness.
Buddhist on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇳 IndiaChakraचक्र
Meditation points in the subtle body used in Hindu and Buddhist yogaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍
A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYoginiयोगिनी
A female master of yoga and tantra, or a fierce goddess aspect in Indian temples.Tradition · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGuanyin觀音 (Guānyīn)
The Bodhisattva of compassion, worshipped across East Asia as a listener to human sufferingBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMantraमन्त्रम्
A sacred sound or phrase repeated to focus the mind and invoke spiritual powerText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaSiddhiसिद्धि
Magical powers and spiritual attainments in Indian religionsBelief · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreBardo Thodolབར་དོ་ཐོས་གྲོལ (bar do thos grol)
A Tibetan Buddhist guide for navigating the intermediate state between death and rebirth.Text Living
🇯🇵 JapanEn no Gyōja役小角
A legendary Japanese ascetic and founder of Shugendō mountain practiceFigure · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaNaropa
An Indian Buddhist master whose teachings shaped Tibetan Vajrayana practiceFigure · Change and initiation Historical
🇰🇷 South KoreaJeoseung Saja저승사자
A Korean psychopomp who escorts the dead to the afterlife.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreYakshaयक्ष (Sanskrit), ยักษ์ (Thai)
Nature spirits and guardian deities in South and Southeast Asian traditionsBeing · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreDakiniḍākinī
A goddess figure in Hinduism and Buddhism, ranging from flesh-eating demoness to enlightened energy.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNakshatraनक्षत्रम् (Nakṣatram)
A system of lunar mansions used in Hindu and Buddhist astrology to map the sky.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKuji-in九字印
A system of nine syllables and hand gestures used for protection and spiritual alignment in Japanese esoteric traditionsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇲🇲 MyanmarWeizzaဝိဇ္ဇာ
Burmese mystics who seek immortality and await the future BuddhaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePadmasambhavaཔདྨ་འབྱུང་གནས།
A tantric master credited with establishing Buddhism in Tibet and founding the Nyingma school.Figure · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreTriquetra
A three-arc knot used in medieval art and modern pop culturePower and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreTilopa
A tenth-century Buddhist tantric master who transmitted Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa.Figure · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKūkai空海
Founder of Shingon Buddhism who brought Vajrayana esoteric practices from China to Japan.Text · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreVajrayanaVajrayāna
A Buddhist path using rituals and mantras for rapid awakeningTradition · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreKejawènꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀ (Kajawèn)
A Javanese tradition blending animism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam into a path of inner harmony.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreThai Buddha amuletsพระเครื่อง (phrakhrueang)
Sacred Buddhist images and relics worn for protection, merit, and fortune in Thailand.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKalachakraདུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ།
A Tibetan Buddhist tantric deity and system of yogic time cyclesTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAshtamangalaअष्टमङ्गल
A set of eight sacred symbols used in Indian religions to mark auspicious occasions and teach spiritual truths.Tradition · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreTantraतन्त्र
An esoteric yogic tradition from India focusing on ritual, mantra, and body-based spiritual practices.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreMatsyendranathMacchindranāth, Mīnanātha
A yogi and rain deity revered across Hindu and Buddhist traditions in South Asia.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAmritaअमृत (Sanskrit)
A Sanskrit concept of immortality and the nectar that grants it across Indian religionsBelief · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession
A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPhilippine mythology
The indigenous myths and spirits of the Philippines, shaped by centuries of trade and colonial contact.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 morePersonifications of death
Figures from many cultures that embody the end of life and guide soulsFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNeotantraनवतन्त्र (navatantra)
A Western movement blending Tantra with modern views on sacred sexualityTradition · Love and attraction · Change and initiation Living
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreFuji扶乩
Chinese planchette writing: gods and ancestors reply through a stylus on sandRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreTennin天人
Heavenly beings in Japanese Buddhism, often depicted as beautiful women with feathered scarves.Being · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇱🇰 Sri LankaMara
A Buddhist figure representing the forces that block spiritual awakening and keep beings trapped in rebirth.Being · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreMakaraमकर
A legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology and a symbol of water and thresholdsBeing · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreMogwai魔鬼
A Chinese term for demons and evil spirits, borrowed from Sanskrit lore through Buddhism.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanAkuma悪魔（あくま）
An evil spirit in Japanese folklore, later used for Satan in ChristianityBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇲🇲 MyanmarMythical creatures in Burmese folklore
A collection of spirits, beasts and hybrids from Myanmar's stories and playsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇳 IndiaEtheric body
A subtle energy layer said to sustain the physical form and connect it to higher states.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreSang Thongสังข์ทอง
A Southeast Asian folktale about a prince born in a shell who gains golden skin and magical powers.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreClassical elements
Ancient theories that explain all matter as combinations of earth, water, fire, air, and aetherBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDivine retribution
Supernatural punishment by a deity in response to anger or wrongdoingBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDeity yoga
A Vajrayana meditation on embodying a chosen Buddha figure to realize emptinessTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi
A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇲🇲 MyanmarYadayaယတြာ
Rituals in Myanmar to avert misfortune using astrology and numerologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇧🇹 BhutanVajravarahiརྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ། (Dorje Pakmo)
A wrathful female buddha in Tibetan Buddhism, depicted with a sow head and dancing posture.Being · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 IndiaAbhijñāअभिज्ञा
A set of special insights and powers in Buddhist meditation.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Guanyin: JL Cogburn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mantra: Markrosenrosen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Obake: Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), Public domain, source
- Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Yogini: Soumendra Barik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
- Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Sang Thong: Narisara Nuwattiwong, Public domain, source
- Chakra: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ashtamangala: Redtigerxyz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tantra: William Clark, Public domain, source
- Tennin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Fuji: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Matsyendranath: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Amrita: http://picasaweb.google.com/injamaven, CC BY 3.0, source
- Philippine mythology: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
- Naropa: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jeoseung Saja: National Folk Museum of Korea, CC BY 4.0, source
- Yaksha: Gunkarta ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dakini: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
- Nakshatra: Kishorekumar 62, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Weizza: YashiWong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Padmasambhava: John Hill, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Triquetra: Wiglaf at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Tilopa: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kūkai: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Vajrayana: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
- Personifications of death: No machine-readable author provided. Kirtap assumed (based on copyrigh, CC BY 2.5, source
- Makara: Subbhashinee S, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mogwai: Gisling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mythical creatures in Burmese folklore: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Classical elements: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Divine retribution: John Martin, Public domain, source
- Deity yoga: Anonymous Unknown author, CC0, source
- Yadaya: Thai Government, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vajravarahi: Foto: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
- Thai Buddha amulets: User:Mattes, Public domain, source
- Mara: Under the Bo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kalachakra: Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abhijñā: Gryffindor, Public domain, source