The English word priest is frequently used by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike to refer to the Buddhist holy men of various Asian cultures. The use of the term is due more to the concomitant presence of Roman Catholic priests in Asia during the early periods of colonial history than to Buddhistic understandings of the religious vocation per se.

Normatively, Buddhist holy men are fundamentally more concerned with cultivating wisdom (prajñā), mental concentration (samādhi), and ethical virtue (śīla) in pursuit of personal spiritual attainment than with the performance of mediating ritual acts for the religious or material bene-fit of the laity. Moreover, it is clear from studies of the early Buddhist scriptures that early Buddhism was originally antagonistic to the performance of rites as a means for spiritual advancement. In one sūtra (Saṃyuttanikāya, 4.218–220), for example, the Buddha ridicules ritualistic practices of Brahman...