Do Buddhists believe in God or gods? Buddhism is always considered unique and special among religions because its practitioners don't believe in a creator god, or at least, they don't rely on him for their salvation.
According to the Pali Canon, the most ancient of Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha didn't reject the existence of gods, but he considered them to be subject to change and death.
He said that to invoke their aid or influence was useless.
The truths of Buddhism are not dependent on the gods, and attempts to use their influence are deprecated as vulgar practices.
So, belief in gods is not essential in Buddhism, they can't help you to achieve Nirvana.
In fact, early Buddhists considered the human condition a more favorable one to seek enlightenment, as the life of a god is full of distractions and it's more difficult to focus in meditation and wisdom.
However, there is another side to the story.
As Buddhism expanded and evolved, its beliefs and practices changed dramatically.
Mahayana Buddhists believe in celestial boddhisattvas and Buddhas, these are beings that reside in the heavens and have infinitely greater power than we have.
These celestial boddhisattvas have the ability to intervene in this world and save people as if they were gods.
These powers make it possible for celestial boddhisattvas to reside in the heavens, hence the name celestial.
These powers also make it possible for them to function as the Buddhist equivalents of the Hindu gods.
Buddhists insist, though, that these great boddhisattvas have gone so far from the Hindu gods in their power and in their understanding of reality, that is it not appropriate to think of them as being gods at all.
To learn more about this you might be interested in the following site by author Pablo Antuna: