 The Mahayana tradition, however, recognized the attainment of buddhahood itself—not merely deliverance from afflicting passions and samsaric existence—as the genuine goal of religious practice and proclaimed it, along with the engagement with beings in samsara that it implied, as the supreme fulfillment for all sentient beings since the beginningless past. It is natural, therefore, that Mahayana Buddhists recognize the present existence of vast numbers of celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas who had already reached attainment.