Question asked by DAN
What are the Buddhist views of the 5 planetary deities and the 28 star deities? I found out on the Sun deity, Mars deity, Mercury goddess, Venus goddess, and Jupiter deity in Buddhism and would like to know if they are allowed to be worshiped. Since my mewa said I was connected to a war deity and a powerful spirit(I do not know who), I thought the fire god would be alright to worship with his mantra of Namah Samanta Buddhanam Om Agniye Svaha.
Dear Dan,
Within the Tibetan Buddhist system of astrology, it is usually divided into 2 areas of calculations. The first is called Nagtsi, or calculations based on terms of observations of the cycles of energy and time in the universe; and the second is called Kartsi, which is based on the planetary movements in the sky.
Since Kartsi is based on the planetary movements, it does included planetary deities and star (or rather constellation) deities. These are considered to be deities in the sense that they are part of the upper echelon of the god realms. In Buddhism however, these deities are not worshiped per se. This is because Buddhists do not take refuge in unenlightened beings, even if they are of the higher god realms. Being gods, they are still within samsara, and are therefore still bound by the same emotions that you or I would be, for example, what is known as the three poisons: ignorance, desire/attachment, and hatred/jealousy. There are however rituals which are used to appease these deities and negative astrological influences, but they are not prayed to as such.
In regards to your Mewa and your connection with a war deity and a powerful spirit, the way to keep this connection strong so that they can provide you help in this life, is to follow advice that would have been listed in your Mewa’s explanation. These beings do not need to be worshiped in any sense, but will naturally be around you as long as you live a virtuous life.
If you do want to engage in the worship of a deity, perhaps you should choose one of the many enlightened beings, or perhaps an enlightened Dharma protector such as Dorje Shugden. If you are practicing Buddhism, this would be the best, as it would in keeping with the Buddhist precept of only going for refuge and propitiating the enlightened beings, rather than the gods, who although extremely powerful do not have the qualities of enlightened compassion and wisdom that Buddhist practitioners seek. I hope this helps. Thank you.