Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Wu Jing and Wu Xing 五经与五行

The Five Canons 五经:

Shi Jing 诗经 (Canon of Poetry)
Shang Shu尚书 (Supreme Book)
Yi Jing 易经 (Canon of Changes)
Li Ji 礼记 (Propriety Narration)
Yue Jing 乐经 (Canon of Music)

are also classified under Wu Xing:

Shi Jing is classified as Earth because poetry expresses the feeling of people in the most trustful way.

Shang Shu is classified as Metal because history events show the path of righteousness.

Yi Jing is classified as Water as it is the product of human wisdom.

Li Ji is classified as Fire as propriety is the display of human dignity.

Yue Jing is classified as Wood because music is soothing and kind.

If we try to apply the Sheng Cycle and Ke Cycle to the above, we will have a better understanding of these two cycles. Sheng and Ke are both like a sword with two edges. They are not all good and not all bad. It only depends on how they are used.

JY

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Wu Xing

The five elements (Wu Xing 五行) correspond to the five norms (Wu Chang 五常) or the five principles of virtues:

Wood - Benevolence 木為仁
Metal - Righteousness 金為義
Fire - Propriety 火為禮
Water - Wisdom 水為智
Earth - Trust 土為信

These are supposed to be the five norms of human behaviour. In other words, what is normal is already virtuous.

It is interesting that the five norms are quoted in the reverse controlling sequence. It will be a very interesting exercise to read into the generating and controlling cycles to see how these five normal human behaviours interact.

Note that you must give up the false notion of what is commonly called a "destroying cycle". Ke 剋, in most situations, has a positive meaning.

Sheng 生, Ke 剋; Ji 吉, Xiong 凶 - This fundamental notion is so simple and yet so simply misunderstood.

JY

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Playing with the Five Elements

Let us use the Wu Xing principle to understand the saying:

一命
二運
三風水
四積陰德
五讀書

The translation is:
(1) Destiny
(2) Cycle
(3) Feng Shui
(4) Accumulation of hidden virtuous deeds
(5) Study books

The five element assignment is:
(1) Earth
(2) Metal
(3) Water
(4) Wood
(5) Fire

If you know the five element properties, you will see how aptly they can be integrated into the saying. You will also note that they are in the generating cycle beginning with Earth - the basics.

JY

Friday, November 14, 2008

Xuan Kong Fei Xing started around 1930?

Recently someone is spreading the unfounded information that Xuan Kong Fei Xing 玄空飞星is a school that started around 1930. His intention is to say that this relatively new school of Feng Shui does not work as some masters claim and that his practices are much more powerful. This is very poor marketing exposing his ignorance.

Probably this person can speak but not read and write in Chinese. The principles of Xuan Kong begins with the Qing Nang Jing 青囊经 given to Zhang Liang 张良 by Huang Shi Gong 黄石公 during the reign of Qin Shi Huang 秦始皇 (259 BC - 210 BC). The technique of the flying stars is well explained in the classics Xuan Kong Mi Zhi 玄空秘旨,Xuan Ji Fu 玄机赋, Fei Xing Fu 飞星赋 all published in the Song Dynasty 宋朝 (960-1279).

JY

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Zheng Shen vs Ling Shen (3)

Earth Chart is unchanging. It is simply the Luoshu.

4 9 2
3 5 7
8 1 6



Earth Chart represents the distribution of Earth qi. It is unchanging but it is also changing in cycles. What is unchanging is the nature of qi. What is changing is the timeliness of qi.


Heaven Chart is changing with a different number placed at the center and the numbers fly forward in the Luoshu path. The central number is the "Ruling Star" - Ling Xing 令星.


What is wrong with Tan Yang Wu's treatment is that he mixes Earth qi and Heaven qi.


Next, we examine the Xian Tian Ba Gua with Hou Tian numbers:






Then we draw the Hou Tian Ba Gua together with the numbers from the above chart:


This is the Earth Chart but the numbers are from the Xian Tian Ba Gua.

In Xuan Kong Da Gua, 180 years are divided into the Upper Cycle with Periods 1, 2, 3, and 4; and the Lower Cycle with Periods 6, 7, 8 and 9. Note that the Upper Cycle consists of female trigrams while the Upper Cycle consists of male trigrams.

The Periods, however, are to be applied to the timeliness of the 64 Hexagrams for Zheng Shen and Ling Shen purposes.

In Xuan Kong Liu Fa, the eight directions are divided into two parts: SE, S, SW and W is one part while NW, N, NE and E is another part. The two parts are to represent the mountain and water locations for the Upper and Lower Cycles.

Upper Cycle: SE, S, SW, W for water; NW, N, NE, E for mountain.

Lower Cycle: NW, N, NE, E for water; SE, S, SW, W for mountain.

Feixing and Dagua are the two branches of Xuan Kong. As Feixing derives the complete charting based on 3 Yuan 9 Yun, it emphasized on Heaven qi. Dagua, on the other hand, is based on 2 Yuan 8 Yun and therefore talks about Earth qi. The former is the application while the latter is the body.

Xuan Kong Liu Fa is another method that claims to be the authentic Xuan Kong School. I will not comment on its validity here.

It is unfortunate that some people actually mix up 3 Yuan 9 Yun and 2 Yuan 8 Yun resulting in teaching that resembles an animal that is neither a donkey nor a horse 非驢非馬.

JY

Friday, November 7, 2008

Zheng Shen vs Ling Shen (2)

Talking about Ti and Yong, we must not forget that Xian Tian (Ba Gua) is Ti while Hou Tian (Ba Gua) is Yong 先天為體,後天為用.

There is also a saying that mountain governs people while water governs wealth 山管人丁, 水管財祿. Now, since for Heaven qi, we get the direction of Zheng Shen by locating the golden dragon #5 in the Heaven Chart, while Ling Shen is the direction opposite that of Zheng Shen, then each of the nine periods has a specified direction for Zheng Shen and Ling Shen. Period 5 is divided into 10 years following Period 4 and the second 10 years following Period 6.


On the other hand, for Earth qi, we have a broader sense of the terms Zheng Shen and Ling Shen. There is no need to fly the star. The Xian Tian Ba Gua with Luo Shu numbers explain it well.




The terms Zheng Shen and Ling Shen are actually used in different ways by different schools.

What Tan Yang Wu teaches is:

For the Upper Cycle, 1234 represent Ling Shen while 6789 represent Zheng Shen.
For the Lower Cycle, 6789 represent Ling Shen while 1234 represent Zheng Shen.

For Xuan Kong Da Gua, the terms are defined just in the opposite way.

For the Upper Cycle, 1234 represent Zhen Shen while 6789 represent Ling Shen.
For the Lower Cycle, 6789 represent Zhen Shen while 1234 represent Ling Shen.

In the next episode, I will explain how each is to be used.

The funniest thing is that some people teach that during the Lower Cycle today, water should be in the N, SW, E and SE while mountain must be in the NW, W, NE and S. If water is misplaced in the directions where there should be mountain, then it will bring misfortune. This is the result of not having a good understanding of Body and Application, Xian Tian and Hou Tian.

JY



Thursday, November 6, 2008

Zheng Shen vs Ling Shen (1)

There are confusing and contradicting teachings regarding the principle of Ling and Zheng 零正. Usually the period star according to San Yuan Jiu Yun 三元九運 is placed at the center of a nine square grid and allowed to "fly forward" to complete the Heaven chart. The location of the number 5 in the chart is considered the Ling Shen direction. The opposite direction is the Zheng Shen direction. However, Tan Yang Wu taught something different.

He said that if the number is odd, then it flies forward as odd is yang. If the number is even, then it flies backward as even is yin. This is according to the Yang forward Yin backward 陽順陰逆 principle. For example, in Period 8, this is the Heaven chart:

9 4 2
1 8 6
5 3 7

5 in the NE is Ling Shen and there should be the place for water. The opposite direction SW is the Zheng Shen direction and there should be mountain.

This is one of the interesting advocations. Stay tuned for more.

JY

Monday, October 20, 2008

Education: Science vs Feng Shui

Sir Issac Newton said, "What Descartes did was a good step. If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."

Feng Shui practitioners today claim to be the xxx generation disciple of Yang Jun Song or even Guo Po, Huang Shi Gong, ... They are proud of peeping under the trousers of these great Feng Shui masters in history. This is how the lineage game is played.

How did Newton learn from Descartes? The answer is simple: from his written work.

If we want to see more, we have to stand on the shoulders of Giants and not hiding under the legs of Giants and claim to be closely related to the Giants. How? The answer is simple: learn from the books written by the great people in history.

The "lineage holders" will say, "You can't learn Feng Shui from books. The masters in the past wrote the books in cryptic language and only the lineage holders can understand the secret. This is because the masters did not want the powerful Feng Shui technique to be in the wrong hands."

How much damage can Feng Shui do if it falls in the wrong hands? Can it be worse than using the knowledge of science and technology to create modern weapons that can kill millions?

There is a Chinese proverb: Stop eating because of hiccups 因噎廢食 that describes this stupid excuse.

Our attitude should be to stand on the Giants' shoulders to see further and to respect the Giants who give us a lift. How? Learn it the way scientists do.

JY

Monday, October 13, 2008

Playing the Lineage Game

The lineage claim is just a game Feng Shui practitioners love to play. Most schools claim Yang Jun Song 杨筠松 (better known as Yang Jiu Pin 杨救贫) to be the founding great grand master. Come to think about this: Where and from whom did Yang Jiu Pin learn Feng Shui?

It is interesting that no one suggested he got the knowledge from some aliens who were much more advanced than our civilization. It is the only sensible answer if the lineage game is to be convincingly played.

People who know me well understand that I learned Chinese Metaphysics from ancient books under the guidance of an old master. Our relationship is just like that between a doctorate student and his professor. The lineage game is not played in universities but there may be a school of thought honoured by people with like minds.

The lineage game has suffocated the development of Chinese Metaphysics. I am giving out the wake-up call to dreamers and if my voice is not loud enough, please join me.

JY

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Open Mind

The historical background of Feng Shui makes it difficult to differentiate the true knowledge from false information. Having an open mind is important but unfortunately a lot of people misunderstand this term.

Having an open mind simply means to listen to various opinions. It does not mean to accept various opinions.

We respect others as human beings and respect their right to have their own opinions even if they are wrong but we do not have to respect the wrong opinions.

How do we know an opinion is wrong then? It can only be found out by sincere debates, by logical reasoning and by experiments. If people practise Feng Shui in a different way, as long as they are true to themselves, we should respect them as people. But if the theory is wrong, we do not have to respect the theory and it is our responsibility to persuade people what is right and what is wrong. If they do not have an open mind and will not listen, we have lost our respect for them because there is no sincerity towards seeking truth.

No one is right all the time. When people point out we might be wrong, we must listen but not on the defensive immediately. If it is a mistake, we admit it and correct it. If we are not wrong, we try to explain our position and happily enter into a constructive debate.

JY

Friday, September 19, 2008

Faces on Glacier?

This is a photo I took in Alaska. Use your imagination and you will see a lot of interesting "faces". In the same way, some people can "see" the nine stars in different areas of a house.

JY

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Wedding party



We attended our nephew Gabriel's wedding party in beautiful Malibu. Tomorrow we will be enjoying a cruise to Alaska. I promise myself at least one whole bucket of king crab.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Cremation

Some people claim that yin zhai feng shui is most powerful. If your parents are buried in a grave with superb feng shui, you will be very wealthy the next year. The term used is 寅葬卯發 meaning "if a deceased parent is buried in the Yin year, the children will get rich in the Mao year". Such claims can never be proved or disproved.

Both my parents who died 10 and 20 years ago were cremated and the ashes scattered into the sea. Of course I did not get rich right away but it is enough to say that if the way to bury the dead is related to the well being of the descendants, then cremation is highly recommendable using myself as a living example.

Perhaps I will be the first Feng Shui master to be cremated after I die.

JY

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

What is this?



Can you imagine what this is?

There is no need for Hu Xing He Xiang 呼形喝象. The image is simply too clear.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Melodic Elements

Melodic Elements (Na Yin Wu Xing) is one of the many representations of the five elements. My ebook explains the theory and applications in details.

To appreciate the melodic elements, you are welcome to download the pps file:

http://www.astro-fengshui.com/Melodic%20Elements.pps

JY

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Olympics 2008-08-08 8pm

The four pillars structure has a very strong water base formed by Shen-Zi-Chen. With respect to the Day Stem Geng, water is performance. We can expect the performance of the athletes to be excellent.

The hour chosen is not really good. If 8 am is chosen instead of 8 pm, the hour pillar will be Geng Chen. It indicates more cooperation and competition in a friendly way. The problem with 8 pm is that there is a clash between the hour and day branches. The hour stem Bing fire sitting on the bank of fire is what is known as Pian Guan that can attack the Day Master Geng. This indicates some bickering towards the host on political issues. It does not hurt the event as a whole as water is too strong for the fire to be harmful.

If the hour chosen is 6 pm instead, then the financial return is much better.

JY

Monday, July 14, 2008

Olympics 2008




The opening ceremony is chosen to be 2008-08-08-8 pm.

The date is not chosen just because of all the 8's.

Examine the four pillars chart, the XKDG chart and the QMDJ chart, you will know that it is not just coincidence.

JY




Sunday, July 13, 2008

Education

The following is quoted from a Buddhist book. You will find the situation amazingly similar in Daoism,Confucianism and Feng Shui.

"Buddhism was regarded as an educational system, and not a religion when it was first introduced intoChina. Regretfully, about two hundred years ago, the practice of Buddhism had taken on a more religious facade.

Buddhism is a special kind of knowledge; it is not areligion. In order to derive true benefit from it, we have to understand its true nature. Buddhism is the teaching of Buddha Shakamuni as he wasits founder. We call Him the "Original teacher". The relationship between Buddha and ourselves is a teacher-student relationship, which is not religious in nature. The relationship between a Bodhisattva and ourselves is a senior schoolmate-junior schoolmate relationship. "

A teacher can only educate us about the principles, tell us of his/her experiences in practice and attainment, and suggest various methods for our attainment. The rest ultimately depends upon us. "Well, well, in Feng Shui education, what we learn is the teaching of the great masters in the past. We are learning from the great masters themselves through their written work. A teacher is responsible to educate his/her students about the principles, and tell them his/her experiences in practice and attainment. The first part is fundamental. The second part is only a guideline and sharing experimental results.

A good teacher must teach the fundamental principles and his/her experiments (practices) must be based on these principles. It is not sufficient to say that this is what my teacher told me and he is the most experienced teacher today. Anything not based on principles is not worth trying because it is dangerous. An experiment is only to verify a theory. We should not practise anything blindly without a theoretical background.

Today, we see a lot of smart people start teaching immediately after attending a seminar. This is irresponsible. That is why I spread out the teaching of Qi Men Dun Jia to cover a one-year on-going intensive course and assign a lot of practical work throughout the course. But I still require my students to have enough practical work to verify the theories before they are qualified to teach.

JY

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Saturday, June 28, 2008

My Grandson's Graduation

Cute, isn't it? This reminds me of graduation ceremonies of a Feng Shui Academy.

JY

Monday, June 16, 2008

Life (4)

Character analysis is the most important part in a life reading. We often hear people say something like this:

"You have shang guan, therefore you are rebellious."
"You have qi sha, therefore you are an outlaw."

This is very unprofessional. To be able to do a good life reading, understanding the 10 deities/gods is the first step. The second step is to see how the deities are located in the chart to see how they interact with each other. Then, examine the luck pillars to see the change in the strength of the deities and what are being brought to the surface. This will account for the major contribution to the character of a person.

The other contribution comes from Feng Shui. This consists of 3 parts. The first is the Ming Gua of the person. It is the guiding spirit and life long mentor of the person. A person has the tendency of imitating his own Ming Gua. Therefore understanding of the eight trigrams and nine stars is most important. The next thing that will affect the behaviour of a person is the environment. That is why the study of "forms" in Feng Shui is so important. The third is the stars in the house. This includes both the basic yin and yang qi of the house, the star that takes care of the person while he is asleep and the star that the person embraces while at work.

If an actor wants to perform well in a movie, he must first study the scripts to understand the character development of the hero of the story. It is in this way that he will be able to give the right reaction as the story goes on. In a life reading, it is the same. Once you can grasp the character of the person, you will know what happens when he encounters a situation. Life reading will not be a guessing game and reading the four pillars will be like watching a movie.

A good life reading is not telling the story. The astrologer should be like the director of a movie to tell the actor what to do and how to do well.

JY

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Life (3)

If everything is "by choice", then what is the place of astrology? What is the place of Feng Shui?

What I can say is that we are influenced by Heaven and Earth to make a choice. Heaven also confines your choice with limitation. It is just like playing a computer game. You have to choose the weapons first. You are, however, unable to choose anything other than from the list of weapons available. If you play a different game, you will have a different list and the software will also provide you with different paths to walk on.

Among the three potentials (San Cai 三才), Heaven comes first. It affects the other two tremendously. In Chinese Astrology, the four pillars provide the fundamental ingredients to develop the character of a person. It is during the growth of a person that he builds up his character with these fundamental ingredients under the influence of Earth and Man (environment/education/friends). It is then the character of the person that guides him to make a choice when he walks the path of life.

The whole thing is an ongoing process. Nothing is written on the rocks. The picture, however, is to be painted with given instruments on given materials (paper/canvas). This is to say, not everyone is born with the same potential. One can only have the kind of achievement limited by the potential he is given at birth. Assessment of the potential is one part of astrology. It has a very important place. That is why Confucius said, "If you do not understand your destiny, you cannot be an honourable man 不知命無以為君子".

The term "honourable man" may not be a good translation of "Jun Zi 君子". The term actually refers to one who lives his life according to Heaven's will with the assumption that Heaven always means well. This is one of the more important core ideas of Confucianism.

JY

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Life (2)

The term "Heaven, Earth, Man" is used in may different situations.

We can say that it simply means "When, Where, What (action)". To get the best result, we have to do the right thing at the right timing and the right place. This is the microscopic assessment of an event. A good feasibility study can be very scientifically structured.

In metaphysics, we try to study the lives of people using their birth data. We conjecture that the qi structure at the moment of birth describes the potential of a person in many different aspects. In the four pillars studies, we are not just talking about the five elements and whether the chart is balanced or not. We are studying the interaction of the qi in various parts of the chart. This changes with time as the current external qi interferes with the internal interactions. For example, the ability to make money may be weak in the natal chart but time can make it strong. Time can also bring friends and partners to help the person make money. Time, in addition, may also bring romance opportunities to the person. Thus two people with the same four pillars chart may have different outcomes. One may make good use of the timing to get rich. The other may make good use of the luck to enjoy romantic affairs. The outcome is that one gets rich while the other does not. This is by choice and not by birth.

Each element has several representations in a four pillars chart. The same element can do different things in a chart. It is up to the person to take whichever representation and to do whatever according to his free will. The outcome will be totally different.

It is naive to say that astrology is nonsence because two persons born with the same chart have totally different lives. It is stupid to claim that astrology can tell you when you will get married, when you will get rich and famous, when you will die.

Life is like a computer game. Two people playing the same game choosing the same weapons will have totally different results. That is why.

JY

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Life (1)

It has been an overly quoted concept that our destiny is influenced by three factors:

Heaven - one's natal chart, the qi structure of the moment of birth and the interaction with Heaven's qi thereafter;

Earth - feng shui of one's ancestral burial site and feng shui of the house for the person;

Man - what is in the person's mind and hence his action.

Some people then hastily conclude that our free will is responsible for 1/3 of our destiny.

There are three factors but it does not mean that each has a equal weight of 1/3. The weight varies with different people. The weight also varies with time.

For example, when someone commits suicide, it has nothing to do with Heaven and Earth. It is 100% the person's exercise of his free will. According to the natal chart, the person may have to deal with some very difficult situation. The feng shui of the house where he lives may have brought him very bad luck. It may even induce a self-destruction notion in his mind. However, it is his free will that causes him to commit suicide.

From the destiny chart we may be able to see that the person may destroy himself. This is not to be interpreted as committing suicide in the literal sense. This only points at the person doing something leading to his own destruction. He may do something to ruin his career, his family and himself. There is no problem that has only one solution - death although this sometimes may be the easiest solution.

Suicide is one extreme example showing our life is in our own hands. It may not be so with other situations. Talk to you later.

JY

Saturday, June 7, 2008

My New Year Predictions

In my New Year Prediction for the Year of the Rat, I wrote:

1. Hilary Clinton will be the next US President. When she sees a rat, she will scream with tears in her eyes. Women will give her their votes because they also scream when they see a rat. Men will also give her their votes because they want to protect the fair sex.

This one is wrong. What excuse do I give? Well, she did get the votes from women. However, the young people do not like women screaming because of a rat. They think there is no excuse for women to show weakness against a rat. Therefore, she lost. I overlooked the influence of young people today in politics.

As for the other predictions, they were amazingly accurate although it was all meant for a joke.

2. Oil prices will reach $120 a barrel - because the rats steal too much oil making the supply tight. (This was too conservative.)

3. The world economy will be gloomy - more people will be as poor as a church mouse. (It will be more visible towards the end of the year when the rat is most active.)

4. There will be serious earth quakes as the rats are more active underground disturbing the earth. (I wish it was wrong.)

5. There will be more break-in because of the more activities of rats (Chinese call thieves "rats") . (I also wish it was wrong but it is likely to be true. So, take care.)

Don't take it serious when someone brags about how accurate their predictions are. New Year forecasts are nothing more than entertainment - they should be written in an entertaining way so that people know what they are supposed to be.

JY

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

A Story about Confucius

One day, Confucius was strolling on the street when he saw two young five or six year old boys arguing. The boys saw him and said, "Let's ask the great scholar Confucius and let him decide who is right."


"What is it that you are arguing about?" asked Confucius.


"We disagree with each other on the distance of the sun to the earth at different times of the day."


"What is your name?" Confucius said to one of the boys, "Tell me your argument first."


The boy said, "My name is Wan Li 萬里(10,000 miles). The same object appears larger when it is closer to the observer, right? When we see the sun rising in the morning, it was huge in the beginning and then it gets smaller and smaller. Therefore the sun is closest to us at sunrise."


The other boy said, "My name is Yao Yang 耀陽(Bright Sun). The same object is hotter when it is closer to the observer, right? The sun is hottest at noon. Therefore, it is closest to us at noon."

Confucius said, "You are both brilliant boys. I am ashamed of myself being ignorant of the sun."

We learn a lot from this lovely story.


JY

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Karma

Karma is simply "cause and effect". The theory is most scientific. Unfortunately this term is abused all the time.

There is a Chinese saying, "If you plant melons, you will harvest melons. If you plant beans, you will harvest beans." Karma is just as simple as that.

In the old days, when there was natural disaster, the emperor would reflect on what he did and blame himself as if the natural disaster was a punishment from Heaven for his wrong doing. Well, this might be just a show to tell people he was, in fact, a conscientious emperor. Through that, the people were brought together to reconstruct the country. However, it was abuse of the term "Karma" unless what the emperor did actually caused the natural disaster.

During the "Great Leap Forward", Chairman Mao ordered farmers to turn the soil three feet under to cover up the top soil. His theory was that the soil on the surface had been used for thousands of years while the soil below was "virgin soil" and must be very fertile. This was the cause of the "Great Famine". But, he never had regrets for his crazy policies. Yet, we cannot relate the wrong doings of the Chinese government in those days to the huge earthquake in Tangshan near Beijing in 1976 because these were unrelated things.

The chief editor of a popular magazine in Hong Kong also claimed that the recent Sichuan earthquake to be punishment from Heaven on what the Chinese government did to the Chinese people. Shame on him.

JY

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Eating with fingers

Several years ago, I had a wonderful experience eating in a high class restaurant in Inda. It was a fish cooked in a huge oven. The fish was first soaked in a pot of yogurt and then paced inside a very hot clay oven. When it was ready, the fish was taken out and served in a dish. When the cover was removed, the fragrant was incredible.

Then came the problem. I was not given chopsticks or fork and knife. So I followed my friends to try to eat the fish with my five fingers (not ten). The yogurt sealed up the moisture in the fish and the taste of the yogurt integrated into the fish and the combination was so good I couldn't describe it in words. What was best was that when the fish got into the mouth, the temperature was just right. You see, it it was too hot, my fingers could tell me to wait. Using chopsticks or a fork would put your mouth and tongue in danger of being scorched.

The story tells us that using five fingers, a pair of chopsticks or a fork and a knife all have their merits. There is no need to force one way on another.

JY

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Life



How many lives can you see and how many are there you cannot see?

Click image to enlarge.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Science and Metaphysics

Eisnstein said, "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

He did not specify which religion he was referring to. There is one important ingredient common to all religions. It is that a human being is not just a walking piece of meat. A human being has a spirit to guide his actions. In this respect, what he said can also be applied to metaphysics. It will read, "Science without metaphysics is lame, metaphysics without science is blind."

The definition of death has changed with time. It first cited the stoppage of breathing. Then it was defined as when the heart stops beating. Now it refers to brain death. It is getting closer and closer to the truth. In metaphysics, death is the permanent desertion of the body by the spirit occupying the body.

Without acknowledging the existence of spirits, science will be limping along. Without using logical argument and scientific technique, the practice of metaphysics cannot see light ahead.

JY

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Life is like a computer game

Life is like a programmed computer game. You are given the weapons that you choose at different stages. This is like acquiring different skills in life that help us to walk our paths. If we choose wrong weapons, we will fail early. If we choose a different path at a crossroad, we will also face different enemies. The weapon used to defeat the enemy may be different. We have our choice.

Astrology can tell us what we may encounter at different stages of our lives. It does not, however, predict when we will die. It does not even predict whether we can beat our enemies and have good achievement. We are in our own hands, in other words.

A good astrologer can tell you what you will have to deal with at different stages of your life. He will tell you what weapons to choose to effectively overcome difficulties and achieve high in life. He will also tell you what to avoid and what to follow in order to live a meaningful life. But he will not tell you when you will get married, divorced, sick and die. Instead, he may tell you when you will meet your loved one and whether or not your marriage will be enjoyable. Then it helps you to decide whether or not to get married or just enjoy a sweet but not lasting relationship without commitment. He will also tell you which parts of your body are vulnerable to illness and when it is most dangerous.

Astrology, Yijing Divination, Qi Men Dun Jia are all such constructive systems. They help us to go in the right direction in life to have the most beneficial results. Unfortunately, all these systems are abused by most people to treat them as fortune telling systems. It brings them down to a worthless level.

JY

Monday, April 28, 2008

Buying East-West

East-West (Dong Xi 東西) means “things” in everyday life usage of the term.
To buy something is Mai Dong Xi 買東西.
But why East-West and not North-South?
Here is a story explaining why.

Song Dynasty scholar Zhu Xi 朱熹 met his friend on the street. He asked his friend where he was heading. His friend said, “I am going to buy East-West.”

Zhu Xi asked, “Why buy East-West and not South-North?”

His friend replied, “You see? The basket I am carrying is made of bamboo. The south is fire while the north is water. Fire will burn my basket while water will leak out. Therefore, I cannot buy South-North. The east is wood while the west is metal. They can be put in my basket. That is why I am buying East-West and not South-North.”

JY

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Project Presentation in Class


Bettina presenting her project


Bettina presenting her project


Judy Diana presenting their project


Olga presenting her project

Classes at FSRC

Class Photo 1

Class Photo 2





Monday, March 31, 2008

My greatest satisfaction

My greatest satisfaction comes from the fact that a lot of people, after studying with me, have changed their lives to ones that are full of success and joy. Of course, they have improved their lives because they worked hard. My contribution was just to point to them the path to take and to arm them with the tools to go along.

There are also cases of failure. Whom to blame? What to blame?

The same axe can cut down a tree but can cut one's own feet if used improperly.

The losers may curse the axe or even the axe-supplier. What a pity!

When Feng Shui does not work for you, it is because you applied the knowledge in the wrong way due to misunderstanding. Study hard, think hard. Don't jump to premature conclusions.

JY

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Sunrise and Sunset

Caribbean Sunrise


Caribbean Sunset

The same sun, you can definitely tell the difference.

JY

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Visit in Israel

Marina, Joseph and Teresa

Floating in the Dead Sea
The salinity of the Dead Sea is so high that one can sit on the water.







Thursday, February 7, 2008

What you may encounter in the Wu Zi year

The year Wu Zi brings different things for different people. Instead of predicting what will happen to people born with different animal signs, I will analyze people who were born with a different day stem. A thorough analysis of the Four Pillars chart may be totally different as the presence of the other 7 characters in your chart may change the whole situation.

Day Stem Jia 甲:
Wu is unforeseen wealth (Do not take it literally) while Zi is proper resource.
Jia people will experience unexpected financial happenings. It can be positive or negative. Watch your wallet. On the other hand, it is a good time to learn and gain knowledge. It is also beneficial to seek support from seniors. However, you can also be spoiled by people who support you. Do not be conceited and listen carefully to advice.

Day Stem Yi 乙:
Wu is proper wealth while Zi is overwhelming resource.
Yi people will have good opportunity in making money. Be careful, it can also be a trap for you to lose money. You will have overwhelming support in your undertakings. However, this will also limit the way you perform. Seek balance between the two.

Day Stem Bing 丙:
Wu is gracious performance while Zi is proper power.
You can gain power and authority through your good performance. When you make more money through your work, do not become a threat to your boss. Stay humble and do not be disappointed if your work has not given you the proper recognition yet. People will eventually give you the proper recognition you deserve.

Day Stem Ding 丁:
Wu is shocking performance while Zi is aggressive power.
You have fantastic ideas but it can be revolutionary and not accepted by most people. Watch your behaviour and make sure it is acceptable to people around you. Do not challenge your superiors. Focus at making money while earning a good name.

Day Stem Wu 戊:
Wu represents your friends/competitors while Zi is proper wealth.
Team work is most important. Do not mind sharing the profit with people as long as you make more money working with partners than you can single-handedly. There is abundant source of money coming your way.

Day Stem Ji 己:
Wu represents your friends/competitors while Zi is unforeseen wealth.
Either you have good partners or you have strong competitors. Friends can shoulder your burden but competitors will exhaust your energy. Make a good choice. There are plentiful opportunities of making money but you need partners to work with you. Even if someone takes the lion’s share, be content with what you get.

Day Stem Geng 庚:
Wu is overwhelming resource while Zi is spectacular performance.
Your performance will be curbed by your boss and perhaps interfered by your own newly acquired knowledge. However, Zi gives you a good foundation towards your performance. What you do will be spectacular and out of the ordinary. Just remember not to use your sharp words and rebellious actions to hurt people around you. You may not like the conservative thinking and conventional approach but it is better that you keep it to yourself. Yes, you will experience some kind of conflict deep down in your heart.

Day Stem Xin 辛:
Wu is proper resource while Zi is gracious performance.
Your boss/mentor will guide you to do a good job. You can integrate your knowledge into your performance extremely well. This is a smooth year for you.

Day Stem Ren 壬:
Wu is aggressive power while Zi is a friend/competitor.
Basically you feel that you are walking on solid grounds. You will experience confrontation and pressure but you will be strong enough to withstand that. In the end, you will feel triumphant and happy. If you give up, you will feel depressed and the sense of failure is very bitter. Remember there are good friends who are with you when you are in trouble. Have the confidence in winning despite the enormous pressure.

Day Stem Gui 癸:
Wu is proper power while Zi is a friend/competitor.
Power comes to you and you will enjoy the good name and success. This will be a fantastic year for you. If you are female, you will meet your ideal companion this year. If you are married, beware of falling in love with someone you should not.

JY

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Feng Shui and Astrology

Feng Shui cannot make you a billionaire. It cannot make you rich.

Feng Shui can provide you with the environment full of inspiration and energy to make money. It is you yourself who make you a rich person, not Feng Shui.

Astrology cannot predict that you will become a billionaire in certain 10 years. It cannot tell you that you will suffer from ill romance (Tao Hua Jie 桃花劫) in a certain year.

Astrology only tells you that in certain 10 years you will encounter good opportunitie in business. You make yourself a billionaire, not your horoscope. Astrology may also tell you that a trap is waiting for you to fall into whereupon you will be seduced by a woman/man. It is your choice to fall into the trap willingly and suffer from the consequence. It is not your horoscope that nails you down to the mess.

Living in a house with goood Feng Shui does not necessarily mean that you get the benefit. Peach Blossom energy can hurt you but it can also help you. It is your choice.

An ordinary Feng Shui consultant tries to "cure" the energies in a house.
A good Feng Shui consultant advices the occupants how to make the best out of the energies in the house.

An ordinary astrologer tells you when you will have good luck and bad luck.
A good astrologer advices you how to make use of your opportunities in specified ways and how to avoid identifiable problems in a specific time frame.

JY

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Year of the Rat predictions

1. Hilary Clinton will be the next US President. When she sees a rat, she will scream with tears in her eyes. Women will give her their votes because they also scream when they see a rat. Men will also give her their votes because they want to protect the fair sex.

2. Oil prices will reach $120 a barrel - because the rats steal too much oil making the supply tight.

3. The world economy will be gloomy - more people will be as poor as a church mouse.

4. There will be serious earth quakes as the rats are more active underground disturbing the earth.

5. There will be more break-in because of the more activities of rats (Chinese call thieves "rats") .

JY

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Morning Sun

The morning sun peeping through the mist
I enjoy the silent melody
As much as I enjoy seeing the world through the dreamy mist.
JY

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

A Comforting Story

It is good to tell a good story to start the new year.

My client Paul DeAngelis called me to fengshui his new home. When we first met 10 years ago, he was a fresh graduate from university pursuing professional degrees for practicing TCM. I fengshuied the house he rented to share with two other friends. He implemented all my suggestions and had success academically as well as in love life.

Paul got married and bought his first house. I fengshuied the house and the business he started 1 year later.

A couple of years afterwards, his business expanded and I went to fengshui the new addition.

Today, he has bought another house in a more expensive area and acquired another unit to further expand his business. It is really comforting to see how my client grows.

The story of the rented house was published on my website and this one is a continuation of the story. Please go to this page the read Part 1:
http://www.astro-fengshui.com/fengshui/case_study.html

After examining the house with the star chart, I told Paul and Christina to do something at the backdoor of the house as the energy there may cause leg injury. This is actually the same problem with the front door of his rented house in 1998.

Christina was astonished and pointed to one of their 3 dogs, “After moving into this house, this dog had problem with his right leg. We brought him to for medical treatment. He was then all right but his left leg is beginning to show problems now.”

I asked whether Paul had leg injury himself and he said no.

Then I noticed that one eye of the dog looked funny and asked them about it. Paul said the dog’s right eye was blind. He found it out one week after he bought the dog that the eye looked abnormal. He called the pet shop and they told him that the dog was blind and asked him to return the dog for a replacement. Seeing that the pet shop owner would make the dog sleep, Paul refused the offer and brought the dog for treatment instead. The dog is healthy and happy today except that the right eye is fake.

Well, Paul saved the dog's life. What did the dog do to Paul in return?

JY