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SCHOOLS OF FENG SHUI
The Form school
Feng Shui developed thousands of years ago in little villages of the
Orient. It was called Folk Feng Shui because each village had their
own guidelines on how to use it. Their livelihoods were dependent on
it. They studied the formations of the land and ways of the wind &
water (Feng Shui translated means the way of Wind & Water) to
determine the best sitting for their survival. Over time Feng Shui
developed and was used by emperors to ensure their success.
The original Feng Shui Masters were hired by emperors to wage war.
It is said that they had the power to manipulate the wind, water and
fog to help the outcome of battles. Folk Lore has it that the
Emperor was fearful that they would use their skills against him, so
he ordered the Feng Shui Masters put to death.
Many of the Feng Shui Masters went into hiding in the Buddhist
Monasteries in fear for their lives. Many Monks were trained in the
ways of Feng Shui. This is why today there is a Black Hat School of
Feng Shui.
This is the origin of Feng Shui and what is called Form School Feng
Shui. It addresses the energies of the roads, rivers, mountains and
placement of structures in relationship to them. Its premises are
based upon the forces of Mother Nature. Typically you will find that
Form School is utilized by both the Black Hat School and the Compass
school.
The Compass school
Compass School has its roots in Chinese Astrology, relating the
energetic patterning of an area to the magnetic influences of the
Earth and the planets. The Chinese system relies upon the position
of Jupiter as the bringer of Good Luck and Fortune and other
numerological information. The 12 part map employed allows for more
detail than the more commonly used 8 part systems popular today.
One technique employed is the use of the Local Space Chart, which
was reproduced in a generic form through the use of the luopan or
geomantic compass. This device helps to determine the directional
alignment of buildings. True traditional Compass School has been
radically changed with the advent of new systems furthering the
illusions popularized by feng shui practitioners. Many are based on
mis-translations of ancient texts and concepts. One such misnomer is
the reference to the five Chinese elements. Wood, fire, earth, metal
and water are not really elements. They are stages of matter.
Ancient teachings called them thus and added two more qualities;
heat and energy. This knowledge was simplified for use by the common
people however today's cultures require more details and specificity
in order to be used to full potential.
There are two primary forms of Feng Shui that utilizes the luopan.
The first is called the East and West Group method or 8 House (8
Mansion) method. This method examines the directional influence on
the people and the building to determine how and where best to align
oneself within the building.
A second application is to use the luopan to find the orientation,
combined with a time aspect creates a detailed chart of the qi
within the building. This method is also known as Xuan Kong Feng
Shui. Xuan Kong is also called the Time and Space method. It is
concerned with looking at the qi within the building and mapping the
floorplan to determine the auspicious and inauspicious areas.
Utilizing the five Chinese elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and
water, feng shui practitioners can create a balance within the qi,
similar to needles correcting the qi in accupuncture.
The Black Sect school
Black Sect is a recent development of feng shui in the West, led by
Grandmaster Thomas Lin Yun Rinpoche. It is sometimes called Black
Hat Sect Tantric Buddhist. Black Sect feng shui relies less on
directional energies, horoscopes, and astrology, and instead focuses
on the internal orientation and organization of the space. For
instance, the Black Sect always orients the bagua in line with the
space's entrance, rather than northwards.
Some in the West prefer Black Sect feng shui, preferring to dispense
with the astrological aspects of feng shui and focusing greater
emphasis on its psychological benefits. Traditional chinese Feng
Shui schools do not officially recognize the Black Hat Sect due to
its failure to adhere to previously set principles.
Flying Star school
Flying Star school is the traditional Chinese Feng Shui and is based
on numerology which is the 'language' of the universe. It is also
considered superior to the other schools due to the fact it takes
into account the influence of time on a building. Flying Star the
most complex, accurate and powerful form of Feng Shui. If you would
like to hire a Feng Shui Consultant make sure they include Flying
Star school in their consultations
Use in burials
The effect of proper feng shui on the
living is thought to carry over to the afterlife. In traditional
feng shui belief, the feng shui of cemeteries affects the state of
the dead spirits and, indirectly, their living descendants. Spirits
of the buried were believed to remain at their gravesites or by the
homes of their kin, and just as bad feng shui harms relaxation and
ease of mind among the living, the spirits of people buried with bad
feng shui will be anxious and restless, and therefore more likely to
trouble the living. This reasoning led to careful feng shui planning
of cemeteries. Conversely, desecrating the feng shui of the grave of
an enemy's ancestor was thought to be a powerful weapon.
The straight lines and sharp corners
should not point at a gravesite or at the cemetery generally, a
smooth or gradual landscape is preferable to rocky or otherwise
sharp terrain. Waterways should be visible from the gravesite, but
not loose rocks or boulders, which can be hidden by trees or bamboo.
The use of early forms of feng shui or
geomancy in picking burial sites can be traced back at least to The
Book of Burial (c. 300 CE), written by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty.
Skepticism
Many Westerners are quick to dismiss Feng Shui as superstition.
Eitel calls it "a conglomeration of rough guesses at nature,
sublimated by fanciful play with puerile diagrams." The television
program Bullshit! covered the subject on March 7, 2003.
More recently, the high consultancy fees charged by feng shui
masters have raised eyebrows. This has led to accusations of fraud,
and practitioners being called cult members or snake oil salesmen.
Use in the West
In recent decades many feng shui books have been published in
English, often focusing on interior design, architecture, interior
decorating, and landscape design. Audiences have reacted skeptically
towards the purported benefits of crystals, wind chimes, table
fountains, and mirrored balls, etc., on one's life, finances, and
relationships. Often, these claims are dismissed as New Age,
pseudoscience, relying on the placebo effect, or even outright
fraud. The high prices charged by some feng shui analysts is
sometimes cited as evidence of the fraud claim.
Other audiences reject feng shui's justification for its rules
(movement of various energies, etc.), but believe that some of its
more practical rules (such as not working with one's back to a door)
are very useful. There is also no scientific evidence as of today
that Feng Shui exists. The fact that it has worked for some does not
mean it will work for everyone.
It is unclear what relationship these Western interpretations of
feng shui have to the Eastern tradition. Many traditional feng shui
practitioners in Asia regard Western adaptations as inauthentic.
The Los Angeles Times reported that News Corp., Coca-Cola, Proctor &
Gamble, Hewlett-Packard and Ford Motors are also using Feng Shui.
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