Firstly, apologies for being away for such a long time.
Today I feel like writing a little about the Tao of Fengshui. The correct pronunciation is Dao in the Pinyin system but then Tao is more readily understood.
Much of the real essence of fengshui is based on one underlying theme. And that theme comes across from the ancient quote, “The skies above are lighted by the five stars. The earth below is pervaded by the five transmutations.”
You may wonder what are these five stars and five transmutations.
The five stars are the five planets of Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter. The five transmutation is known by the more familiar name of five elements. (Somehow here this term has again stuck and everybody knows them but no harm attempting to change that perspective.)
What this ancient quote may be trying to tell us is that there is a universal rule that applies to all myriad things that exist. There is also this natural law and that is the law of Tao.
Tao teaches us to recognize that all things go in cycles and harmony is the main theme, be it harmony with nature, people, rules and even ourselves.
What has all this to do with fengshui? To go into this would require more than the space here can allow but for the time that we have let us take a quick quick look.
Fenghsui now emphasize very greatly on computation using a variety of methods. Some from the old school would divide the directions into many divisions and assign the five transmutations to them. The productive/destructive theory of the five transmutations are then applied to determine the portents. Of course there are also more intricate theories involved with most of them having much in common with astrology; probably derived from it.
The other popular school relies on a variety of methods of computing basing on the LoShu diagram. Again there are many theories involved here and they all sound plausible and very convincing.
Despite all these mathematics and number and element juggling, it all deals with attempting to capture the nature of the qi. However not many ponder to question whether there is any validity to all these methods.
The five transmutations pervades the earth and is present in all things. Should this not be the true essence of Tao and hence fengshui for fengshui is derived from Tao? Instead of working out complex formulas and attempting to interpret them, would it not be proper to comprehend and perceive the essence of the Tao in our environment and thus fengshui our space with that knowledge.
Fengshui people of the old school warn against not engaging someone who does not belong to a lineage. It is difficult to argue against that for a lineage transmission carries along with it the knowledge and experience of previous practitioners. There is only one open question though and that is whether the application is effective. No one really knows except from yarns spun by zealous students and followers.
Perhaps we should look some beyond the theories that are being taught and used and look a little deeper into the Tao of fengshui.
Today I feel like writing a little about the Tao of Fengshui. The correct pronunciation is Dao in the Pinyin system but then Tao is more readily understood.
Much of the real essence of fengshui is based on one underlying theme. And that theme comes across from the ancient quote, “The skies above are lighted by the five stars. The earth below is pervaded by the five transmutations.”
You may wonder what are these five stars and five transmutations.
The five stars are the five planets of Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter. The five transmutation is known by the more familiar name of five elements. (Somehow here this term has again stuck and everybody knows them but no harm attempting to change that perspective.)
What this ancient quote may be trying to tell us is that there is a universal rule that applies to all myriad things that exist. There is also this natural law and that is the law of Tao.
Tao teaches us to recognize that all things go in cycles and harmony is the main theme, be it harmony with nature, people, rules and even ourselves.
What has all this to do with fengshui? To go into this would require more than the space here can allow but for the time that we have let us take a quick quick look.
Fenghsui now emphasize very greatly on computation using a variety of methods. Some from the old school would divide the directions into many divisions and assign the five transmutations to them. The productive/destructive theory of the five transmutations are then applied to determine the portents. Of course there are also more intricate theories involved with most of them having much in common with astrology; probably derived from it.
The other popular school relies on a variety of methods of computing basing on the LoShu diagram. Again there are many theories involved here and they all sound plausible and very convincing.
Despite all these mathematics and number and element juggling, it all deals with attempting to capture the nature of the qi. However not many ponder to question whether there is any validity to all these methods.
The five transmutations pervades the earth and is present in all things. Should this not be the true essence of Tao and hence fengshui for fengshui is derived from Tao? Instead of working out complex formulas and attempting to interpret them, would it not be proper to comprehend and perceive the essence of the Tao in our environment and thus fengshui our space with that knowledge.
Fengshui people of the old school warn against not engaging someone who does not belong to a lineage. It is difficult to argue against that for a lineage transmission carries along with it the knowledge and experience of previous practitioners. There is only one open question though and that is whether the application is effective. No one really knows except from yarns spun by zealous students and followers.
Perhaps we should look some beyond the theories that are being taught and used and look a little deeper into the Tao of fengshui.
