Feng Shui governs realm of the dead for Chinese

Feng Shui governs realm of the dead for Chinese

Text and photos by Mauro Rahardjo

BANDUNG (JP); The Encyclopedia Sinica defines Feng Shui as: "Feng Shui -- wind and water, the outward and visible signs of celestial yang and yin; the art of adapting the residence of the living and the dead so as to harmonize with the cosmic breath." This means that Feng Shui rules apply to buildings for both the living and the dead.

Feng Shui principles have their origin in antiquity. It grew out of the worship of the dead. These rules existed in the old religion of the Chinese. The deceased ancestors were their principal patron divinities, who influenced the fate and fortunes of their descendants in every way.

It was believed that ancestors were to be venerated and that if their final resting places were placed in good Feng Shui locations their descendants would prosper and enjoy good fortune for many generations. Their lives would be blessed with honor, fame, material wealth, longevity and plenty of male offsprings.

The ancient practice of geomancy is not only a means of divination, but also a way of foretelling the future based on external phenomena. There are many cases that support this belief.

Their are many success stories about men whose ancestors had good Feng Shui burial places. Zhu Yuan Zhang succeeded in becoming the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty soon after his fisherman father buried his grandfather at a site known as the Cave of the King. The Chinese also believe that Sun Yat Sen's outstanding success during the turn of the century was due to the extremely favorable position of his mother's grave in Clearwater Bay in Hong Kong.

Fortunes have taken a turn for the worse when the graves of a family's ancestors were desecrated. This explains why in Taiwan many wealthy families often purchase the land in front of their ancestors' graves to guard them against the construction of anything that may damage their Feng Shui.

According to Basuki Sudjatmiko in his book Hong Shui Nipun, a wealthy family in Probolinggo went bankrupt soon after the head of the family was buried in front of his father's grave. A geomancer from Singapore advised them to move the son's grave to the back part of his father's, and after this had been carried out the family was back in business.

In Chinese belief, death is considered an extension of living. There is also a belief that everything in the universe is intimately related. In fact, several other mystical philosophies believe that every movement in the universe gives rise to a reciprocal movement.

It is important that the deceased be afforded the same or better comforts than they had during their lifetime, so that the deceased can report happily to Heaven on the piety of their children and grandchildren, and ultimately persuade the supernatural powers to bestow rewards and benefits to their descendants.

How does the geomancer compute and derive the orientation of a building or tomb? Firstly, he has to know the date of birth of the person concerned. With the birth date of the person, he refers to the luopan or compass to find the correct orientation of the site.

One Feng Shui rule is that a man's fate is influenced by astrological predictions in the year of his birth. Chinese astrologers are supposed to be able to foretell the future of a person from birth to death by referring to these predictions. The geomancer then relates the year of birth to the Chinese animal year: dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, cock, dog, rat, bull, tiger and rabbit. This order repeats every twelve years.

By computing the order in the cycle of the Chinese calendar, a person is classified as belonging to one of the following orders of nature: gold, wood, water, fire or earth. Since the universe is made of yin and yang and is represented by gold, wood, water, fire and earth, the balance of these ingredients or elements affects nature and man's fate.

According to Dr. Evelyn Lip, a Fengshui expert, there are five factors that govern the choice of a burial place or building site:

loong: dragon, this represents the location of the burial ground.

xue: hole, but in geomancy it indicates the foundation of the tomb or building site.

sha: it symbolizes the surroundings of neighboring environment of the site.

shui: water, it depicts the streams flowing through of bypassing the site.

xiang: the orientation or the direction of the site.

All these factors have to be considered when choosing a burial place or building site. Once they have been decided they will influence the future or fate of the people involved.

The burial ground must not only have the profile of a good dragon but also the "breath of cosmic life" -- good air. A lack of cosmic breath would affect the well-being of the dead and the fortune of his descendants. Land that is flat, waterlogged or not backed by a hill is considered unsuitable.

Both shui and xiang (water and orientation) are essential features in the houses of the living as well as the dead. According to the geomancer, the buried need fresh air. Without wind, the air is still; with wind the air circulates. The quality of shui is believed to be divided into good or bad. Slow moving water round the house or burial ground is generally believed to bring good luck. To get an accurate assessment of the entire external environment is necessary because the location, ground and quality of the sand do in fact influence the value of the stream.

Geomancy may have originated from the divination in ancient Chinese texts some three thousand years old. By means of such divination techniques as those of the Yi Jing and the theories of yin and yang and the five elements, the intricacy of the Feng Shui system is employed to predict and control the phenomena of nature.

A filial piety which, in obedience to the lessons of ancient and modern mentors of the nation, takes good care of the graves of parents and grandparents, has a material reward. By Feng Shui, the graves are turned into mighty instruments of blessings and punishments. The spirit of the ancestors are divinities of the nation in which goodwill and all social happiness is intimately bound up.

But souls do not dwell in graves only. They also reside in tablets exposed for worship on domestic altars, and in temples erected to shelter them. There, too, precisely for the same reasons, they ought to be made to live under the favorable influences of Nature. Consequently, Feng Shui is firmly entwined with house building and the construction of ancestral temples. It plays an important part even in the erection of altars and sanctuaries, dedicated to all gods and saints.

Different geomancers have different approaches to geomancy, but not all approaches can improve Feng Shui. In fact, the most important factor lies in the moral character of the person seeking advice. If he is evil or immoral, his good Feng Shui will not last.

Dr. Mauro P. Rahardjo, is Director of the Research Institute of Parahyangan Catholic University and an architect who practices Feng Shui.