The Land Spirits of Your House By Living Buddha Sheng-yen Lu This was translated from Grandmaster Lu's 69th book, 陽宅地靈闡微.
PREFACE Some Knowledge of Geomancy for My Readers This is a book of teachings about the mundane Dharma. What are the teachings of mundane Dharma? They are in fact methods specially designed to pursue "family happiness", "good health", "good fortune", "filial sons and daughters", "removal of misfortune" and so on. In the past, I, Living Buddha Lian Sheng, once survey geomancy for other people. I found that many people's houses were wrongly located. I couldn't help sighing to myself: "What a waste! What a pity! Poor Creatures! How can they live in a house like that!" As I have great compassion for all sentient beings, I have written an introductory book on geomancy The Land Spirits of Your House-Teach Yourself Geomancy. Here in this book, I explain in great detail in the easiest language the most profound secrets in geomancy. I hold the opinion that to do anything in the mundane Dharma, we need to have three essential factors which are as follows:
These three essential factors constitute the three major elements. But among these, the importance of "geographic conditions" is obvious, for it is difficult to alter one's "innate elements" and besides "human efforts" require people's efforts after birth. Only "geographic conditions" are easy to change, so that geomancy is a wonderful way to turn failure into success. The so-called "geographic conditions" are very useful even in supramundane Dharma. In ancient times, the celestials would usually find "famous mountain and renowned cave" for their cultivation, a place where "the land spirit is outstanding". For the same reason, the Tantric practitioners would also prefer caves where land spirits are active. When I was young, I was educated by a Qing Cheng Mountain Taoist, Master Qing Zhen, who taught me A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits. Starting from there, I have founded the True Buddha School. I became fully awakened precisely by benefiting from the favourable geographic conditions, because wherever I went, I would choose a place to live in which has the most auspicious geomanic conditions. I seldom neglect the favours from geomanic conditions so as to keep the spirits there active and kicking. I seldom fall ill; I never take a afternoon nap; I never feel tired. In the five years in the States, I haven't even caught a minor flu. This is really due to the combination of the three "innate", "geographic" and "human" factors. The fact that I have become a Living Buddha bears out the great powers of these three factors. I believe that a student of Taoism does need the cooperation of the land spirits apart from his "innate conditions" and his "devoted efforts". So for practitioners of Taoism with innate conditions and devoted efforts, it is important to choose the right place for cultivation. All successful Tantric practitioners in the ancient times chose caves with the best land spirits. Otherwise their efforts might have gone in vain. We may conclude from the above that houses with the right land spirits are not only very comfortable but also help you to keep fit, have a successful career, enjoy happiness in the family and find your sons and daughters filial. If one lives in a house without land spirit, everything will go wrong. His own soul will not be comforted, his career will decline and as a result misfortune will fall on him. Many of my disciples and readers have asked me to write a book on house geomancy. After very long consideration, I feel it is necessary to let more people know the importance and great knowledge of land spirits and geographic features and let them know the benefit they can derive from land spirits. Geomancy contains much philosophy of life. I have chosen the easiest and simplest part to write about. I explain thing in simplest language using the latest and most practical notions, in the hope to set right the biased or erroneous views and to propagate my own experiences. In this book, I shall discuss "the choice of location" for houses, their height, width, their gate and doors, surroundings, halls, the kitchen, living-rooms, location of altars, the toilet, the study room, the stair case and other components. I shall use the most objective theory to share with readers my knowledge of geomancy. I hope this book is most practical and sincere, systematic and well-organized, containing nothing but the correct views. I also hope that the publication of this book represents some convergence of the supramundane Dharma and the mundane Dharma. I am not partial to the supramundane Dharma. To cultivate boundless happiness and give blessings to all my disciples and readers, I hereby with: good health and longevity to everyone, good luck to everyone, happiness to every family, fortune and wisdom to everyone, and success in cultivation to everyone. March, 1987
CHAPTER 1 - Don't Live In Tall And Isolated Houses Once a rich man invited me to look at his luxurious house. At the hour as arranged, he came in his sumptuous car to fetch me. However, I told them to wait. "It's time. Shall we set out?" "Sorry. There is no need now," I replied. "Why?" he was greatly amazed. "I visited your luxurious house last night. I understand everything now." "Master, you ... last night..." he was dumbstruck. For Living Buddha Lian Shen, this is nothing surprising. When I fell asleep last night, my original spirit came out from the top of my head, towering into space. Flying swiftly among the clouds, it came upon the rich man's house presently. The man lived at the very top of a mountain. The house was very tall, surrounded by an iron fence, covering eight mu of land. I told him, "You keep two horses; one is brown and the other is white. There are six fire-places within the house, all burning brightly. There are two precious paintings, a very, very old sword..." The rich man's amazement knew no bounds. Finally I told him that very tall and isolated houses are not good at all. When the house is very tall, it is exposed to winds from the eight directions. This is called "suffering from unlucky winds". When the house is isolated, it has nothing to rely on, nothing to support it. The rich people today, priding themselves on their money, all want to live in a high place. This desire of standing head and shoulders above others drive them to purchasing land at the top of mountains for building luxurious houses. However, once they have moved into those houses, their business will soon decline. Why? Simply a high place is exposed to winds from the eight directions and the Qi (vital energy) of the house upon it is always shaking. In ten cases out of ten, such houses will be haunted. In high and isolated places, its land spirits will not be very strong and concentrate in one spot; rather they will be delicate and scattered all over the place. Living in houses in those places spells bankruptcy. High and isolated places are fit for building houses upon them only when the land spirits spiral upward; that is, if you dig down deep enough, there are layers of five-colour soil spiraling up. However, at mountain tops, it is extremely difficult to find land spirits spiraling upward. That is why high and isolated places are no good for building houses. A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits has this to say: A house on a high place spells homicide. A house on an isolated place spells loneliness. As a house on a very high place is blown up by winds from all directions, the land spirits in the house are scattered and unsteady. A tall house attracts people's attention and often falls a victim to theft or burglary. Something similar can be observed in the philosophy of social life. A man in the highest position inevitably incurs envy. When one attracts too much attention, he puts himself in the danger of homicide. The President of the United States, for instance, is always seen with bodyguards because of his highest position. An isolated house has nothing to rely on and nothing to support it; as a result the land spirits cannot concentrate. Because of that, people living in the house can not get on very well, which encourages an eccentric disposition. People living in isolated houses often find their children and grandchildren away from home and live in solitude. This theory not only applies to houses on mountains but also applies to houses on the plane. If you make your house a great deal taller than others' on level ground, it is also a reflection of the desire to stand head and shoulders above others. The consequence will be the same: homicide and solitude. If a person is born with good fortune or in an important position, a tall house may be just appropriate for him. That is a special case. It is very inauspicious for a person with neither good fortune nor important position to live in a house that stands like a crane among chickens, for the house will soon be haunted and bring misfortune or disaster on the owner. I, the Living Buddha, believe that our houses should be appropriate for the kind of people we are. If the house does not match our good fortune or position, it will court unexpected disasters. I hereby conclude:
If the house matches the owner's good fortune or position, it should be made an exception. The rich man who asked me to study his house then decided to sell his huge luxurious house, because the owner before him went bankrupt and his servant was murdered. The present owner had just got divorced, with his wife and his children having left him. All indications point to "homicide" and "solitude". Be careful, please, in choosing the location of your house.
CHAPTER 2 - Don't Live In "Low And Pressed" Places When I was young, I often practised geomancy for other people. I had a principle: the rich and poor were treated as equals. I would readily go to help when the rich invited me. I would be equally glad to help when the poor came for me. So I practised geomancy both for the rich and the poor. The most important principle I adhered to was:" Never ask for a price; leave it to the wishes of the host." The reason for this is that I studied geomancy solely for relieving people of their sufferings. Once I was invited to the house of a poverty-stricken family. They were living in a very low place. Behind their house, stood a broken cliff reaching to the sky. The house was surrounded by bamboo. The owner grew vegetables to sell. I immediately concluded that this was a "low and pressed" place. A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits has this to say: A low house incurs suicide. A pressed house courts setbacks. My conclusion turned out to be correct. The wife of the owner killed herself by taking insecticide just because of some quarrel between husband and wife over their poverty. The grandmother, suffering from rheumatism, was taken to bed with hemiplegia. Of the children, some are ill with infantile paralysis, some with asthma. The owner worked like hell to sell vegetables, but met with a complete failure. Why does a house in a low place foretells suicide? This is because the house is at the bottom of winds. People inside always feel it is stuffy and depressing, and they tend to take things too hard. As they are not comfortable or happy, they can never achieve what they want. Upon certain initiation, they may go to some extreme. On the other hand, low places belong to the Yin, the negative, or the nether world, where the spirits from the nether world come to make mischief. This mischief can easily lead to suicide. A house is "pressed" if it is too close to an overhanging cliff. Such a house breeds a feeling of depression which tends to stifle any aspiration. Such a house also causes all kinds of strange diseases. Living close to a sheer precipice, one easily feels desolate and miserable; he will stand no chance of development. To be more practical, a house in a hollow place at the foot of a mountain, will collect a lot of water from a rainfall which will not go away easily. On the other hand during an earthquake, the falling rocks will bury the house deep. One has to be very cautious. I asked the owner of the house, "There are seven people in the house now. Is that right?" He was puzzled, saying "Only five." I let out a smile, "Exactly seven. Among them there are two regular visitors. Hah, hah!" "We never have visitors," he replied. I asked him to ask the grandmother if there were two regular visitors. To his great surprise, the old woman said yes. The two visitors wore costumes of the Qing Dynasty, one in black and one in red. They were often seen coming in and going out. The owner was now panic-stricken. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he asked the granny. "I was afraid you would be frightened. I was also afraid that you wouldn't believe me. You would tell me I was dim-sighted from old age." I told the owner that he should no longer live in that "low" and "pressed" place, because it was a place of spirits from the nether world. Living there, people in this world would suffer from diseases, run into difficulties and meet with setbacks. Affected by these Yin spirits, people of the Yang would often think of killing themselves. Suicide is induced by spirits from the nether world. Why could the grandmother see the Yin spirits? She was nearing her own grave. Her positive vitality was almost gone so that she was bogged down by negative forces. She was physically close to negative spirits. So she could see the spirit visitors. Some geomancy masters also believe that a house in a hollow place collects water which is as good as wealth. For that reason, such a house may spell a great fortune. However, the movement of water is difficult to deal with. Only the most capable master can channel a great deal of water in while letting out only a little of it. If a lot of water is let in without any outlet, people in the house will get drowned.
So I advised them to move as the house was fraught with grim possibilities. I remember the owner of the house gave me 50 Taiwan dollars. I didn't mind the pay since he was poverty-stricken. Furthermore, I am not a geomancy master out for big money. My aim in studying A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits was to benefit everyone with my expertise, not at all to better myself or to make money. This is a convenient way to guide people in matters of this world. More importantly, it is also to impel people to cultivate in accordance with the Dharma teachings. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, believe that in choosing the location for a house, we need first of all size up the "situation" because it is the most important. As the saying goes, "the situation is more powerful than the men". A high place is exposed to winds. A low place is exposed to water logging. A place that is neither high nor low is the best. The so-called "land spirits for houses" is in fact a matter of balance. Balance is a vast field of enquiry. We are at the threshold leading to this field.
CHAPTER 3 - Don't Live In A Haunted Place I once studied a very elegant house. The location was all right. The house had a lucky look and all the rooms inside were lucky. All the furniture was arranged according to geomanic considerations. The owner of the house had previously invited several well-known geomancy masters to look at the place, who all said: "Very good." However, as soon as I stepped into the house, I felt something was strange in there. I remarked, "Nothing is wrong with the house in terms of geomancy. But it is filled with a strange atmosphere. This is because there are strange spirits in here." "Which is the most strange place in the house ?" the owner asked me. With my special sense of touch, I toured around every room until I came to the swimming pool behind the house. I stopped there and said, "This is the most unusual place!" The owner remarked, "You are indeed extraordinary, Living Buddha Lian Shen! Most of the monstrous events have occurred here." The owner told me that people swimming there would feel extremely cold after a while. Every swimmer had at least once had a cramp in the leg. When one person was swimming, he would feel someone was pulling his leg. When diving deep into the water, he would feel there were other people swimming down there while in fact there was nobody. Sometimes at night when nobody was swimming there were sounds of someone splashing the water. "So, this place is haunted!" I told him. After some inquiry I got to know that on the land where the house stood was originally an old-fashioned hospital and the part where the swimming pool was the mortuary. As the hospital was very old, it was pulled down during some development programme and a huge elegant house was put up in its place. As the spirits of the dead from the hospital had not all left, they would cause very monstrous events. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, hold that there are spirits in the land. For example, there are spirits in the ruins of temples, in the ruins of hospitals, the ruins of grave yards, old battle fields, ruins of execution grounds, places where there had been murder cases, places of massacres from fires or earthquakes, places where the alter of gods had been moved. There are surely spirits if unusual things happen for no reason at all or there is no peace or security. Murder often suddenly occurs where there are spirits from the nether world. What to do with haunted places ? Some masters would recommend the removal of soil 50 cm deep with a bulldozer and put clean soil in its place. In this way the soil the spirits cling to is removed and the place will not be haunted any more. However, if the house is already built there praying for avertion will be the only way out. The Taoists will use the Nine-Phoenix Clean Water for Dirt Removal. Students of Buddhism will first recite the Great Compassion Mantra and sprinkle the Great Compassion Water both inside and outside the house. Then they will get some pieces of green bamboo, chip off the surface and write on them the land mantra : "Om. Dulu. Dulu. Diwei. Soha." These bamboo pieces are then buried around the house. This is to indicate that the spirits staying in the soil are no longer able to harass the people living in the house, nor are they able to transgress the limits. The commonly used methods include:
Haunted places are not always ruins of temples, grave yards, hospitals, battle fields or execution grounds. I was once asked to study a house whose owner was fond of antiques. In his house, he had a great collection of things used by ancients, such as beds, tables, chairs, tools and tables for worshipping gods. Among these things used by the ancients, some have spirits attached to them, who can throw the whole house into great chaos. The house I visited was one of such houses. Besides, some places became haunted because there had been too much negative force (the Yin) there. They are places where spirits from the nether world like to get together. Such places would include theaters in dark and shaded corners, deep valleys in mountains, special castles and very old houses. Generally geomancy masters do not know what to do with haunted places. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, am very experienced in this field. To be haunted, I would say, is a kind of interference by spirits. According to geomancy, houses must be situated in the right kind of magnetic field so that people living in them feel comfortable and happy. If the magnetic field is interfered and thrown into confusion, people there will feel fidgety and all things will go wrong. To be haunted is invisible. A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits says:
Haunted places are not suitable for ordinary people to live in. Surprisingly, I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, like to live in a haunted place, as I can regulate the frequency of spirit appearances. Making friends with the spirits, I can turn their interference into peace for my own use and benefit. Masters of geomancy should not be afraid of haunted places. If you can make use of the spirits, these places are safer and you will experience greater development and special result in cultivation.
CHAPTER 4 - Don't Live In An Odd Place What is an odd place? An odd place is an incomplete place. The Five Elements (metal, wood, water, fire and earth, held by the ancients to compose the physical universe) have their physical shapes:
In big cities, most of the odd pieces of land will assume the shape of triangle or of a broom. Neither of them is suitable for houses. Triangle-shaped houses are difficult for partition. Broom-shaped houses are badly organized. Both types of houses make people feel uncomfortable. When choosing a piece of land for building a house, we should not fall for oddly shaped plots of land simply because they are cheap. Such places have various negative forces because of their strange shapes. Living there for a long time, the people will be affected by its shape, thus becoming "odd-shaped" themselves. The shape of the house is very much like the appearance of people. A plot of land that is incomplete is like a deformed human body - a man without hands or feet, or without the nose or an ear. If the place is in a triangle shape, the pointed tip is exposed to negative forces of fire and the sides on its right and left are exposed to negative forces of wind. A broom-shaped place has several protruding corners, which will either hurt the owner of the house or hurt other people. When buying a piece of land for building houses, you are advised to choose a square or a rectangle or a circle shape of land. Never fall for an odd, incomplete piece! Oddly shaped plots are all right for building shops on, but not houses! Most of the plots with strange shapes have some protruding corners which possess terribly strong forces of their own. People who live in those places for a long time, are bound to be affected by the shape of the house and develop strong and strange character traits. Very often unexpected incidents happen to people in the house. This is because the negative forces are too strong and the magnetic field is strong but confused. People living in a house with strong magnetic force will not feel secure. A strong magnetic field is all right with banks, hospitals, supermarkets and department stores, where, with so many people coming in and going out, the negative force can be made positive. Masters of geomancy who know what they are doing should be able to turn the negative forces into positive forces. They will make a lot more money that way. If, the strong magnetic forces in those oddly shaped places are not made positive, they may attract heartless scoundrels who may rob the bank, stir up treatment trouble in a hospital, commit shop-lifting or blackmailing. These are exactly the things business people try their best to avoid. To be full of vitality is good luck while to be fraught with fire, murder and adultery cases is bad luck.
Masters of geomancy should be capable of directing the forces of the land. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, once studied a house on a plot of strange shape. The family in it had been very down on their luck, with five car accidents all together and everyone in the family suffering from serious nervousness. I immediately noticed that it was just the effect of the triangle shape of the ground. The whole family were short-tempered. Husband and wife were quarreling all day long. Their children were either hooligans or prostitutes. Such eccentric behaviour was caused by the negative forces coming from the three sides of the triangle, "fire" from the pointed tip and "wind" from the right and left sides. For the house was located right in the middle of two crossing highways. I noticed that their living-rooms all had a strange shape - some sort of triangles. I told the host, "Your daughters will all become concubines." "You are quite right, Living Buddha Lian Shen." "It's not that my divination is good, but that things are so obvious. It the living-room is not rightly shaped, the daughters will not get properly married but become concubines." Strange enough, the man's two daughters were all carrying on with married men. They were very pretty actually, but they just wanted to be lovers of men with wives. "What shall I do?" the man was worried. "This place is not suitable. I'm afraid you have to move. Turn this place into a department store. Find a quiet house and things will become normal." I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, hold that people are advised to leave oddly-shaped places alone. Their "floating" forces and extreme shapes often contain "violence" and "confusion". Even if department stores are to be built there, masters of geomancy should be consulted in order to make the negative forces positive. Those violent and confusing forces should not be dealt with lightly. If they are not properly controlled, they become even more violent. It makes people tremble with fear just to imagine living in those houses!
CHAPTER 5 - Tricks In Choosing A Residence Ground In the previous sections, we have mentioned that very low or very high places, haunted places and oddly shaped places are not suitable for building houses on. Apart from these, there are other features that also mean bad luck. It is essential that an intelligent master of geomancy be invited to study the ground before building the house on it. If the earth is sandy, it is not advisable to build houses on it. In sandy earth, the vitality of land is scattered; the land spirits are not strong enough to sustain the house. Rocky ground is not suitable for houses either, for in rocky earth the vitality of land is also scattered and therefore thin. The house would suffer before benefitting from its land spirits. We can tell whether the vitality of the earth is good or not by the feeling when we hold tight a handful of the soil. If the soil becomes together with the pressure, it is good. But it must not be clay; it is something between clay and ordinary soil. The ground you are choosing should be slightly raised behind the prospective house. If the house "has something to fall on", the land vitality moves in from the correct direction, as if the house rests on a huge chair of the earth, upright and elegant. Before building the house, it is better to study its left side and right side, to see if there are "guards", that represent, noble or honoured people. Such people symbolize a good collection of vitality and positive forces, and houses near them benefit a great deal. In front of the house, there should be a vast expanse of open field, with no overhanging rocks or deep hollows. The ground should be either very flat or gradually going lower and lower. It would be if there is a lake in the distance. It is all right if there is a house in front, but the gate of your house should not face directly the corner of the house in front. The four principles in choosing the site of a graveyard also apply to choosing the site of a residence: 1) there should be something to fall on; 2) there are two "arms" on both sides; 3) there is a lot of sunshine in front; 4) there is water under the sunshine. The considerations are similar in the choice of both types of sites. In the cities, the ground is mostly very flat. We have to look at the direction of the water flow in rivers to decide which side is slightly higher than which side. We also pay attention to the stickiness of soil and consider the orderliness of the buildings on both sides and their possible usefulness to our own. We will have to foresee if there are things that block our view in front of the house in mind, since the view in front is something we see each time come out of the house and a beautiful view can make us feel really good. On the other hand, if in front of the prospective house is a garbage heap, or a wire pole or the corner of another house, or a chicken farm, the barrier or the atmosphere is enough to depress all its members in the family. If you grow crops or vegetables in front of your house, and you dig a manure pit or water the crops with manure or chicken dung, they are to produce bad effects on the land spirits. Refuse incineration, a road or highway, or a chimney in front of the house, temples in front of or behind the house, all have bearings on its land spirits. Great attention must be paid to such things. In choosing the site for a house, you need also to know how the particular piece of ground was used previously. It would bring good luck if it was used as farm land, rice fields, for forestration, as a farm, for a factory, or as grazing land, for roads or grassland. It would bring bad luck if it was once made barren by a fire, or used as an execution ground, as a graveyard, or used for a temple, a hospital, a crematory, an isolated grave or a stone tablet for commemorating historical events. If it was used for a chicken farm, or a pig farm or a grazing ground for horses or cattle, it is necessary to move 50 cm of the surface soil and put clean soil in its place before building the house on it. If it was a haunted place, it must be "cleaned" by praying before building the house on it. That is, some Buddhist masters must be invited to chant certain texts to deliver the dead spirits and pray for peace. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, would usually study the land features first before examining the features of the house. All this is to find out how strong the positive forces. If they are strong, the residence is to thrive; if they are weak, the residence is to decline. A big residence requires strong forces and a small residence needs moderate forces to match it.
Moreover, in modern cities, highways radiate in all directions. The racing cars and buses create a kind of force and atmosphere. Some roads are straight while others are winding.
In choosing the site for a house, it is advised to avoid both "evil road spirits" and "evil backwash spirits". The reasons for this will be discussed in detail in later chapters. (Houses that are exposed to straight roads can be used for police station, municipal government or temples.) I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, am often puzzled by the fact that even today there are still people who call geomancy superstition. In fact, geomancy is not superstition; it is environmental study at a deeper level. A pleasant environment inevitably shapes a pleasant mind. Peace of mind is essential for success in any endeavor. Mother Meng in ancient times moved her house three times solely because she wanted to find a better environment (for the education of her son). Here we have presented some tricks in choosing the site for residence. There are, of course, many details and profound theories. The theories have to wait to be discussed more fully on a later occasion. I hope that the present book can give a clear idea to the readers.
CHAPTER 6 - The Presence And Absence Of Affection Makes A Vital Difference Master Hong Ren, the fifth patriarch of the Chan Zong School, wrote the following famous verse:
The idea in the verse applies so well to the study of residence. According to A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits, the decisive factor we go by in determining the future prosperity of houses is also "affection" or the absence of it:
How do we know if there is affection or not? It is very much the same when we are admiring flowers. When a flower is dripping with tenderness and charm, its pistil radiating fragrance, it is in full bloom with affection. Once the flower begins to wither, there is a general lack of power and life, with its petals turning dry and yellow. Then it is declining, with no more affection. In the study of people's looks, there is affection if the person has got rosy cheeks, charming eye-brows and bright-looking eyes. If, on the other hand, the person has got pale or grey cheeks, with a dull look in his or her eyes, then there is no more affection. The often used idiom "the dispirited face of a widow" precisely describes a person with no more thoughts of love or passion. In the study of residence, how do we distinguish houses with affection and houses without it? There is a great deal learning involved here. In very simple terms, if the house looks lively and vigorous, with no contradictory forces in it, then it has got affection. On the other hand there are many houses which look very lively and vigorous but which have contradictory forces in them. In that case, there will be no affection. Other cases will include: houses that are overbearing, houses with major defects, absurd or irrational houses, or houses too plain and boring. A good master of geomancy should be able to tell houses with affection from houses without it. This is usually studied from the outer look of the whole house. Keen observations take many years of experience. A master of rich experience can come to a conclusion at the first glance. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, believe that the skill in judging fitness of houses can be only sensed, but cannot be explained in words. What I mean is that it takes years of practice and should not be regarded as easy and simple. Experienced masters tell you the way things are. Inexperienced ones can only create some momentary excitement. True masters can "smell" things out. They can tell you if the house is all right just by the "air" in it. This is the knack in studying the outer look of the house. Besides, whether the house has affection or not also depends on the magnetic direction of the owner's life.
In general, therefore, masters of geomancy judge the look of houses by its location direction. If the direction matches with that of the owner's life, there will be a great future and prosperity. If they mismatch, there will be misfortune or disaster. All this is entirely based on the theory of magnetic directions of life. Most masters of geomancy would divide the 360 degrees into 12 sections to match the Earthly Branches in a person's birthday. There are 12 Earthly Branches in ancient Chinese philosophy which are used in combination with the twelve Heavenly Stems to designate years, months and hours. The 12 Earthly Branches are: zi, chou, yin, mao, chen, si, wu, wei, shen, you, xu, hai. Some masters prefer to divide the 360 degrees into 24 sections, and still some prefer to use the "Nine Stars" method or the "Eight Directions" method. I would say that the most correct method is to use the 12 Earthly Branches, though the combination of various methods is also possible. In my opinion, in assessing the possibilities of a house, it is necessary to study both its outer look and its location direction. When its directions coincide, it is still necessary to study it further. When we are building a house, it is advisable to consult a master of geomancy, for the outside appearance of the house often determines its presence or absence of affection, peace and adversity, good luck or disaster. I was once invited to examine a house in a garden style. I toured around the residence just once, and came to the conclusion: "The owner here has got a tumour." "How did Grandmaster know?" the host was amazed. "It's only natural, for its house is full of tumours all over its place." Later I got to know that the hostess had a tumour in her womb, three tumours in her testines, and another in her stomach. She had already had several operations! The outer look of a house is very important. If its outside appearance is lively and powerful, unhindered by any contradiction, then it is affectionate and will bring prosperity. Otherwise, it may herald bankruptcy! It is great truth that "prosperity goes with affection while decline is accompanied by its absence."
CHAPTER 7 - A Comparison Between A House And The Body According to my respected teacher Master Qing Zhen, "As a person has lived in a house for a long time and been influenced by its environment and by its magnetic field, the person will be like the house and the house will be like its person." A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits also makes a comparison between a house and the human body:
So, a house is compared to the human body in terms of various parts. If the house has some defect in a particular part, it will affect the owner's health or destiny. The correspondence between the various parts of the house and the body is not 100 percent accurate. For some families make their sitting-room dining-room as well, or have a bath-room in their living-room. So the division cannot be very definite. However, Master Qing Zhen indeed told me that a geomancer can in fact discover what is exactly wrong with a house if his observation is really keen. In the past, in practising geomancy, I often taught my students what is "a murderous case" and what is "a superfluous case". Murderous cases will include: the house is not complete with certain defects or not properly enclosed, or with a skylight, or the skylight is not in harmony with the rest of the house, or there are too many doors in the house or the doors are not necessary or they are not symmetrical. What is a superfluous case? "Superfluous" means the growth of unnecessary things such as tumour or cancer. In studying a house, we pay attention to protruding things in its appearance. Such protruding objects tend to destroy symmetry and present contradiction with the whole building. They are like appendages to the house or like bags on the back of a person. They are totally out of place in size and in symmetry. We need to be very cautious with such protuberances as they may bring tumour or cancer to the family. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, do not like the idea of "reconstructing" part of a house or building additional parts to it. For example, the original partition of a house is very good. You may spoil its geomanic fate if you suddenly hit upon a new idea, pulling down one part and putting up another.
It is advisable not to pull down or change any part of it for no reason at all. If the change is rational, nothing happens. If it is not rational, it is like ripping open the body or transplanting unnecessary parts. For pulling down or building any part of the house is to change the geomanic structure and the magnetic field. If it is a correct change, well and good. If it is a wrong change, it will be disastrous. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, hold that for any change of the house, it is better to consult a good geomancer. The starting date of the construction is very important. Any reconstruction or repair is like a medical operation on a house body. If the operation is not successful, it undermines one's constitution. I am fairly particular about small repairs in the house, such as a broken glass, a leaking pipe, a crack in the wall or a power problem. When anything goes wrong with utensils, it is better to set it right then and there. Such minor repairs do not change its geomanic structure and therefore do not involve any danger. However, if things have got broken and remain broken for a long time without repair, they will affect one's spirits, which will in turn affect one's fate. So don't leave things out of repair. Set them right as soon as possible. This is very much like having a slight cold - it is not properly treated, it will develop into a bad cold, or even pneumonia or kidney trouble. I was once invited to a friend's place. "Each member of your family is going to have an operation!" I came to this conclusion almost at once. "Why?" my friend wanted to know. "Because you've dug up a big hole beside your stomach." In order for their car to have an easy access to the highway, they had made a big opening in the wall nearest to the road, leaving intact the wall on the second floor. Strange enough, one member of the family had had an operation every year for three years already. My friend asked for a remedy without having to stop up the opening. Choosing a lucky date, I used the avertion method by praying for an invisible wall over the opening. As expected, no one from the family had had any operation ever since. The method worked wonders!
CHAPTER 8 - Symmetry Is Good Luck Some people asked: "What is the best appearance of a house?" I answered: "Symmetry". It sounds simple, but in fact there a lot of learning involved. Some people prefer to make their house exotic and outstanding with strange looks. As long as they keep the Five Elements in harmony, without contradictory forces, it is symmetrical. The Esoteric teachings, for example, advocate "Five Wheels and Five Wisdoms." The Five-Wheel tower has this shape: peach-tip shape at the top, beneath is a prolonged semi-circle, then is a triangle, further down is a circle and at the bottom is a square. The Five Elements include: fire, wood, water, metal and earth. Earth generates metal; metal generates water; water generates wood and wood generates fire. If the Five Elements are arranged in that order together with their corresponding shapes (see Chapter Four), some rotation clock-wise will give you a shape that is original and outstanding. If we are not craving for "fashion", an ordinary symmetrical house will be very lucky. The "dragon side" and the "tiger side" must be symmetrical. This is a very important point. If you stand facing to the gate, your left hand side is the dragon side and your right hand side is the tiger side. It would be best to have perfect symmetry between the dragon and the tiger sides. The symmetry could also be "a long dragon and a tall tiger." Generally speaking, most geomancers will prefer a taller and longer "dragon side" as it means good luck while it is bad luck to have a taller and longer "tiger side." Perfect symmetry between the black dragon and the white tiger is the most auspicious. A verse goes like this:
This means that if the tiger is taller than the dragon, the slave will dominate the master, with the Yin and Yang reversed. In that case, either the slave controls the master, or the female overpowers the male, which will result in disharmony, negative forces or backward movement of the land spirits. All this spells great misfortune. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, once visited a temple in a forest. The abbot showed me round to study the geomancy of the place. I found that the forest was located facing Wei with its back to Chou (Wei and Chou are the eighth and second of the Twelve Earthly Branches). This belonged to the topography of Gen. (Gen is one of the Eight Symbols for Divination, which means maintaining and solidness. The Zhen and Qian in the following sentence are also two symbols in the system, which mean respectively thunder and heaven.) The water in front came from the Zhen position at the back to the Qian position in front. Its double guards were not obvious. I examined the place where the abbot lived. It was beneath the white tiger hillock, not in a dominant position. I asked the abbot presently: "Who live at the top of the white tiger hillock?" "My disciples." "You are to lose your position very soon," I concluded. "Why?" "This is a situation where the slave dominating the master. You'll lose your position sooner or later." He was such an honest monk. He became worried but very quiet. A few years later, I learned that he was no longer the abbot. When the tiger is tall and long, it means that the rival force is too strong. Most of those who live at the top of a tiger hillock usually become hysterical or power-craving. They either develop a stubborn mentality to fight or harbour dark designs. In a word, unfortunate things will happen. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, believe that in choosing a house site, it is necessary to decide on the direction of one's house. The direction the gate faces is extremely important. It is better to have that direction coincide with one's birthday. (It is the hour, the date, the month and the year when you were born.) Then pay attention to the symmetry of the black dragon and the white tiger. Don't make the tiger too outstanding. For that may invite great misfortune. It would be too late to regret once disaster occurs. I studied the Taoist avertion by praying and the chanting of mantras in the Esoteric School. All this belongs to tranquilizing methods. It can make the situation better for a while. Most geomancers only know how to go along with the land forces, but they do not know that inside the land forces there are complex relations among the primeval forces from the time when Earth was first separated from Heaven, the Yin (negative) and the Yang (positive), the four seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter), the Five Elements and the Eight Natural Phenomena (heaven, earth, wind, thunder, water, fire, mountain and marsh). (Note: According to ancient Chinese philosophy, the very original forces generated the primeval forces to separate Earth from Heaven. The primeval forces generated the Yin and the Yang. The Yin and the Yang generated the four seasons. The four seasons generated the eight natural phenomena.) If we know there are contradicting forces, we can use some methods to tranquilize the contradiction. Once such contradictions are transformed, they can bring good luck instead of bad luck. From the "dragon gods" I set up, many people have often seen golden light or blue light. Many people have seen blue dragons and heard the groaning of dragons. The dragon gods emit light as bright as the sun and the moon and they will remain external. In places where the white tiger is taller, it is necessary to plant my "blue dragon tablet" to tranquilize it.
CHAPTER 9 - Within The Bow Or Without It We raise a bow and put the arrow on the string; the place the arrow points to is a place without the bow. We raise a bow and put the arrow on the string; the section of the arrow that is within the bow is a place within the bow. In simple terms, the bow is actually a curve or a radian. The place is called within the bow if it is inside the curve and is called without the bow if it is outside the curve. If we draw a circle and the house is inside it, then it is within the bow from any direction. If it is outside the circle, it is without the bow. In topography a place can have water without the bow, roads without the bow or building without the bow.
In geomancy, all houses that inside the curve or radian of something either natural or man-made are within the bow. These houses have affection and will see great development. All houses that are subject to the rebounding forces of the curve or radian of something either natural or man-made are without the bow. Such houses are without affection, which means sure decline. All places belong to one of these categories: within the bow, without the bow, or straight. What is straight? A river passes your door-step in a straight line. A straight road goes in front of your house. None of the buildings near your house have curves. This is a straight house. Masters of geomancy would prefer places within the bow for building houses, never favouring places without the bow. The reason is simple: places outside the bow will be targets of the arrow and are subject to the negative forces from the ten directions. In terms of land spirits, these places bear the brunt of the negative forces from all directions and are likely to meet unexpected calamities. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, have noticed that in our modern society many luxurious houses are built in places that are precisely the targets of the arrow. I often utter a sigh at the sight of this. These luxurious houses turned out to be masterpieces of some "great" geomancers. What a shame! These ignorant geomancers make people shudder. Some rich people who were very successful in business began to suffer from one misfortune after another once they had moved into houses outside the curve of something. Unexpected calamities followed immediately, such as car accidents with people injured. Their business was like a fire that was going out, with orders going down sharply, staff swindling money out of them. Before long, they had to leave the building. What a shame with the houses standing there empty, idle! Modern geomancers seem to pay more attention to the direction of the house, preferring the main gate facing southeast, south or east. They believe that it is bad luck to have the main gate facing southwest, northeast or west, while the northwest and north are neither good or bad. They play tricks with all these directions. I would rather think that those directions are important, since they have to do with the direction of the magnetic field. It is more important, however, to see if the house is outside the curve or inside the curve of something. I stress once more:
If someone has built his house on a plot that is directly the target of the arrow, what to do to eradicate the possibility of misfortune? There are two ways:
I feel deeply that to be with affection and without it and within the bow and without it is very important, for they have to do with principles about the land spirits. This is my own experience. These levels of study are quite complex in geomancy, but careful analysis will reveal fine distinctions regarding within the bow, without the bow and straight rivers and roads. Some careful study of all this will also reveal that the relations among Heaven, Earth and Man are complex and subtle and are worth exploring.
CHAPTER 10 - Where Should The Gate Be? Most geomancers would agree that northeast and southwest directions are the "gates for ghosts". The gate of the house should not be in those positions. The location of the gate is decided in consideration of the magnetic field of one's birthday and the direction that goes with that magnetic field. Gates are "openings for fresh air". The main gate is a "major opening for fresh air". In modern apartment buildings, the main entrance at the ground floor is the main gate, the major opening; gate (door) to your apartment is a minor opening for fresh air. The gate is as important as a person's mouth. There is the saying in Chinese that most diseases enter the body through the mouth while most misfortunes are caused by the mouth. The gate of the house is as important as that - it dominates the lifeline of the house. Some people say: The main gate should face the east - The sun rises from the east, so the gate symbolizes vitality and it is suitable for business men. The main gate should face the south - It symbolizes a King with his back towards the north and looking down on his subjects in the south; so this is suitable for statesmen, religious leaders or industrialists. I would say, however, that both the east and south should be avoided if the magnetic field of the host's birthday is in contradiction with these two directions. Some of my disciples would ask me: "Which should be the best gate for a house, the middle gate, the dragon gate or the tiger gate?" (The dragon gate is on the left and the tiger gate is on the right.) In the early years, when Master Qing Zhen was teaching A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits, he told that whether the gate should be in the middle, right or left depends on the direction of the water gods. This is a great secret in geomancy! The middle gate is best when the water gods are concentrated in front of the house. If, for example, there is a lake or an expanse of the sea in front of the house, the middle gate is good. Moreover, if the land is very flat, inclining to neither side, with no hilly places nearby, the middle gate is also preferable. The dragon gate is best when the water gods flow from the tiger side to the dragon side. That is, the land in front of the house slopes from the right to the left (if you look out from within the house). If there is a river, it flows towards the left. The tiger gate is best when the water gods flow from the dragon side to the tiger side. That is, the land slopes from the left to the right. If there is a river, it flows towards the right. These are great secrets for the location of the gate. They sound simple, but are in fact invaluable. All these gates are designed to let in the gods of water, that is, the vitality forces of the water gods, so that the house is full of these forces, which are in effect forces of fortune. I once changed the gate of the house for a businessman. It should be a dragon gate but he made a tiger gate. As a result, his business was going from bad to worse as his negotiations came to nothing and his employees were not efficient enough. He was disheartened. After the gate was changed, the vitality forces of the water gods were let in, turning the house into a lucky place. The first batch of orders came with great success. Everybody became spirited and the business was flourishing again. This is one example to show that where the gate should be depends on the direction of the water gods. Where to let in the water gods is the first consideration. "What should we do if the gate direction and the magnetic field of one's birthday do not coincide?" some of my disciples asked. "You can change the door leaves," I replied. Once the door leaves are changed, the direction is also changed. You can turn the door leaves 90 degrees. Architects all know how to change the direction of a gate. Remember: the direction of the whole building remains the same; what is changed is only the direction of the door leaves. They are changed to coincide with the magnetic direction of your birthday. Some disciples again ask me: "What do we do in the following situation: the house should have a dragon gate, but now has got a tiger gate; the dragon gate side is the living-room - it is not possible to have a gate there?" Master Qing Zhen once told me how to avert an unlucky star:
Master Qing Zhen gave an illustration in explanation. In billiards, for instance, when we hit a ball to send it into the hole, we need the reaction from another ball. In our case, the forces of the water gods hit the tablet first and, from its reaction, bounce back into the house. The site for the tablet, however, takes a true geomancer to locate. The tablet must be set up with prayers to avert an unlucky star. That is to offer sacrifices to gods of negative forces. The tablet becomes effective only with these prayers and sacrifices. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, use the Twelve Earthly Branches to make the direction of the house match the magnetic direction of one's birthday. Then I use the flowing direction of the water gods to decide whether the dragon gate, the tiger gate or the middle gate would be better. Both methods are important in choosing the direction of the gate. Geomancers can't afford not to know them.
CHAPTER 11 - An Arrow Into The Heart In the United States, I noticed an avenue in the city of Tukwila, called Strander, going all the way to the west end of the city. At the end of the road, there was a shop whose name, I found, was often changed. There was a new owner each month, who would close down the shop for renovations. I was told that since the shop was exposed to the negative forces of the avenue, there had been twelve bosses in one year, but nobody could ever improve the business. I studied the shop and concluded that it was suffering from the negative forces of the avenue. The avenue was long and straight, with the shop at the end. Racing cars and lorries came and went, carrying with them the gusts of wind which rushed right into the shop. The wind inside became tempestuous, like surging waves, which never got calm for a moment. No shop could stand such rushing winds. The owner had to run away. The Americans don't know anything about geomancy. They were puzzled by the fact that nobody could ever manage this shop with reasonable success. When I visited Honolulu in Hawaii, I saw a big department store run by a Japanese that closed down. I was startled when I studied its location - it was also exposed to the negative forces of the road. Road forces are indeed terrible. I can tell my readers that the negative forces of a road are like an arrow that goes right into the house. It is like shooting an arrow into the heart - something that no house can very well resist. A good geomancer can see the surging land forces that are forever on the move. People inside the house can never sit still, very much like standing in a little boat on the sea in stormy weather. Houses subject to the negative forces of the roads are often exposed to unexpected calamities, such as suicide, homicide and murder. People in these houses can not control themselves. No businessmen can make any money there. Some people suggest that at the end of a long, straight road, a huge wall can be put up to stop the strong winds from the road. Houses can then be built on the other side of this wall. This wall functions like a dam, which I think will serve the purpose. However, doesn't a wall like that produce a bad effect on the appearance of the city? Other people suggest that at the end of the road a cylinder building can be put up, such as a hotel for sight-seeing. This suggestion is good, for cylinder buildings can contain the evil forces coming from the road, breaking them up into two, which go away from both sides. Master Qing Zhen told me: "The way to check evil forces from the road is to dig up a pond of semicircle shape, like a new moon, with its curving side towards the road. The pond should be 80% full. The curve of the semicircle facing the road bears the brunt and the water in the pond can dissolve the evil forces so as to give the house peace and luck. Some geomancy masters tell other people to hang up a mirror, or a concave mirror, or a bronze bell, or a vertical bamboo flute, to dissolve the evil forces from the road. This is sheer nonsense, nothing more than a mental comfort. (These things cannot very well dissolve the evils forces.) However, at the end of such roads, huge buildings may be put up. A monastery, for instance, may be erected there with huge pillars to dissolve the evil forces, or a law court also with pillars in front, or the municipal government building (such as the White House in the United States) also using pillars. If a fountain stands in front of the monastery, or law court or the municipal government, it keeps things peaceful and quiet. Fountains work wonders! Someone once told me that his house was subject to evil winds from the road, but there was no room around for a semicircle pond. What could he do? I asked him if he could move somewhere else. He told me that he couldn't afford to move. The principle I follow is like this: in studying a house, I first teach the owner some methods to dissolve or avert the evil forces; if nothing can be done, I advise him to move; if he can't even move, I teach him to pray to the gods. Master Qing Zheng told me: "Get a piece of green bamboo, peel off the green covering, draw the magic figures on it to expel the evil spirits, choose a special date on which to plant the bamboo in front of the house." This is a Taoist trick, not part of geomancy. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, believe that geomancy is a branch of inquiry about land forces and land spirits and concerns with residences and graveyards since they both have to do with land forces. Geomancy deals with natural things. To change geomanic features, we have to do it naturally. Methods of praying to gods to avert evil forces belong to Taoist tricks, not part of geomancy. I know both geomancy and Taoist tricks. Geomancy discusses the intricate relations between Yin and Yang and among the Five Elements, while Taoist tricks are used to mediate among contradicting forces. Everyone knows that it is a taboo for a house to be exposed to the evil forces of a road, but different people have different methods to dissolve these forces. The methods I disclose here are priceless!
CHAPTER 12 - Inside And Outside The Gate In studying a house, when the location is finished, the master of geomancy turns his attention to things inside and outside the gate. Taboos outside the gate include:
These taboos outside the gate are factors that may have some effect on the land spirits. Some have to do with land forces; others have to do with the owner's psychology.
Regarding the wire post in front of the house, some people will write on the post "Bring me good fortune". This belongs to a psychological effort. Each time the owner comes out, he will say it at once. After a long time, the psychological barrier regarding the post will be removed. Some people prefer to hang the Eight Symbols for divination, or a mirror, or "sea and mountain tranquilizer", or a bamboo flute, or a bell. They all have some psychological effect. The Eight Symbols are used to dissolve evil spirits. Mirrors are used to react against evils but absorb the good. The "sea and mountain tranquilizer" can press down ghosts and demons. The vertical bamboo flute is called Xiao in Chinese which is homonymous with another Chinese word meaning "expel". Bells are used to keep away ghosts and demons. We can understand such self-defence psychology. There is no need to give a dressing down to those who hang these reassuring objects. Such psychological comforting practices are in fact of some use. If combined with praying to gods, they become some kind of Taoist tricks. Such practices, however, do not always work. If, for example, they can't contain the evil forces from a deep pit or a long straight avenue, or a manure pit or the out curve of a bow, natural or man-made calamities will occur. (Geomancers all agree that Master So and So is the best practitioner of these psychological comforting devices.) Taboos inside the gate include:
These taboos have their justifications. For example, when vitality forces enter the front gate and immediately leave through the back gate, nothing can be stored and of course no fortune is to be made. When the vitality forces enter the house and are at once stopped by a wall, the result is too much pressure; or if they are stopped by a staircase, they will be confused; or its "chest is too thin"; all these are unlucky signs which foretell that there is neither wealth nor harmony to its family. If, on the other hand, the vitality forces are greeted by the edge of a wall, or by a visible roof beam, or by the living-room, or by fire or by a dirty place, there will be no peace in the family; everybody is short-tempered and suffers from one strange disease or another, and there will be often unexpected calamities. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, believe that no matter how wonderful the location of the house, the importance of the main gate can never be emphasized enough, for it is the major opening for all forces and has bearings on the whole premise. Enough attention should be paid to objects inside and outside the main gate. It is advisable to avoid all ominous signs, for otherwise a lucky design of the building may come to nothing simply because of the main gate. What is to be done if there are taboos inside or outside the gate? To set things right, all taboo objects must be done away with. Qualified geomancers can rectify the situation by some simple renovation. Taoist tricks in these cases are the last alternatives. Outside, the gate should face a direction that does not bring calamities or misfortune, which also coincides with the auspicious directions among the Twelve Earthly Branches. Inside the gate, the taboo objects have to be either transformed or moved. As for the size of the gate, it should match the size of the house. It is not advisable for a big house to have a small gate or for a small house to have a big gate. Both inside and outside the gate, there are taboos against fire, toilets and dirty places, for these things tend to affect the health and harmony of the family.
CHAPTER 13 - Where Is Your Store Of Wealth? I once studied the new residence of a millionaire. It was claimed that this new residence was designed by a self-styled master of geomancy. To my surprise, however, the design was fraught with errors. This master of geomancy turned out to be an incompetent geomancer who became well known by sheer propaganda. While I was shown around the place, the millionaire was boasting about the new style of the house, his wealth and his collection of antiques. What amazed me was that this luxurious garden villa had got no "store of wealth", because there was a through passage where the store of wealth should be. The millionaire told me: "The man who designed the house is a world famous geomancer. He is often mentioned in the newspapers and he lectures on geomancy on TV. He's got many, many students." "Why did you ask me to come then?" I giggled. "Because Living Buddha Lian Shen has the Divine Eye who will know everything from one glance. Of course, more importantly, you are requested to give blessings to the new residence." "Do you want me to tell you the truth or lies?" "Why? Anything wrong?" he was astonished. "Block the through passage at once, and..." I pointed out to him all the places that needed changes. The millionaire was dumb struck. He never expected that the house designed by a geomancer was full of loopholes. He became quiet and worried. I regretted that I had shot off my mouth. Afterwards, the millionaire didn't follow my advice. He didn't make any change. He believed that a geomancer who often gave TV lectures must be good enough. About one year later : One day, when the millionaire was preparing some fruit for visitors, he cut off one of his fingers. He failed in his election campaign for the membership of Parliament. Five of his six factories went to bankruptcy....... Finally, the millionaire came to tell me: "You were right, Living Buddha Lian Shen! Within a year, I am finished! So those so-called geomancers turned out to be impostors! They are still cheating people today!" This is the very reason why I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, has written this book on geomancy. It is meant to repute the practices of those impostors so that people with some knowledge of geomancy will not be taken in any more. After we have discussed what should be and should not be inside and outside the main gate, we now need to see where is the store of wealth when we enter the house. The store of wealth is the place you see sideways upon entering the sitting-room. If the door to the sitting-room is on the left, then the corner opposite on the right is the store of wealth. If the door to the sitting-room is on the right, the corner opposite on the left is the store of wealth. If the door to the sitting-room is right in the middle, both corners on the left and right are the store of wealth. The store of wealth is the place in the house which is most likely to collect vitality forces and energy. These forces are not "still forces" like those in a warehouse. They are "moving forces"; they come in to be stored for a while and remain in the process of circulation. In other words, they come in and get stored, and then gradually go out. At the store of wealth, there should be no window, no door, no through passage, preferably no walking around by anyone. It is the corner formed by two walls. At the store of wealth, there should be some pot plants, such as a Japanese robdea, a palm tree, a rubber tree or a silk cotton, or a phoenix. They symbolize vitality and vigour. These pot plants bring in greater happiness and development. At the store of wealth, there should be a goldfish bowl. Gold here symbolizes wealth and "fish" has the same pronunciation of "abundance". As the fish are alive, they are supposed to bring in liveliness. With a goldfish bowl there, the host's thinking power is enhanced, while visitors are prevented from transgressing the store of wealth. If there is a window or a door at the store of wealth, the vitality forces are not collected but escape easily. Then the wealth in the house will vanish into thin air and business will fail sooner or later. If, on the other hand, the store of wealth is properly arranged, it brings good luck to the family and there will be one success after another. The discovery and proper decoration of the wealth store can help make the best of the house design. The sitting-room is the "heart" in the house. It should not be gloomy nor should it be too bright. The corner opposite the door on the other side is where vitality forces are contained. The store of wealth is the centre of all things, which controls considerably the welfare of the whole residence.
CHAPTER 14 - Relations Between The House And Health Among the features of the house, there are many of them that have to do with the health of the family members. It is not easy to give a comprehensive discussion, but there are important secrets of success that merit some detailed explanation. For example:
There are also other features that have to do with health, but we are not going into them. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, think that house features have their definite effect on people's health in an obscure way. Ordinary geomancers may not always see clearly this type of influence, but masters of real learning should know that people living in the house are invariably influenced by these features in an obscure but profound way. Firstly, the circulation of the vitality forces exert some influence. Secondly, the magnetic field has its influence. Once a house is finished, it is a magnetic field. The body of people is also a magnetic field. When the two magnetic fields meet, the crucial question is whether they coincide or contradict or whether they merge or repel one another. Thirdly, land spirits also exert their influence. I have made some study of the location of the toilet. The function of the toilet is very much like that of purification trough. If the toilet is improperly located, it may bring all sorts of illnesses, such as dizziness, eye trouble, toothache, pneumonia, heart trouble, diabetes, enterogastritis, hepatitis, mental disorder. If we connect the two central lines to divide the house into four equal parts, we get a cross that has a central point. The toilet is not allowed to be on the cross. A toilet on the cross will definitely have a bad effect on people's health. This is a very important point. The incinerator is not the stove in the kitchen, but the fire-place. It burns firewood and is found in every house in the United States. The fire-place generates forces of fire. It must not face directly the main gate. If people see the fire upon entering the house, they become angry or lose temper. There will be no harmony but disunity in the family. (The high divorce rate in the States has to do with the fire-places.) The fire-place is fire. It must not be located in the north, as water and fire repel one another. It must not be located in the south, as fire and fire make too strong a fire. Its best location is the east. The incinerator should not be on the cross either. The fire-place has a strong effect on people's health, and it should be located in the east, southeast or northwest. Inside the human body the forces of fire are most important. Fire gives warmth, but also causes inflammation. The toilet and the incinerator must be located in safe places. The drainage problem is also important in the house. If water is drained away easily without stoppage, nothing rotten will be collected. Poor drainage will give the house a bad odour. A moldy smell will definitely result in someone falling ill in the family. The location of the bed and the various gods will be discussed in later chapters. What about the effect of plants inside and outside the house? I think that plants inside the house don't just help to decorate the house, but also add a lot to the vitality of the place. For example, a pot plant at the store of wealth, or a plant beside the door or in a dirty place (in the toilet) can help to purify the environment and repel any aggressive odour. It is necessary to plant trees outside the house. It is no good to have no trees at all. On the other hand, it is no good either to make the trees too tall and too close to one another, for in that case they produce a gloomy and ghastly atmosphere. If the trees are tall and thick, they shut out the sunlight for the house, and then, negative forces will gain the upper hand and haunt the place. A house with a gloomy atmosphere has a bad effect on people's health. The guiding principle concerning windows is to make proper the circulation of fresh air and the amount of sunlight. It is bad either to have too much sunlight or too little of it, either to have too much fresh air or too little of it. If it is too bright, no air is stored and no positive forces stay. If it is too dark, the air stored will go rotten and the place will be haunted. The most auspicious is to have the right amount of sunlight and proper circulation of air. That is, at the place where air collects, it also circulates gently and slowly. Here a great deal of learning is involved.
CHAPTER 15 - The Fire In The Kitchen I was once invited to examine a new residence. It was a beautiful house. The owners were a newly wedded couple: a charming bride and a talented bridegroom. The house was surrounded by many trees with red flowers which have borne red fruit as well. I started my examination presently. I found that the fire in the kitchen was problematic. This new residence had a very original design, with the stove in the kitchen right in the centre. The stove is exposed completely, with nothing to screen it from any direction; the water tap from the sink faces the stove directly without the slightest deviation. There are two problems in this case: First, the stove in the kitchen should also be in a place which collects air and vitality forces. For only in a place like that, can the heat concentrate and can the fire heat up things quickly. According to A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits, the stove should be protected by walls on three sides and exposed to fresh air on one side. The best location is to the south or to the east or the southeast. If the stove stands right in the centre with no screen on any side, it is convenient for cooking, but the fire does not concentrate. If the fire does not collect fresh air or vitality forces, it works against the collection of wealth. Secondly, if the water tap from the sink faces directly the stove it may incur acts of violence, for the fire and the water are in contradiction. This is a big fault. I discovered in the present case that there were going to be promiscuity and excessive drinking, and both the man and the wife were going to have their own lovers. Upon entering I noticed the bride was really beautiful, with charming facial features, the right height and a perfect figure, delicate hands, pretty shoulders and back, looking very much like a lady of aristocracy. But she had got a pair of apricot-pit eyes, glancing left and right sexily. Her movement of arms and legs are coquettish. All this told me that she was going to have a lover. I asked my friend who took me there: "Do the new couple believe in geomancy?" "Very little, as they both study natural sciences." "So I was asked to come to..." "To get to know each other and have a look around." Since the purpose of the visit was just to get to know the host and to appreciate the luxurious residence, of course I was all praise to maintain our harmonious relations and said nothing to embarrass my friend. After we left the house, I told my friend to tell the couple that the stove in the kitchen had to be moved somewhere else. The couple took no notice of my warning. One year later I was told: The wife had an affair with her boss. The husband had a concubine outside. The husband indulged in excessive drinking. The final result would be divorce. I tell my readers this true story to show the right place for the stove. If the stove is set up in the centre of the kitchen, it is easy for the water tap to face it directly from any direction. The tap symbolizes Yang (the male) and the stove symbolizes Yin (the female). The contradiction between the Yang and the Yin results in promiscuity. I have also noticed that in the latest American designs, the stove always stands right in the centre of the most sophisticated kitchen. The designer of this residence knew nothing about geomancy. He was only after convenience and good appearance, but he encouraged adultery. What I want to tell my readers is that at any cost don't make it possible to see fire upon entering the house. In other words, do not make it possible to see the kitchen or the incinerator; these two "fires" are not allowed to face the main gate. In a business situation, in a restaurant for example, the stove should not be put in the centre of the cross. Anything like a gas stove, a boiler, a heater, an electric stove or an electric cooker, should not be allowed to stand in the centre of the restaurant. A fire in the centre will pollute the air of the restaurant, making the atmosphere tense. The shareholders will not cooperate well and visitors will keep away. In the end, the business will go down. What is more important is that with fire in the centre, the land spirits find it hard to make their contribution effective. We must also pay attention to the rubbish in the kitchen as it is the kitchen that produces most of the rubbish. Rubbish must be wrapped up and taken away from time to time. The flow of water in the sink of the kitchen also deserves attention. The air extractor in the kitchen should be in a box and must not be put in a conspicuous place. If it is outstanding, it has bad effects on the house. Never open a skylight in the kitchen, for it lets the forces of fire go upwards. A skylight in the kitchen may incur unexpected calamities.
CHAPTER 16 - The Business Desk And The Writing Desk Once a doctor invited a well-known geomancer to set up a business desk for him. As soon as the geomancer arrived, he told the doctor, before anything else, the price he would charge. "Three thousand dollars altogether!" the master said. "Three thousand dollars for setting up a desk?!" The doctor was genuinely startled. "Yes," the master explained: "One thousand for examining the location of the desk, one thousand for choosing the date of moving and another thousand for moving the desk with my own hands. That makes three thousand." "Ah ... aha ..." The doctor opened his mouth but could not utter a word. Finally, he managed to say: "I'll get another, another master..." "Whom do you have in mind?" "There is a Living Buddha Lian Shen who never asks for anything. He lets people pay as they wish." The master's face turned blue and went off in a huff. This is a true story. To set up a desk does deserve that much money. If my reader finishes reading this short chapter, he can also learn how to set up a business desk or a writing desk. He can make three thousand dollars in a few seconds. This shows that such knowledge is really worth knowing. In setting up a business desk in one's workplace or a writing desk at home, the guiding principles are the same. We shall do well to remember the following six: Don't face the door directly. Our desk must not face the door directly, that is, if we draw a straight line from the door, our desk is not on that line. A desk facing the door directly makes us feel insecure. As soon as the "air" comes in, it rushed right to your face. Don't have your back towards the door. From where we sit, we should be able to see the people coming and going. Don't sit with your back facing the door; you feel insecure that way because you can't see the people coming in or going out. Sitting in that position, you are likely to meet base persons, your business will not go very far and you will get disheartened. In the course of time, you will be finished. Sit where there is something solid behind you. Behind the chair we sit in there should be neither door nor window. I often see people sitting in chairs behind which is a French window. That is very insecure. With a big window behind you, you feel unsteady. You don't feel secure because the seat is not supported. When the land forces come to the seat, they run away quickly, so the land spirits do not stay to assist you. Sit close to the wall. There is not only a solid wall behind our chair, but also the chair is close enough to the wall to make it strong. I have seen that the proprietor of a big company, to show off his wealth and development, bought an extra-large desk and put it in the very centre of the office. It looks magnificent, with twenty telephones to direct the business in the whole world. However, as the desk is too far away from the wall, it is not supported by land spirits. Location of the twelve two-hour periods (into which the day was traditionally divided in ancient Chinese philosophy, each being given the name of the Twelve Earthly Branches). If the above four guiding principles have been taken into consideration, it is still necessary to locate with a compass the two directions that attract each other in the magnetic field of one's birthday. If these two directions cannot be obtained, it will be all right to use two "peaceful" directions, for they will be supported by the land spirits. Of course the best strategy is to take all factors into account and discover the luckiest position for the desk. Choosing the date for moving. You choose a lucky date or a full-moon date which is the fifteenth of a month in a lunar calendar. If these six principles are followed, everything will be fine. Why is the business desk or writing desk so important ? The reason is fairly simple. When the desk is properly set up, it is aided by the land spirits. This helps to set all things in harmony. Sitting at the desk, you feel energetic, and spirited and you feel that your memory is wonderful and everything is completed to your satisfaction. If the desk is not properly set up, the magnetic force of the land spirits and that of your own repel one another. Even if you want to bestir yourself, you don't have the energy. As soon as you sit at the desk, you keep yawning, with tears, or dizzy, dispirited, more dead than alive. Finally, everything seems to be getting wrong - your business starts going downhill, steadily and irresistibly, your chances never to return. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, always take a special notice of the writing desk. The desk has important bearings on children's interest in study and on their school work. A grown-up's writing desk is equally important. Once I visited the home of a Ph.D. in Physics. I told him: "You haven't sat in this desk for years." "How do you know?" "The desk faces the door and has another door behind. How can you sit there for long? Besides, the back of the chair has collected a lot of dust and spiders. So it has been unused for a long time." "Is this geomancy?" "Of course not. It's careful observation."
CHAPTER 17 - The Staircase Can Be Destructive Huge luxurious residence houses of the western style often have the staircase in the centre of the hall close to the entrance. The pillars of the staircase look sumptuous, with dragons and phoenixes carved on them. Probably, the westerners make the staircase an ornament to the sitting-room. Some staircases in posh houses have a spiral style, beautiful and unaffected. When visitors are announced, the host walks down the stairs elegantly, as if there is going to be a happy reunion. In western-style residences, more often than not, the staircase faces the main gate of the house. Some geomancers tend to overlook the staircase. Some say that a staircase close to the gate symbolizes upward moving each step being higher than the last. If the staircase leads to the basement, it symbolizes downward movement, each step being lower than the last. Upward movement is good while downward movement is bad. In fact, these are erroneous ideas. The reason is that when the vitality forces come in through the main gate, they are stopped by the staircase, which, by its steps with cutting edges, intercepts them and throws them into confusion. According to books on geomancy, the staircase close to the main gate symbolizes a bumpy road, full of unexpected destruction. This is something very serious. I would think that a staircase near the main gate is like a pillar close to the gate, it has strong destructive power. In short, the staircase in the sitting-room of those sumptuous buildings is a "sign of decline." For ordinary families, a staircase next to the gate is a "sign of unexpected calamities." I once studied a residence building in which there had been one accident one after another. The family had had more than ten car accidents, big or small, within one year. Either their car ran into other people's car, or other cars bumped against theirs. Once their car was parked, but it glided all by itself to dash into other people's car. There was once a lucky month during which they had had no accidents. So they decided to go out to celebrate it. As they were backing the car, however, it hit upon the door of their garage. The garage door was damaged and the car got a concave patch. Once again, "the loss of some wealth is more preferable than a disaster." The owner told me that they had been driving for more than ten years and always drove with great care, but there were always some car accidents every month. They were indeed puzzled. If things should carry on like that, their nerves were to break down. They were terrified at the sight of cars, as if they had been imprecated. I discovered in the building a staircase right near the main gate and it was in the northeastern position which is the "ghost door." The northwest is always avoided. It is not suitable either for a door or for lifts as it is considered as "the door for ghosts." At my suggestion, the staircase close to the gate was removed and ever since the family had enjoyed peace without any mishap. In Taiwan, I studied a staircase made up of iron; as there were little space, the staircase spiraled upward. It was like an iron pillar and not very convenient because there was only enough space for one person at a time. Such staircases in the wrong position could be very destructive. There are three ways to change the staircase:
What about hanging bells, a vertical bamboo flute or putting in some bronze nails? They belong to efforts to comfort oneself psychologically, without much practical use. The reason is that the vitality forces coming in are still confused by the staircase. What about staircases outside the main gate? Nothing matters if one goes upstairs first before entering one's house. If one goes downstairs first, one has to be careful about feeling pressed or not. These are important tips concerning staircases.
CHAPTER 18 - Mischief By Antiques I was once asked to study a rich man's house in San Francisco. The host was fond of antiques. From the stone lions at the gate to the sitting-room, there were antiques everywhere. There were Buddha statues; chinaware such as kettles, bowls and basins; beasts and birds made of jade; ancient paintings; tables and chairs; inscribed boards, or cooking tools used by ancients; there were even clothes and beds left by ancient people. His addiction to antiques was obvious. What was difficult to understand was that he even bought the tablets of gods worshipped by ancient people. Very strange things happened: During that year, the host always felt a temperature on his forehead, a smell of fish in his mouth and felt very tired and often hot-tempered. The hostess often saw shadows in the house walking from one room to another, or sitting on the sofa. She was often wakened up by the shadows she saw in her dreams. She had never had one peaceful night of sleep. She felt like surrounded by ghosts and even thought of the end of her life. Their daughter was a Catholic and used to be well-behaved. But recently, she had changed dramatically. She was dizzy, smiling one moment and screaming the next moment at her parents. She had started heavy drinking and smoking. Each time she came back home from outside, she was angry, fierce and malicious. She was utterly another person. She was like mad. The family members had one illness after another and they were all stubborn diseases. For example, they had red and swollen patches of skin, vomiting and diarrhea alternatively; their stomach was bloated; the food was tasteless; muscles were sore; they also suffered from constipation. They went to see the doctor who could find nothing wrong and offered no way to cure them. They had also consulted many masters of geomancy in San Francisco, who all agreed that there were problems. They had made changes here and changes there; but none of the changes had changed the undesirable situation. Naturally I felt something wrong as soon as I entered the house. After some careful examination, however, I found that it was not the visible things that were faulty, and that it was the antiques that were to blame. Among the many antiques, three carried "spirits" with them. The first was a jar, with a huge body but a small mouth; it was a big water jar, made in Yunnan Province, China. It was once used to keep insects. There were once many poisonous insects inside. Their spirits remained strong enough to make mischief. The second was an armour, the kind of armour worn by soldiers in ancient Europe. The owner was killed but his spirit was attached to the armour. So it had some spiritual power. On the day of the soldier's death, it would assume a stronger spiritual power to make mischief. The third was a stone tablet, a tablet from a temple in ancient China. It used to be offered sacrifices in its time. Now the host had bought it and put it in the sitting-room. As it had been offered sacrifices for a long, long time, the spiritual power it had collected still remained. It also haunted the house. After I told the host all this, the hostess told me: "In my dreams, I am always bitten by snakes, and worms crawl all over me. It is very disgusting. I will be fighting with all those worms all night till daybreak. During sunset, I have seen the shadow of a tall soldier, looking very elegant. I have seen him several times. Apart from that, there are many other shadows of ghosts, very mysterious and frightening." Both the host and the hostess begged me to save them. At their request, I recited forbidding mantras to the three antiques, and then told them to take the three things to a curiosity shop and sell them there cheaply. It was said later that after the three objects were sold to the curiosity shop, the family was saved; it was like some kind of medicine that cured the disease then and there. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, have studied many houses of this kind. Rich people often buy antiques that still have spirits attached to them. These curiosities do add grandeur to the house, but if they make the house haunted, it is not worth the trouble. It does not pay off, really, to buy objects with spiritual powers in order to show off one's wealth. In buying antiques for the sitting-room, one has to know first the sources of the antique, if they have been offered sacrifices, if they have been kept in temples, the relations between the owner and the objects, what the text on them says, if they were objects buried with the dead in ancient times, if they have pictures of Buddhas or gods. Such information is very important because objects that carry spirits with them will affect the magnetic field and make the place haunted. I believe that wood and stone that have gods carved on them or wood and stone that have the shape of a human or an animal, do sometimes have spirits hidden in them. If they do, they make mischief, major or minor. This is an extra chapter to geomancy. It is about unlucky features that people don't usually expect.
CHAPTER 19 - The Location Of The Main Living-room Most geomancers would say that the main bedroom should be the "head room" on the "dragon side" (the left side), or it should be the biggest, the best decorated room in the house. In fact, people who know nothing about geomancy will also make this choice. This choice is not wrong. A better geomancer, however, will make a more studied choice. He will choose the room which collects most of the vitality forces in the whole place. This may not be the "head room" on the dragon side; it may not be very big but often very small and shabby. I once studied the bedroom of a film star. I advised her to move from a huge, luxurious room to a maid's room. What a difference! "What's the reason?" she asked me. "The present bedroom is big but empty, without enough vitality forces. The maid's room, on the other hand, is small but full of vitality and power. If you believe in me, sleep in this room." This film star listened to me and moved to the maid's room. Strange enough, within three months, she got the chance to play the heroine. With the performance she became very popular with many admirers. She got more invitations than she could possibly accept. For a period of time there were some articles on the newspaper praising her skills. Her popularity went up without limit! Her only secret was that she gave up the luxurious bedroom and was sleeping in the maid's room. Some people think that Living Buddha Lian Shen is the leader of a sect. In that capacity, he must have the best room in the house as his bedroom - the biggest, the main room on the dragon side. Well, we do have a room like that, but it is not my bedroom. I live in the "tail room" on the "tiger side". This is a small room with one door and one window which faces the backyard. Small as it is, it collects and stores all the forces. This is in fact the main bedroom. It can make me full of energy and willpower. I would say that if the spacious and luxurious head room collects enough energy and forces, it can be made the main bedroom of course. With a spacious and luxurious room, the most important problem is often the window. A huge French window does not collect any energy but makes the room less solid. Sunlight and the window are the two most essential considerations for the collection of energy in the main bedroom. Frankly, features of the bedroom have bearings on the next generation. For example:
To have sons or daughters depends on:
A balanced amount of forces produce a balanced number of sons and daughters. In your career:
The height of the ceiling in the bedroom is also very important. It should not be very low, for a low ceiling produces the feeling of being pressed. It is a great pity that some rich people have decorations, over their beds, full of bumps and holes, or an elegant canopy. They look posh at the first sight, but after some time, one will get tired of them and begin to feel depressed. This can be a symbol of "smothering" in one's business. It is ill omen! The ceiling of the bedroom should not be too high either, for a high ceiling has no affection but gives the feeling of coldness. If it is too high, it can be painted with some dark colour which makes people feel warm. This is really the last choice. Some people like to hang a lot of mirrors in their bedrooms. In fact, mirrors have two functions - to enable people to see farther, and to reject things. Most geomancers would agree to use them sparingly. One must consult a learned geomancer if he wants to get "miraculous use" of mirrors which make the owner relaxed and happy. I believe that it takes real learning to find the real main bedroom and its relations with other bedrooms. At least, the bedroom must be the most "peaceful" room in the whole house. Everybody needs a peaceful room.
CHAPTER 20 - Secrets About The Direction Of The Bed In my book Celestial Traces and Land Spirits, I wrote a chapter called "A case for the location of the bed" on page 79. Master Qing Zhen's instructions are:
I shall explain these instructions in the following paragraphs. The bed should never be under the roof beam. Above the bed, it must not be a reinforced concrete beam either cross it or parallel to it; a wooden beam is not good either. Nor would it be all right to have a pipe of cold or hot water above the bed or a staircase over it. In short, it is best to have nothing over the bed. It is to ask for trouble for oneself to have decorations above the bed such as canopy. Once one is made to feel pressed or extremely suspicious, bad effect will be generated. Lying in bed one should be able to see the door. Lying in bed we can naturally see the bedroom door; this means the direction of the bed is correction. On the other hand, if the head of the bed shares the same wall with the door, and lying in bed, one has one's back towards the door, then the direction is not correction. Sleeping with one's back toward the door has bad effect on one's health. The bed must not face the door directly. Our bed should not face the door directly, because in that case the wind rushing in through the door goes right on to the bed. It is much better to put the bed in the corner opposite the door. It is still omen to have the door facing the bed, for the energy forces coming in through the door have not circulated around yet, and therefore they are too strong and may be harmful to people's health. Here in this connection, I have some additional points to make. First, behind the bed there should be some solid wall. Secondly, there should be no skylight above the bed; on the wall on which the bed head leans, there should be no window either. All this means that the bed has something solid to rely on and is not "in the air". If there is a window in the wall which the bed stands against, this may affect the people's health and the family's fortune. In my study of geomancy, I visited a house in which not a single bed stood against the wall. The beds were all put in the center of the bedrooms, touching nothing on any side. Such beds are not properly set up, for they give the feeling that they are not "solid". The owner of such beds will find their career come to nothing, like floating in the space. Should we also consider the Twelve Earthly Branches? This was discussed already in my book Celestial Traces and Land Spirits. In fact, it is only necessary to keep the main gate coincide with host's Twelve Earthly Branches. If the bed is also in keeping with one's Twelve Earthly Branches, so much the better. However, as the direction of the bed is often considered in connection with many other factors, it is often difficult to coincide with the Twelve Earthly Branches. So I would think that it is not necessary to consider the coincidence. There are many other reasons as well. I once wrote the following: "Some masters of geomancy think that it is necessary to take into account one's Earthly Branches in setting up the bed, but the result is often that the bedroom and the bed are not in a harmonious relationship, but out of tune with each other, with neither style nor space for walking around. Sleeping in a bed like that makes one feel strange. Such a bed bodes ill rather than well, because it is the target of the forces of the four corners. The owner will be in for unexpected accidents which will result in serious injuries if not death. So it is really heresy to insist on considering Earthly Branches in setting up the bed. Never believe a word of it." I have examined many strangely arranged beds:
However, the rich people with such strange beds all declined one after another, because these beds are not in keeping with the geomanic teachings. Odd beds are signs of decline. It was said that these beds were actually masterpieces by geomancers to satisfy the rich men's desire. However, with too many mirrors, the person loses spiritual power. With water in the bed head, the owner will be forever in a tangle. A bed with animals carved on all sides makes one tired both physically and mentally. A peach-shaped bed makes one pessimistic. A round bed is bad for traveling. Mechanisms in beds means endless disputes. All these designs have their meanings. It does not pay for those rich men to incur great losses for some error with their beds. It is allowed to make the bed as comfortable and luxurious as possible, but not without considerations of geomancy. Pursuit of extra styles may result in some slack habit, perplexity by certain people or things, or one may lose one's quickness of mind or willpower or become idle, loose, decadent... Such are the drawbacks of luxurious bedrooms. If they are not properly controlled, they may generate endless greed or desire. The secret for bedrooms is to make them "warm" and "honest."
CHAPTER 21 - Unsupported Seats Of Gods When I first arrived in the United States, I was requested to practise geomancy in many places of the country. One of the families I visited had a very lucky restaurant. I say "very lucky" because it was very lucky indeed in terms of geomanic features, as described by many geomancers. In fact, I did feel it was not bad at all. But the fact was that the restaurant was stagnant. Not only was the staff lifeless, even the customers became spiritless as soon as they entered. There were a couple of cats. "One could catch birds with a basket in front of the gate" - very few visitors indeed. It seemed that the owner could hardly afford the power bills. After investigation I concluded: "The seat of gods is above the door frame and beneath it is the door of the kitchen leading to the hall. This is precisely the passageway for the waitresses carrying dishes to and fro." I told the host, "The seat of gods is not correctly located." "How?" "It's not supported." "What's wrong with that?" "If there is nothing supporting the seat of gods, the forces of fortune are not properly received; with the constant banging of the door, the gods above get no peace or quietness and have to run away." "With the gods away, it is still all right if the customers have not run away," the host was joking. "Since the gods are gone, the customers are naturally gone. This is exactly the mischief!" The owner of the restaurant never believed in gods and he was following suit in arranging a seat of gods. After my explanation, he didn't know what to do. So following my advice, he took down the seat of gods and moved it to the "store of wealth" in the hall. It had solid backing and was protected by walls on the left and right, a place that was both warm and quiet. I also told the owner to put a number of lights, offer sacrifices regularly, and make the seat a magnificent place. I also advised the owner to run an advertisement for the celebration of the first anniversary, during which period one dish and a plate of fruit were free of charge. More cooks were called in to do specialties for the occasion. The removal of the seat of gods "brought the dying back to life." There was a long queue of customers every day stretching from the gate to the road. It was crowded inside, making a nice mess of cups and plates. The owner could hardly believe that was true! Whenever I visited the place the owner would come out to greet me, gigling: "Welcome, Living Buddha! Welcome, my god of fortune!" This restaurant became properly protected and prosperous after the seat of gods was moved to a lucky place and sacrifices were regularly offered. The owner made a large fortune and bought two other restaurants. I was also requested to study the best location for the seat of gods in both restaurants. Now the three restaurants were making good money, business being brisk. When I was in Taiwan, I also studied two restaurants whose seats of gods were above their doorframes, which were passageways. There were always many people coming and going. I warned the owners that the seat of gods should not be unsupported nor should there be many people coming and going. I advised them to move the seat of gods away or to block the passageway under it. The two owners agreed but ignored my advice completely. According to the latest information, one of the restaurants had gone bankrupt and the other was very much in the red, and was looking for someone to take over. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, believe that there should be no opening either above or below or on the left or right of the seat of gods. If windows are needed, they should be in the center of the wall on its left or right. Openings above or below the seat of gods are unlucky because they can't hold the coming fortune. The reason is very simple: if there are openings above or below or on its left or right, there is a lot of leaking of vitality forces, and the god spirit is not steady. For ordinary households, the seat of gods should also be correctly chosen, without openings above or below it. If the seat of gods is in its right place, the good influence of the gods can cancel out some bad effect of the unlucky features of the house if any. Previously I had written about the absence of openings above or below the seat of gods or on its right and left. Some students of mine misunderstood me. They thought that there should be no windows on the three walls. In fact only the wall against which the seat stands should have no windows around the seat. The walls on its right and left can have windows in their centers, preferably with "guards" present. Besides, it is not correct either to put the seat of gods beside the door, because when the door closes or opens there is wind which makes the forces unsteady and also because there will be constant banging. Moreover, the wall against which the seat of gods stands must be very solid and steady, and should not be shaking or vibrating all the time, for if the seat is not firmly fixed, it will fall down sooner or later; and once it falls down, the owner will be bankrupt.
CHAPTER 22 - The Seat Of Gods And The God Of Water To set up a seat of gods in one house is to make use of the gods. To make use of the gods is to change the magnetic field. In our Easterner's houses, we have the tradition of worshipping gods and ancestors, that is, worshipping "the spirits of gods" and "the spirits of the ancestors". It is true that it is sincerity that brings about responses, yet the worshipping should be properly practised. Proper worshipping brings about double benefit while improper worshipping may result in bad luck. In this respect, great caution is needed. For geomancers, whether a particular house has the potential for "development" or not depends on whether the house "has affection" or not. With affection, the house brings about "development"; without affection, it will result in failure. The analysis of presence and absence of affection is very complex with a lot of learning involved. Only geomancers with many years of experience know the secrets. What about the seat of gods? To judge whether the seat of gods "has affection" or not is to see whether it meets the god of water. If it meets the god of water, it does have affection; if not it does not. This is the secret. The god of water refers to a river, a stream, a lake, a ditch, or the sea, in short, a general term for any place where water concentrates. There are flat places where the direction of water flow is not obvious. In geomancy, however, there is this definition: It is a hill if it is one inch higher than other places. It is water if it is one inch lower than other places. Here is a list of cases in which the seat of gods has affection and has no affection.
In short, to judge whether the seat of gods greets vitality forces or declining forces is to see whether it meets the god of water (in which case it has affection) or it does not meet the god of water (in which case it has no affection). To deal with all the inauspicious cases mentioned above, geomancers all know the three talismans by Taoist or Buddhist priests which can pacify the negative forces from water:
These three talismans are secrets from Master Qing Zhen. Besides, for the control of water forces, there are also the five-ghost method, the nine-star method, and the 24-direction method. Here in this chapter, I disclose a secret. If there are two trees of different species of about the same size in front of the seat of gods, or two rivers either in front of the seat of gods or behind the house, this could suggest that the host is going to have "two wives and two concubines." Many geomancers believe that there are many taboos concerning the location of the seat of gods. For example, the seat of gods must not be located under a roof beam, nor under a staircase, nor in a passageway, nor in a dirty place, nor any place there is a lot of walking about. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, hold that the relationship between the seat of gods and the water god is very important. As long as the seat of gods "meets" some water, it is good. But their relationship could be formed either quickly or slowly, resulting in early or late development of the family. As the water comes in different ways - in front, sideways or around "the waist", there are differences in development - quick money by fair means and slow money by foul means or slow money by fair means and quick money by foul means. Only the adept knows all these fine differences. If the seat of gods is to be moved, remember two things: Choose the right hour of the right day; a master be invited to preside the ceremony.
CHAPTER 23 - An Ancient Well And A Water Tower Once when I was in Taiwan, I studied a building of the western-style in Lin Yun. The owner of the building had lost three of his family members within one year after he had moved into the house. One of them was old, but the other two were young, too young to die yet. I visited the Hall of Gods and paid my respect to the gods with joined palms. Then we were seated in the sitting-room. Presently I told the owner: "I would guess that right under this building there was once a well. Is that right?" The owner was amazed. "That's right. You're indeed out of ordinary. This piece of land was handed down from our forefathers. There was a well here. But it was filled up when the house was built." I told the owner more: "In the well, there was the spirit of a person who was killed. When you filled up the well, you didn't deliver it first. Since it is still down there, the place is naturally haunted." "Wow!" The owner was almost speechless. Then he said, "It was said that my great grandfather had a concubine. She was so wronged that she drowned herself in the well. This is what my father told me when I was very small." "But how did you know?" he asked me. "Your gods told me just now," I laughed. "Do you know where the well is?" The owner wanted to give me a test. "Of course!" I stood up and walked up to a bath-room. Pointing to the bath-room, I told the owner it was down there. "You have my admiration, Master Lu. I'm convinced that you are Number One geomancer in the whole world!" This incident about the ancient well is well known among my students who went there with me. The way to avert misfortune is to pray.
Since then, the building has been very peaceful. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, believe that an old well has a very important place in the residence. The well was the very source of life for many people in the old times and had important bearings on the well-being. A well symbolizes water, an essential aspect in geomancy. To dig a well and to fill up a well are both to produce effects on the future of the residence. Most ancient wells have living beings in them and their spirits may also stay there. Ancient wells are not only found in Taiwan, but also found in the United States. Here in the States, in houses near lakes, in out-of-the-way places, or places where the running water system cannot reach, wells are dug for underground water. If you want to "fill up" a well, get some green bamboos, peel off the skin, write on them the mantra of soil pacification, and, on a lucky date , throw the bamboo pieces into the well before filling it up with earth. Still better, hold a ceremony of deliverance first before earth-filling. This is the praying method handed down from Master Qing Zhen. In the States, to fill up a well, they invite a priest who sprinkles some sacred water and prays for peace before the earth-filling. To fill up a well is a magic event and should not be taken lightly. The reason is that both digging up a well and filling up a well have important effects in the residence and so some caution is justified. Closely connected with underground water are water towers. Water towers are usually taller than all the residence buildings they serve and are naturally huge objects. Therefore they are "powerful", that is, they have important effects on the buildings. A water tower often makes the whole building as asymmetrical as it usually shoots up high and it is difficult to cover it up. I would suggest that to avert the bad influence of the water tower on the residence, the tower must be perfectly designed and another building of similar size is also designed opposite the tower to cancel out its "power". This extra building can serve many purposes and take away the destructive power of the water power. I was once asked to study a factory. On the northern side (the tiger side) of the factory there stood a water tower, the highest among the factory buildings. The water tower made their freight cars have one accident after another, with great losses. Besides, the share-holders began to struggle for power instead of working in cooperation. The workers gradually became dispirited and slacked away. I suggested to them that another water tower of the same height be built exactly opposite the first tower, on the southern side (the dragon side) of the factory, in perfect balance. Strangely enough, once the water tower on the southern side was completed, everything was balanced and their freight cars were free from accidents; the workers became active and efficient again; the shareholders resumed their cooperation. The water tower is preferably covered up. Otherwise two symmetrical towers are preferred. These are two ways to control the negative forces of a single water power. Both ancient wells and water towers are often neglected in building residences, but in fact their locations must be chosen with great care.
CHAPTER 24 - "Water In" And "Water Out" Geomancers today often read these books: Locations about 8 Houses and 24 Mountains, Four Houses in the East and West, Divination of the Three Primes and Six Firsts, On Birthday and Location of Residence, among others. The general difference is:
The geomancer should not only carefully examine the surroundings, shape and size of the residence building, but also know how many storeys, how many rooms and if these rooms are correctly partitioned. As for the doors, there is a careful distinction among main gates, medium doors and small doors; besides there will be the distinction among the chief gate, side doors, and escape doors. In the sitting-room, the corner where the vitality forces accumulate is the store of wealth. The bed should be in keeping with the place that takes in the vitality forces. The stove in the kitchen must be in keeping with the three lucky directions of the owner. The toilet should be in an inconspicuous place, a declining place and pot plants should be put there to balance things out. If a well is needed, it must be in a prosperity direction. However, many geomancers often neglect the problem of where the water comes in and where it goes out. In fact, this problem is of considerable importance. Since water is forever flowing, it is often regarded as wealth. Because it flows, it has great forces. I would think that the problem of water is difficult to handle. If the water in a house carries with it some negative forces, the residents can hardly escape some misfortune. I once studied a residence building. On the balcony on its second floor, the owner had set up some artificial mountain with a waterfall. Some water came from the top of the mountain in the form of a waterfall into the pond inside the mountain. As the owner praised his waterfall again and again, I couldn't bear to point out to him the negative forces of the water. After I had left the place, I told the owner's friend, "The artificial mountain and waterfall are right on the neck of the owner. They carry grave negative forces and must be dismantled." But the owner didn't do anything. About three years later, the owner developed some hard growth in his neck. Medical tests showed it was cancer. The swollen part of the neck was very much in the shape of the mountain and waterfall. Not long afterwards, the owner died. The owner was the chairman of the board of directors for several factories and the owner of a big hotel. He was still young, promising and very successful in business. After he had developed cancer, he came to me again. I gave my blessings but shook my head, knowing very well that it was already too late. Water is often used for decoration, such as a fountain in a huge building which is purely ornamental. Such decorative things must be built with the advice of the best geomancers. The introduction of water must help to make people calm and must be pleasing both to the eye and the mind; it must help to bring about prosperity to business. In ordinary houses, it is unlucky in most cases to have a pond, a fountain or a waterfall inside the house. It is very extravagant to do so and it is difficult to find a suitable place for it. It is unnecessary to build any of those things for one's own enjoyment. It is all right to build a pond, a swimming pool or a fountain outside the house. The only important point to remember is to see to it that it is located in the correct direction. Don't put it in the northeast or in southwest at any cost. A qualified geomancer must be consulted if you plan to build a pond, a swimming pool or a fountain. There are two principles guiding how the water comes in and how it goes out: It must enter the house in a conspicuous manner and leave the house in an inconspicuous manner. In other words, it comes in by an overt ditch and goes out in a covert ditch. It must enter the house in a straight flow and leave house in a winding course. In other words, it comes in a straight channel and goes out in a tortuous channel. This is the way to accumulate wealth. A great deal of money pours in continuously while the spending moves in zigzags. As a result, what is left grows rapidly. I once studied a factory engaged in big business. It was making a lot of money but its expenses were also astonishing. What was the matter? It was found that the drainage ditch was too conspicuous and too straight. I suggested to them that a bridge be built over it. The bridge has three functions:
There is a lot of learning involved in the problem of how the water goes in and comes out.
CHAPTER 25 - The Importance Of The Workshop In the United States, many houses have a workshop among the various rooms. I have seen that many Westerners have their workshop connected with their garage. In the garage, apart from the car, there are usually tools of all kinds kept there. Because of the high rate of pay in the States, the ordinary repairs are usually done by oneself, such as car repairs, water and electricity repairs, moving and painting. The furniture one buys has to be assembled piece by piece by oneself according to the drawings. As a result, the workshop is very important. As there is a lot of "movement" and "noise" in the workshop, its location has a big influence. Since there is a lot of beating and striking there, it exerts influence on the future of the residence. Those who have a basement can make their workshop down there, preferably in the northwestern direction of the whole residence building, or on the dragon side at the back. As the workshop is in a mess in most cases, it should not be located at the top or at the front; it is best located in the northwest, at the bottom or at the back. It is common that the garage serves as the workshop as well. If the garage is in the northwest, it is most suitable to be the workshop as well. It will not be very good if it is located in the northeast or the southwest. If the workshop is situated in the wrong direction, there may be unexpected happenings, or one's work may not go smoothly or there is discord in the family. Some houses in the States are joined with the garage. The garage is part of the house. There are many houses that are separate from their garage. If the garage is not part of the house, it is preferably not in front of the tiger side (the left side), because the opening of the garage will be the mouth of the tiger. A tiger's mouth that is so long and high does not look very pleasing and may incur unexpected events. If the garage is joined with the house, it must not be very conspicuous; it is preferably on a lower place on the tiger side. At any event the dragon side should not be dominated by the powers of the tiger side. Every household in the States has a garage. The garage is important. It serves both as a car park and as a workshop. When I was in Taiwan, I noticed that many of the rich people did not have a garage. Occasionally they put up a simple shed as their garage. I would like to make a special note here concerning sheds: please pay special attention to which side of the house the shed is going to be on: the dragon side or the tiger side. If it is on the wrong side, misfortune is inevitable, for a car shed can carry strong negative forces. A car shed outside the house is a "powerful object". A "powerful object" is a special, conspicuous object. In the past, I studied many factories. A workshop in a residence building is like the location of machines in a factory. If the machines are suitably located, they operate well. If they are not properly located, they go wrong for no reason at all; when the repair men are called in, no trouble can be found. Machines in a factory constitute the front line, on which the quality of products depends. So they are of primary importance. Once I studied a huge machine, bringing with me some salt and some rice, plus a magic writing of a mantra on ceaseless operation. The machine was installed in a wrong place. So it broke down very frequently, which gave the workers endless headache. Even the foreign technicians could not do anything about it. At the end, they came to ask me to have a look. I told them, "The machine is set right on the teeth of the tiger and is often stopped by the teeth. The best way out is to move the machine away." The owner told me, "It is such a huge thing that this building was specially designed for it when it was first installed. The expenses to move away would be staggering. Is there any alternative?" The owner was pleading. So I tossed the rice and salt onto the machine and put up the written mantra on a special day. Strange to say, on the following day after the mantra was put up, the machine started working. And once it started running, it never stopped. All workers were beside themselves with excitement. The foreign technician, shaking his head, was greatly puzzled. Someone asked me, "How did it happen?" I replied, "I sprinkled the rice and salt into the tiger's mouth. When the tiger shut his mouth, it spat the machine out. It is as simple as that. Aha!" I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, hold that the workshop, the garage and the machine room are all places with "movement", which can change the geomanic features of the residence, resulting in strange happenings. Geomancers cannot afford to overlook any of the three places. The slightest error may bring about your complete failure.
CHAPTER 26 - What To Do With A "Haunted House"? Recently my students in Canada wanted to buy some house to set up a chapter there. The house they had in mind is near the Empress Park. Ordinarily, the house was worth 200 thousand U.S. dollars, but it was set at 100 thousand. The reason was that it was a well-known haunted house. The previous owner of the house was a doctor who hanged himself there. The house was once let to two Indians, who ran away not long afterwards. When they were sleeping at night, they were pushed off bed; when they were sleeping inside, they were thrown outside onto the lawn. Strange happenings continued without stop. From time to time there were strange sparks, strange odors, strange sounds, and ghost shadows. The Canadian students asked me if they could buy the house. My reply was: "Yes. Leave everything to me. I'll go and stay there first!" In most cases houses become haunted because their magnetic land spirits are confused; they are confused because some people have killed themselves in the house; their strong hatred has thrown the magnetic land spirits into disorder. It is this resentment that haunts the place. Some houses are haunted not because of suicide inside the house but because of the building materials. Some of the materials carry spirits. Suppose that we buy the roof beam of an ancient temple and make it the roof beam of our own house. If the beam happens to carry spirits, it will throw the magnetic land spirits into confusion, which in turn makes the house haunted. Still some houses become haunted naturally, because the land on which they are built is chaotic in its magnetic land spirits. On such pieces of land, when the geomancer's compass does not work - its needle, jumping and jerking, does not settle down at any position. A house built upon such land may become haunted. People who live for a long time in a house with confused land spirits will be seriously affected - they will have an unsteady temper, develop incurable diseases or meet unexpected happenings. Their children's moral character will change quickly or become very bad. The children may get neurotic or depressed. If the land spirits are extremely confused, things in the house can fly here and there by themselves, certain images may show up, strange sounds may be heard and strange-looking shadows may flash across. Such things may tease people viciously. The dead person's resentment may show its effect on people staying in the house. In spite of all this, however, I agreed that my students in Canada should buy the haunted house. This is because it is fairly easy to handle confused land spirits once we know the cause. All we have to do is to remove the cause of confusion. I know two ways of dealing with this haunted house: First, when I visit the haunted house, I will first of all find out the object in which the doctor hanged himself, or the photo of a person or the photo of an animal in the sitting-room, or a table or a chair, or the stone in the courtyard. This is to find where the doctor's soul is staying. Once I find that, I will move it out of the house. Once the object the spirit is staying with is taken away, I will "clean" the house and "mark out the boundaries". Following the Tantric method, I will use the four Heavenly Kings to mark the boundaries, so that the heavenly gods can protect the house. Once the cause of confusion is removed, the land spirits will become normal again and the house will not be haunted any more. Second, when I visit the haunted house, I will first invoke the spirit of the dead doctor and explain to it that the owner of the house is changed and that the cause of his resentment is gone, in the hope that this can pacify his strong feelings. (However, for most of the resentful ghosts, it is very difficult to pacify their strong feelings, for otherwise they would not have hanged themselves.) In addition, I will also explain to the doctor's spirit that this house will be a shrine of the True Buddha School. On the left, we shall set up a seat for his spirit to be offered sacrifice every morning and evening. We shall wish his spirit peace, security and quietude. We shall wish that his spirit will study Buddhism and enjoy the happiness of man's world. To enjoy the happiness of man's world is of course much better than to frighten people by mischief. If the second method does not work, I have to use the first. If the spirit resides with the roof beam, and it is impossible to move the beam, I have to use the Vajra method to drive the spirit away. I will first pacify the beam and then "clean" the house and "mark out the boundaries". "Aren't you afraid, Living Buddha Lian Shen?" my students asked me. "The spirit of someone hanged is terrible, but I don't mind." "Why?" "An honest person is dauntless!" "Is a house haunted because of geomanic features?" "Yes. The resentment of the dead has confused the magnetic field of the house." If you want to buy a house, you have to know as much as possible about the previous owner. Don't buy haunted houses. If you have bought one and cannot do anything about it, then come to me, Living Buddha Lian Shen, for help.
CHAPTER 27 - Houses That Produces High-ranking Officials I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, have studied the book A Book on the Secrets of Land Spirits, and after years' of careful observation, know everything about houses. Some people asked me, "What kind of houses produce high-ranking officials?" I replied, "Three layers of golden branches and jade leaves or red snakes winding around the seal; or dragon buildings and phoenix pavilions; or powerful objects with horns." "These are very mysterious terms. Could you explain each of them in simpler language?" Let me give you the following explanation: "Three layers of golden branches and jade leaves" - the place we are to build the house on, is surrounded by three layers of other houses at the right, left and back, and these houses are in the shape of jade leaves on a golden branch. If this is to be in a mountain, it is necessary to examine what is to be behind the house and what is to be on both sides of it - there should also be three layers of arched things in protection. "Red snakes winding around the seal" - In a complex city, we need to find its "master" - very much like the central point in the lines of the hand. If we can find that center in terms of land spirits and build a house upon it, it is then red snakes winding around the seal. The comparison between the central point in the lines of the hand and red snakes winding around the seal is very appropriate. Only the best geomancers can find where the center is. The house of the Japanese Prime Minister - Yasuhiro Nakasoni is a seal surrounded by red snakes. "Dragon buildings and phoenix pavilions" - The "dragon" and "phoenix" here both refer to the people in the houses, which means they are extraordinary houses. In geomancy, this extraordinariness lies in the grandeur of houses. The imposing manner can only be detected by best geomancers. (It is said, for example, that the dragons should be spiraling up and the phoenixes should be soaring to the sky.) "Powerful objects with horns" - An experienced geomancer knows how to design a "powerful object" in a little shabby house. This powerful object can help the people living in the poor house. It can bring them great success or fame or positions of high-ranking officials. This powerful object can only be designed by the best geomancers, for if it is well-designed it can bring fame and success; if it is wrongly designed, it brings misfortune. To do all the above, the geomancer should know the following:
From these principles, predictions can be made about the rank of officialhood and the direction of a certain position held by the people in the house. Generally, military officers of high ranks should be in houses of a pointed shape; the pointedness is an indication of power and grandeur. But at the same time, the house must be accompanied by "honesty" and "faith" on the right and the left. If the "powerful object" is not set up properly, one may lose the position of a military officer and may become an ordinary man or even become a scoundrel. There is a verse that goes like this:
(This is a verse about graves, but houses and graves are in fact closely related.) I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, find that although graves make use of land forces and houses make use of vitality forces, the two types of forces go together, without much difference. For example, if water is above earth, water goes along with earth. If wind is above water, it goes along with water. They tend to go in the same direction. The principles concerning houses that produce high-ranking officials are highly confidential. Only on rare occasions do I pass on these secrets to disciples. Such secrets are priceless. There are special pithy formulas for the way to study them. It is no easy job to understand these formulas without instructions from the best geomancer. Among my disciples, there is a young man who, according to my observation, has the looks of a high-ranking official. I told him to set up a "powerful object" in his little room. This young man now is the first among the students, and later he will be doing a Ph. D. degree. When he enters his official career, he will be in the rank of a duke, as the verse goes:
I have got miraculous powers of geomancy. For a poor young man to become a high-ranking official requires the working of the vitality forces of the house.
CHAPTER 28 - Houses That Produce Rich Men Once I was studying a broken house in a bamboo forest. The house was literally in ruins. I told the owner, however, that "the person who lives in this house will definitely get rich." The owner didn't believe me, saying, "My grandfather lived here and died of hunger on the road. My father lived here and suffered from both poverty and illness. Now I live here, and I haven't succeeded in anything. I find it very hard to believe what you said." "The time hasn't come yet. When the time comes, you'll certainly become very rich." "What is the time? Where is luck?" "It's coming." "How do you know, Master, that I'll get rich?" "In front of your gate, there is water flow that goes against the usual direction. The water comes from the northwest, which is called Gen water from the Gen mountain paying respect to ant wasps. it is a sign of getting rich." (Note: Gen is one of the eight characters in Chinese divination, which represents mountain, northwest and strength.) "What else?" "Your house is made of clay chunks. It is earth upon fire; earth and fire facilitate each other - so the time you get rich is coming." "Why didn't my family get rich earlier? Why now?" I gave him the following verse:
Not long after I left the broken house, a building dealer came and wanted to buy from the owner a piece of land at the foot of the mountain. There wasn't much trace of human life here, but ever since the dealer put up a lot of houses, it had become a quarter of "country villas". They were all sold out at one go. The owner of the house made a lot of money and he bought pieces of land and built more new houses for sale. He again made a lot of money, never losing a penny. The owner now has become President of the Board of Directors of a building company. He is a millionaire. He has many houses of his own. He drives the most luxurious car, smokes the best cigars, and wears the most elegant suits. However, every evening before he goes to bed, he would ask his driver to take him to the broken house secretly. He still sleeps in the shabby house of clay. The house has been slightly furnished, without the slightest change in its outside appearance. This is because he now believes that it is this house of clay that has brought the luck and fortune. Why poverty first and wealth later?
This is my bold judgement. In the study of land features, I have my own tricks of the trade. I pay attention to the owner's Five Elements - gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Once these elements are identified, I look at the land concerned. The land also has these five elements. The relation between the person's Five Elements and those of his land (or house) can be either harmonious or contradictory. Harmony augurs wealth and contradiction foretells poverty. When I enter a house, I can identify immediately where its store of wealth is. I make a special effort to make the store of wealth really collect vitality forces as well as wealth. I have a verse about how to get rich:
If a house is on a piece of Gen land and Shen water comes to pay respect (Shen is one of the Twelve Heavenly Stems in Chinese divination), it is a wonderful sign of rapid development. Money will pour in irresistably, filling up all the jars and boxes. The pithy formulas to make a house rich are worth hundreds of thousands of tales of gold. To be able to see if a house is lucky or not is not enough. We should also help the owner to make money. True masters of geomancy are able to help the owner make money; otherwise they are sham masters. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, have studied geomancy for many years and have really gone deep into the subject. It is a great pity that people in the world do not know clearly that most of the masters are sham masters who can mouth fine words but with no accuracy to speak of. They have really discredited geomancy. I can say the pithy formula for making a house rich is invaluable.
CHAPTER 29 - The Fear Of 28 Years Of Age In my work as a geomancer, I had a very strange experience! In a traditional Chinese courtyard surrounded by houses on all sides, there was a family whose male members all died at the age of 28. The father died of illness at 28. The uncle left home at 28, never to return. The eldest son, climbing a mountain, fell off and died at 28. The second son died of cancer at 28... The third son, approaching 28 soon, was very much afraid. So he went everywhere to worship the gods and the Buddha for help. He got very different answers from his trips. He was indeed worried. Theirs was a big family. They asked me to go and have a look. They wanted me to find the cause of death at the age of 28. There was nothing wrong with their graveyard. Their houses did have many problems. I pointed out the problems one by one and asked them to set things right as soon as possible. This group of houses was in little wood in the countryside, surrounded by many ponds, some dry, some with enough water and some with very little water. I found that the water from some ponds could go directly to the central room, some water could go to the room on the sides, and some water could go right to the main gate. I told the family to fill up the dry ponds. The banks of those ponds with water had to be repaired so as to make into a shape of "within the bow". The main room of the house was very tall, but the newly built houses at the back were very low. Houses tall in the front and low at the back foretell that the family will lose some members, particularly young members. I told the family to rebuild the house at the back, making them as tall as those in the front. They set things right as I told them. They also asked me "why the age of 28, of all ages?" This was very difficult to explain offhand. But I told them, "There must be a fixed number. For example, the total number of pillars in the houses happens to be 28; there are 28 trees surrounding the houses; or there are 28 stoves, or 28 beams, or 28 doors...." "28 kitchen stoves? Not possible!" "I think so too," I replied laughing. "It's only an example." Later they told me that there was indeed a fixed number the pillars in the houses added up to be exactly 28! What accuracy! I had their great admiration. They asked me if they should put up more pillars. "No," I said. "This does not mean that if there are one hundred pillars, everyone in the house will live to be one hundred years old. This number only happens to be a fixed number. The real cause lies in the ponds and the height of the houses." I told them the following: "There was little water in some ponds" - This stands for short life of the young members of the family. It means they cannot live to a "full age". Particularly, some ponds had their corners towards the main gate or towards the central room. It is called "penetration into the heart" or "an arrow into the cheek". They were all bad signs for the young male members. "The front houses are tall and the back houses are low" - The front houses stand for former generations and houses at the back stand for later generations. So when the houses at the back are low, it is the children that suffer. Houses at the back can be taller than front houses or just as tall as others, but never lower than the rest. Now ten years have passed since I studied that group of houses. The family told me that new people living in those houses enjoy peace and quietude. Some young male members have lived past 28 and nothing has happened to them. They have got over the fear of 28. They are no longer worried. I, living Buddha Lian Shen, am particularly good at identifying houses that cause undue deaths of family members and also houses that "bear" no children. A verse in A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits goes:
Houses must have some parts of strength, without which family members will be limited. If the land is too flat, the house has no vitality and then no children will be born into the house. If the house is surrounded by overbearing objects, there will be miscarriages or still births. If the house is washed on all sides, children can not survive. These things will also happen if the house is located either in front of a temple or behind a temple, for the vitality of the land spirits is absorbed by the temple. I firmly believe that the presence and absence of the land vitality is important in geomancy. Only masters of real learning can detect its existence. The presence and absence not only affects the life of children, but also the health of the whole family. It is advisable not to live in houses without vitality of land spirits.
CHAPTER 30 - How To Overcome Adultery In a previous chapter, I have said that if the water tap faces directly to the stove, it generates adultery. If there are two kinds of trees on the left and right outside the main gate, it also produces adultery. If there is a steep slope behind the house and a pond in front of the house in the shape of a woman's eye-brow, this means that both father and son will have two wives for many generations - male adultery. Male adultery is also produced by the following cases:
Female adultery is generated by the following:
I have studied a house in which for several generations the man had two wives. Behind the house there was a steep slope and a pond in the front which was exactly like a beautiful eye-brow. And there were two kinds of trees outside the main gate. It turned out that the grandfather, father and son all had two wives. In my experience I have also studied many houses whose tiger side (the right hand side) faced directly some cross roads. Cross roads look like a naked beauty revealing her private parts. It is terrible to have cross roads on the tiger side of the house. An innocent woman would become a licentious whore. This of course would destroy a happy family . Both male adultery and female adultery would turn the family into a mad house, destroying peace in the family. Sex appeal is useful to one type of people, that is, actors and actresses. A sexy actor will win over admiration from many women; a sexy actress will win the love of many men. The greater the appeal, the greater their popularity! Some rich people often have a huge main gate. A huge main gate is not easy to open or to shut. So they often have a side door beside the main gate for easy coming and going. But please remember: one house has two openings - for one's own convenience, also for the convenience of others. Desiring for both the big one and small one would generate adultery. It is perfectly all right to have a side door. But it must be far away from the main gate. They must not be side by side. All masters of geomancy know that most waters around the house are adultery-inducing. They make both husband and wife infatuated with sex, their desire being uncontrollable. A river in front of the house running in the reverse direction; a river in front of the house jumping forward; a murmuring river, all mean that there will be elopement in the house! If there is water in front of the house and a secluded wood behind it, the woman will commit incest. The verse goes like:
In a normal family, when the man or woman commits adultery, it is like dropping a stone into a peaceful lake - there will be wave upon wave of trouble - finally leading to divorce or breakup of the family. For those who can put up with it, it is a family with two wives or concubines. For those who can not tolerate it, they go to the law court for a solution. A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits also has discussions about removing land features of a house that generate adultery. Once such features take effect, things will get out of control. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, have in my life time handled thousands of adultery cases, big or small. I have had to set right the features of the house and in my Tantric sessions I have had to practise " ways to pacify misfortune" or " ways of conquering". These cases are very complex stories, which could make ten thousand novels. In sum, both male and female adultery is bad, which, like a thunderbolt, upsets the family at once; if it is not properly handled, there may be murder or suicide.
CHAPTER 31 - Land Features For Twins A couple from Vancouver, Canada, came to visit me. They have taken refuge in me. Young and intelligent, they are editors in chief for the monthly Bodhi True Buddha. They are Zhao Shaodong and his wife. Zhao is handsome and his wife is charming, a rare couple of believers in Buddhism. They both are talented linguists, speaking English, Chinese and Cantonese. They said, "we have one request to make, Grandmaster." "What is it ?" "We'd like to have twins," they replied, both kneeling down. "Why twins? What for?" I was puzzled. "We feel that studying and practising Buddhism is very important. Life is short. If we give birth to one child after another, it is time consuming to raise the children. If we give birth to twins, we finish nursing two children at the same time. We won't have any more children after that. We can save a lot of time that way, time that will be used for the study of Buddhism. This is our wish. We sincerely hope that Grandmaster will help us." On hearing this, I smiled without my knowing. Then I said, "I shall give you reinforcement and pray for you before the Buddha. I hope you will get twins." I did give this couple reinforcement. I felt that they were very devoted believers of wonderful character and would be pillars of the True Buddha School! The Zhaos' request for twins reminded me of some interesting story in my geomancy experience. It took place in a small village in Gao Xiong County. Out of the eighteen families in the village, eight had twins. Why did they all have twins? The township people were mystified! The learned were also puzzled! The local people themselves were also baffled! So the village people came to me for help. I visited the place and found that the twins had to do with the land features there. Standing at the entrance of the main street, I could see two mountains in the shape of a pyramid, exactly like two breasts or two bellies. The front mountain is connected with the one behind. When I set the compass, it turned out to be "menstruation greeting the twin mountains". It should be remembered that the twin mountains are like twin breasts and now menstruation greets the breasts - the result is twin births. Besides, if the door of the hall faces directly a "fire star mountain" and two little streams flow around the house, it is also a sign of twin births. There is verse in A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits which reads:
There are also cases where some people gave one twin birth followed by a single birth. Why is that ? Why not twins for every birth? This has to do with the "operation of vitality forces". In places that produce twin births, the forces of the land spirits are sometimes "in operation" and sometimes are "out of operation". Besides, the direction of the main gate is also important. Whether the gate faces the twin mountains or "fire star mountain" exactly or not so precisely also has not influence. This accounts for the fact that in the village where most people have twins, there are people only give single births. It is not the case that once the necessary features are there, every woman gives twin births all her life. Land features for large families include: Gold stars shining upon the house from all directions. A land that rises and falls. Active land spirits are like expressive facial features. The dragon side and the tiger side form an enclosure upon the house. The open ground is spacious, with both sides energetic. Land features for small families include:
There is verse that reads like this:
In sum, geomancy is a wonderful subject. It is fascinating to dig deep into it.
CHAPTER 32 - A House Of Endless Illnesses Americans live in houses with many problems. Probably by nature they prefer to live in forests or live in little woods, with their houses completely covered up by trees. There are tall trees in front, tall trees behind and tall trees on both sides. There are many houses covered up like that. We often say, jokingly, "They haven't changed much from their ancestral monkey - still preferring the woods." During the early of my stay in the States, many of my American disciples came to ask me to study their houses when they heard that I practised geomancy. As a result, I have studied many American houses. The Americans look very tall and strong, but in fact they have a lot of illnesses as illnesses do not discriminate races. I have an American student by the name of Moore. Moore told me one day, "People in my family take turns to fall ill. This has been going for three years. As soon as one person recovers, another falls ill, with no interval in between. The money spent on medical expenses now is beyond calculation. Worse still, the mental and physical sufferings are immeasurable." Moore called his house "a house of endless illnesses." I went to look at this house. It turned out to be a house under tall trees. The house was not very big, but the trees were gigantic, with branches and leaves spreading out, enveloping the little house. The tree stems were huge and their roots had extended well under the little house. People living in a house like this had their Yang (positive) forces all absorbed by the Yin (negative) forces from the trees. Negative forces overwhelmed the positive forces. This would naturally make people inside fall ill. I told Moore to move. It was better not to live in a house under big trees. Houses need a reasonable mixture of positive and negative forces. When the trees are too high, the negative forces are too strong, making the house unsuitable. As for Moore, since the trees were difficult to move, it would be better to sell the house. Finally Moore agreed to sell the house. Masters of geomancy point out that the following land features tend to make the house full of illnesses:
Once I went to study the house of a friend called Fieboo. Upon entering his house one ran right against the wall of the backyard, which was not very deep though with enough space on the left and right. There were hard rocks in a steep slope there. So I said at once: "You have some illness." "No, very strong all along," he replied. In fact, Fieboo looked tall and strong, with outstanding muscles and rosy cheeks. People present all felt strange when I said he was ill. "It's a minor illness, but it gives you unbearable pains," I remarked. "What is it then?" "Piles!" Fieboo flushed at once. "You're right, Grandmaster," he admitted. "Piles indeed. Every one of them is like a hard stone. They've been there for years now. They give me unbearable pains from time to time. You are indeed very observant, Grandmaster! How do you know?" "The house has a narrow back. There are layers of hard rocks behind the house. The slope is too steep. For all these reasons, you suffer from that illness." "What about people living in apartment, where there is no rock or mountain? Why do they have it too?" "There are no rocks or mountains in apartment buildings, but pressed spaces and narrow places are there. They are just like hard rocks or steep slopes, by a stretch of imagination based on geomancy." A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits has this verse relevant here:
CHAPTER 33 - Houses For Ghosts And Demons A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits has a verse that reads:
On the compass, it is the Gen position (the northeast position) that is for ghosts and demons. If the gate (or door) is located in the northeast position, it will be the doorway for ghosts and demons, a place of extreme negative forces, and a place where no positive forces whatever exist. Then most ghosts would like to stay in a house or room like that, where they hide themselves in dark corners or behind pot-plants, or in a dim-lit living-room. The bed may be properly set up in the appropriate place, but there are many dreams at night about monsters and evil spirits. Such sleepless nights worry the people living there. All is because a lot of ghosts have gathered in the room. They have taken away the vitality forces; as a result the people feel extremely tired. If the gate or door is situated in the northeast position, there will be strange foetuses in case of pregnancy, such as a blood foetus, vesicular mole or any strange things. Such unusual pregnancies show odd features very early on. Even when the baby is born, it may be deaf, or mute. Sometimes it turns out to be a tumour rather than a foetus. I once studied a house fraught with ghosts and demons. When I concluded that it was a house for ghosts and demons, the owner asked, "How do you know?" I replied, "The northeast is a doorway for ghosts." "Everything was fine when we first moved in. Why is that?" "There must be a death first in the family. Then the ghosts will come in." "When?" "Two years ago." The owner nodded, fully convinced. He knew I was perfectly correct. Two years ago, his mother died; the funeral lasted three months. As soon as the funeral started, all family members began to have nightmares without end. The house often looked very strange. His wife had a tumour removed from her uterus. There was one illness after another in the family. There was no peace in the house. I made a special effort to change his northeast gate. What is more serious is that if the gate is located in the northeast, and the house is very big and no sunlight shines upon it, the whole place will become a "market of ghosts" ?/font> a place many ghosts get together. No wonder such houses give no peace to the people living in. There are other features, apart from the northeast gate, which make a house a place for ghosts. The following points should be kept in mind in particular.
Why do we have to repair broken walls? Because ghosts like broken walls. With broken walls, the room is like a mortuary for the ghosts. If the corridor is connected with the living-room, the ghosts will be confused, taking it for a coffin in an open space. A small room behind a big room is likely to be taken for a coffin by the ghosts. Ghosts will attach themselves to potted plants in dark corners. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, have met many ghosts. Ghosts, by nature, are honest, slow-witted and mischievous. But between ghosts and human beings, I am more afraid of the latter. This is because human beings are indirect, dishonest and insincere; they are more dangerous than ghosts. As I have studied Tantric teachings, I know how to "give food in charity", "make sweet dew" and "deliver the souls." For many years now I have been practising, every other day, "giving food in charity", "making sweet dew" and "delivering souls" for ghosts. So many ghosts would get together in my special room - not my living-room, but a room for ghosts. These ghosts come to the room at my invitation. I sympathize them and try hard to deliver them. I also try to convert them, for they belong to sentient beings as well! I have been doing all this for no selfish interest but out of great compassion. This is also "doing without intention". It is not easy for us to come to this world. We should try our best to do good. I always consider this as my duty.
CHAPTER 34 - Reflections After Writing This Book I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, was originally a Christian. Later I studied Taoism and geomancy under the supervision of Master Qing Zhen. Then I took refuge in Esoteric Buddhism and then in the Tantric School. Master Qing Zhen was a Taoist of the Qingcheng City School, but he had renounced secular life and had stayed away from name and fame. What he knew was far from Taoism alone, but embraced Esoteric Buddhism and Tantric Buddhism. If it was traced further back, Vajra Master Rong Zeng and Vajra Master Nuo Na were Master Qing Zhen's fellow disciples. Master Qing Zhen was knowledgeable and versatile. His collection of books exhausted all secret texts without exception. The secret books that were handed down from generation to generation were invaluable. In his later years, Master Qing Zhen devoted himself to some dark learning (Tr. Note: Xuan Xue (dark learning) refers to a mystical school that developed in the third and fourth centuries in China, characterized by metaphysical speculations seeking to adapt Taoist theories to a Confucian milieu) and became professional in making pills of immortality. He had got the greatest attainment and complete freedom. Here, however, we are not discussing his god-like abilities or his miraculous performances. He taught nobody but me, teaching me Taoism, Esoteric Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism, and geomancy. His geomancy, in particular, contained the secrets of secrets that were worth thousands of taels of gold. I considered myself extremely fortunate to have learned his geomancy. During my many years of study, I came to know everything about Taoism, Esoteric Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism and geomancy. Since then I have got to know the Secrets of Heaven. I have tried to live in seclusion. However, I have many students now and many masters have come to ask me to write books about what I have learned. The harder I try to run away from fame, the greater fame comes; the harder I try to live in seclusion, the better known I become. This is the embarrassing situation I am in. After I renounced secular life, I came to know what it is to "Contain the sacred to overcome the secular", how to achieve immortality. My consciousness and nature are now one with the Buddha. I have awakened to my original nature. I no longer intended to write any books on geomancy. Sages, masters and men of virtue all over the world, knowing I have once studied geomancy, all asked me to write this book The Land Spirits of Your House. If I kept everything in my heart, the treasure will disappear together with me, leaving no trace in this world. For the above reasons, it was out of my own expectation that The Land Spirits of Your House came into the world after I had renounced secular life. It has not been easy to write this book, because there are many special terms in geomancy. If it is written in obscure language, no student or reader can understand it. So I have tried hard not to use many technical terms nor to go very deep in my writing a difficult book will frighten the beginners away. In writing this book, my first and foremost wish is to make my readers understand what I have written down. I tried hard to be informative, explanatory and instructive, leaving no obstacles on the way for the reader. This was how I was feeling when writing these pages. It goes without saying that The Land Spirits of Your House is only fairly elementary and does not at all contain everything in A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits it is only one thousandth of that great book. That book talks about twelve types of land spirits in seventy two volumes. What I have written here is only one important point from each of those volumes. So the present book is in fact a collection of my experiences and feelings which are really practical and effective. Even so, I know for sure that the methods I record here are efficacious. For I have studied thousands of houses and my methods have been verified time and again. There are a thousand and one methods concerning both houses and graves; they are easy to learn but difficult to learn very well. Please do not look down upon this field as a "fraction of enquiry". This "fraction" may take a lifetime to learn well. There are now too many books in the market on geomancy, all of which talk about "methods of direction". Those books are obscure and unintelligible, and some "fashionable masters" are out to cheat in their writing. For these reasons I have made my book based on "vitality forces, positive and negative" and on "logic", doing away with the usual mysterious flavour. There are other important theories, such as "the Three Harmonies" ( harmonies among Heaven, Earth and Man), "the Three Periods" (a period of a cycle of 180 years, computed by the Heaven Stems and Earthly Branches to form 60 pairs which are then computed using the Nine Palaces to get three periods of 180 years: the upper, the middle and lower periods), "the Nine Palaces" (a computing method in ancient China two and four are the shoulders; and six and eight are the feet; three is the left and seven is the right; they carry nine and walk on one, with five in the center; the three numerals in any column or row make exactly fifteen), "the Nine Stars" (seven stars in the Big Dipper plus two assisting stars), "the Five Elements" (metal, wood, water, fire and earth believed to compose the physical world), "the twenty-eight Constellations" (into which the celestial sphere was divided in ancient Chinese astronomy), "the Mysterious Void", "the Eight Trigrams" (eight combinations of three lines all solid, all broken, or a combination of solid and broken lines joined in pairs to form 64 hexagrams, used in divination), and "the Twenty-four Mountains". I plan to give open lectures on these theories. I have been invited to lecture on them in Washington University, teaching geomancy like a school subject. If I explain everything clearly, patiently and tirelessly, both Chinese and foreign students will enjoy the course very much. Taught face to face, many of the geomanic methods are easier to understand and nothing will be held back. I, Living Buddha Lian Shen, believe that only by teaching everything in the prescribed order, can we move forward step by step, from the easiest to the most difficult, thus making learners understand all the implications. A training program on A Book of Secrets on Land Spirits is now under consideration. Things about land spirits are in fact relevant even if one has renounced this world. A monk is one who adapts his vital energy to that of Heaven and Earth. This is why Tantric monks prefer caves in deep mountains for meditation in seclusion. Taoist masters manoeuvre their vital energy solely for the merge with the vital energy of Heaven and Earth. The ultimate attainment for Tantric monks is precisely the manoeuvre of one's vital energy, the merge with the energy of Heaven and Earth, which is then turned into the invisible. If one can achieve that, it will be the greatest success. Here is a verse:
CHAPTER 35 - Heavenly Signs To Approve The True Buddha School The Service Ceremony To Pray For Happiness, Feb. 1987 It was Feb. 7, 1987, at the Lei Tsang Temple of the True Buddha Dharma of the United States. Disciples from all over the world, totaling more than a thousand, got together. Masters present at the ceremony included: Chen Jueheng, Chen Senho, Chen Senlong, Zhong Lusheng, Li Meili, Li Xingzhi, Lu Lixiang, Luo Zhenfang, Kant and Zheng Yuxin from the American area. Liao Yunling and Lai Wenyan from the Canadian area. Lin Yirong from the Hong Kong area. You Yanshou, Zhuang Huangyu, and Liao Yucun from the Taiwan area. Three lamas from Tibet were also present: Budon Qinzhu, Zandui Jiepo and Sangjie Jiazuo, who presented pieces white silk to Living Buddha Lian Shen, and received reinforcement from him. Master Wu Ben from the Esoteric Sect took refuge in Living Buddha Lian Shen. Liu Yili and some other disciples from Vancouver, on their way to the Lei Tsang Temple here for the ceremony, suddenly saw very strange signs high above the Temple. There was a huge beam of white light across the sky, the milky white of which pouring right into the Lei Tsang Temple. There was also a huge beam of blue light, pouring into the Lei Tsang Temple on the other side. Then the two beams of light mingled, producing an unprecedented sight. The disciples stopped their cars and gazed at the sight in great amazement. It was such a phenomenal sight indeed! Liu Yili announced this miracle to everybody in the ceremony the next day, Feb. 8. It was the mingling of twin lights to give empowerment to all sentient beings. The praying-for-happiness service started at 10:00 sharp Feb. 7. First, the assembly greeted, with great respect, the Holy Revered Red Crown Vajra Master, Living Buddha Lian Shen. Then the bells and drums rumbled. Leader of the True Buddha School read out a verse in place of a lecture:
After burning the memorial to all Buddhas, Living Buddha Lian Shen, following the prescribed rituals, performed all the ceremonies: reciting the purification mantras, reciting the invocation mantra, paying the great homage to the Buddhas of the ten directions, giving the great mandara offerings, reciting the fourfold refuge mantra, performing the armor protection, reciting the sutras, forming the great mudra for happiness, visualizing , reciting the mantras, meditating to enter the state of Samadhi, giving empowerment.... Throughout the ceremony, spiritual energy filled up the service hall, the dharma rain fell heavily, and the Buddha's light was shining. Everyone present got immense reinforcement and wonderful responses. In the memorial to the Buddhas, Living Buddha Lian Shen made a special mention that those who took part in the service by correspondence would also receive great reinforcement by the Dakinis. Their names were included in the name list burned. During the service period, all the Masters took turns to give lectures. At 8 o'clock in the morning on Feb. 7, Living Buddha Lian Shen gave a dharma talk entitled "On the Four Immeasurables":
These four immeasurables are "kind-heartedness, compassion, delight and charity". There are mantras involved, which I explained. Finally I conducted empowerment on all disciples. These four immeasurable corresponded to the great beam of white light over the Lei Tsang Temple. It was the light of kind-heartedness and compassion. At eight o'clock in the morning on Feb. 8, Living Buddha Lian Shen gave a lecture "Visualizing Bodhisattva Manjushri's Sword". There are also mantras on this visualization. And again I conducted empowerment on all disciples. In the course of my lecture, there was a strange beam of red light and of yellow light shooting down to earth, with a lot of spiritual energy falling as well. Many disciples formed the Lotus-holding mudra by themselves. This was a fascinating moment. Red flowers and yellow flowers were falling from the sky. Many disciples saw them with their own eyes! Living Buddha Lian Shen said, "When the flowers touch the sentient beings, everybody will get rid of their misfortune and bad luck and will get good luck instead. Bodhisattva Manjushri is an auspicious Vajra and a Prajna Vajra." The lecture "Visualizing Bodhisattva Manjushri's Sword" corresponded to the great beam of blue light above the Lei Tsang Temple. It was light of wisdom! Then I said, "Wisdom and compassion are two qualities that all monks must possess. With them, they can benefit and convert the sentient beings. With wisdom alone without a kind and compassionate heart, one will sooner or later become a devil. With compassion alone, without wisdom, one can only convert a limited number of sentient beings. Only when the two beams of light merge, can their immense power be brought into full play." The following deserve a special mention: Zhong Xiaoxing from the Sheng Xin Chapter, Japan, came with their grand plan about teaching the Dharma in Japan. Lian Rong from St. Paul, Brazil, came with their publication programme in the Portuguese language. The Edmond Chapter and the Vanconver Chapter, Canada, and Xin Fa Chapter in Hong Kong, will be in charge of publishing translated books in the English Language. Lianhua Zhonggeng from the Da Guan Chapter, Malaysia, has planned a Southeast Asian trip to spread the Dharma. Om Mani Padme Hum Good luck to everyone!
CHAPTER 36 - Questions And Answers On The Black Sect (Bon-po Sect) An expert on world religions, interested in my article "On the Black Sect and Black Methods", came to visit me with a lot of questions concerning the Black Sect. After the interview, I revised our discussion and publish it in a question-answer form. I believe that the publication of this article can give the reader a comprehensive picture about the Black Sect in Tibet. The question-answer form makes the article much clearer. Those interested in the Black Sect will learn a lot from it. Question: When and where did the Black Sect come into being? Answer: The Black Religion was the natural religion of the Gaoshang area. In Yongchong's History of the Stupid Sect, there is the description of the Black Sect as early as the fourth century B.C. It originated from the Xian Xiong area and later spread to the Ya Long area. It was undoubtedly the natural religion for the Gao Shang area. Question: What is a natural religion? Answer: A natural religion is man's psychology to worship natural subjects out of suspicion, fear and appeal toward them. This mental state can develop into a natural religion. The Black Religion is the most important among natural religions. It believes that every subject has its spirit. It worships Heaven, Earth, the sun, the moon, mountains, rivers, thunder, lightening, hailstones, fog, birds and animals, and what not. Question: What religion is similar to the Black Religion? Answer: As far as I know similar religions would include Shamanism in the Northeast, mainland China, the Wu Religion in Mongolia and Tibet, and the Sa Muo Religion in Gao Shan, Taiwan. Question: What is worshipped after all in the Black Religion? Answer: According to the records in Tibet, "Respect the devil and honour the witch. Regard the ibex as No.1 god". Ibex is a wild mountain goat. The Black Sect worship the ox and the goat most, because they are most closely related with Man's life. So they deify the ox and the goat and worship them. The horns of the ox and the horns of the goat, in particular, are considered as the most treasurable dharma instruments on a sacrificial altar. Question: How are the realms divided in the Black Religion? Answer: There are three realms. The upper realm is for the Heavenly gods, the middle realm for men, and the bottom realm is for devils and monsters. In the upper realm live the six brothers of the Heavenly gods; the most important is the god called Senbar. He is said to be the creator of the Universe. The Dragon god is also worshipped, as that is the god that controls the happiness and misfortune of men. Besides they also worship mountain gods, river gods, Earth gods - together they are called "thought gods". Mount Tangular is their "Great Thought God". Question: Why is the Black Religion called the Stupid Religion? Answer: In any religion there is usually a spokesman who is supposed to be associated with the Heavenly gods, men and devils. In the Black Religion, the man is called shaman or witch. In the Tibetan language, the word for shaman is Bon-po. That's why the Black Religion is also called the Bon-po Religion, and Bon Religion or Bon Sect for short. Bon is translated into the Chinese word "stupid" for its sound. There are three classes for the Bon-pos: the Heaven Bon-pos, the Earth Bon-pos and the Great Bon-pos. Question: In your article "On the Black Sect and Black Method", you said they worship the ox god. What evidence do you have for saying that? Answer: The Black Religion became organized around the fourth century B.C. At that time, the Yalong tribe in Tibet had a leader called Niechi Canpoo. His tribe is named "six male ox tribe" and worshipped the ox god. Niechi Canpoo was in fact put in office by the Black Religion. For this reason, I say the Black Sect worship the ox. Question: How do the shamans in the Black Sect make their living? Answer: There have been twenty-seven generations in the Black Religion in Tibet. They were in fact very influential. The shamans were specialized in praying for people for happiness and good luck, or praying for gods to cure their illnesses, or to make money. They also practised fortune-telling and helped to settle disputes. Naturally some shamans also brought misfortune and bad luck to people. They made people fall ill or killed them or made devils murder people or make people suffer. At that time the Black Religion controlled local people's life and death, marriage, illness, funerals, moving, travel, farming, hunting, grazing, and government. In reality, the Religion completely controlled Tibet and everything there had to be approved by the shamans. Question: Were there different factions in the Black Religion? Answer: Yes. Roughly there were three factions. The first group was the Du Bon-po (Honest Sect), set up by Nixin, active in Wengxuewen area in southern Tibet. Its heyday was when Dachi Zangpoo was the leader of the Sect. The second group was Qia Bon-po (Harmony Sect), set up by three shamans in Kashmir, most active during the period when Budai Gondjie ruled the Sect, until the Tibetan Dynasty was founded. The third group was called Jue Bon-po (Awakening Sect), set up by Qingqun Banzhida, most active when Tantrayana was first introduced into Tibet. Question: What happened to the Black Religion when Tantrayana was first introduced to Tibet? Answer: It could be expected that when Tantrayana was first introduced into Tibet, there was a long and hard struggle between Tantrayana and the Black Religion. That is the well-known "dispute between Tantrayana and Bon-po". According to the recorded history of religion in Tibet, Buddhism met resistance from the Black Sect as soon as it came to Tibet. This is only logical. The struggle between Tantrayana and the Black Religion lasted over two hundred years. It was a protracted and intense struggle. Question: Tantrayana won in the end. Is that right? Answer: That's right. And this is why I usually think that Tantrayana and the Black Religion should not be confused. Question: Do they have classic scriptures in the Black Religion? Answer: Originally they don't have classic scriptures. The introduction of Buddhism into Tibet brought with it many classic theories. The Black believers were quite amazed. They went so far as to change "On Decision" from the Yogacarya Bhumi Sastra into their so-called Bon-po Sutra; changed the Maha Darani into their so-called the White Dragon Sutra and the Black Dragon Sutra; changed the Prajna Hundred Thousand Praises into the their Healthy and Industry.... It is pathetic that they had to change Buddhist Scriptures into Bon-po Scriptures. Question: When was exactly Buddhism first introduced to Tibet? Answer: Around the seventh century; that was the period of Songzan Ganboo during the Tibetan Dynasty. Other records say that it was first introduced during the early years of the Five States, that is, during the period of Zanpoola Tuotuo Rinianan. Buddhism came to China from India of course. However there are stories that say Buddhism fell from heaven in a small treasure trunk containing pictures of Buddhas, Buddhist Scriptures and a pagoda for Buddhist relics, among other things. Question: Could you describe briefly how the Black Religion try to resist Buddhism? Answer: According to Records of Ruling Kings in Tibet, there are the following events mentioned:
The struggle between Buddhism and the Bon-po Religion lasted more than two hundred years and followed a tortuous course. When King La Da Ma reigned, there was another upsurge to "eliminate the Dharma and wipe out the Buddhas". They tried to promote the Bon-po Sect by stamping down the Buddhists, pulling down the Buddhist temples and burning the Buddhist scriptures. They killed the high-ranking priests, drove away the middle-ranking and made the low-ranking monks return to secular life. This is the period of elimination for the Dharma - virtually nothing was left. Buddhism and the Black Religion are two irreconcilable doctrines. Their struggle is recorded in the entire history of Tibet. This is a fact that cannot be obliterated. Tantrayana is Tantrayana; Bon-po is Bon-po. The two cannot be confused. Question: What was the struggle like between Master Padmasambhava and the Black shamans? Answer: Master Jing Ming suggested to the King of Tibet that Master Padmasmbhava be invited to Tibet in order to subdue the Black Religion. Master Padmasambhava was the Tantric Master in Wuking, the Kashmir area today. Master Padmasambhava came to Tibet, vanquishing all shamans on his way. This is described in A Short History of Master Padmasambhava's Miraculous Changes. In the presence of Master Padmasambhava, all shamans were dwarfed. He always got the upper hand. Master Padmasambhava adopted new strategies. He first subdued the Mountain God and the River God in the Black Religion and then appointed them protectors of Buddhism. Among the Bon-po gods, there were the Twelve Danmas, all of them were turned into protectors of Buddhism. In the religious history of Tibet, Master Padmasambhava is described as: subduing, by magic power, all devils and non-humans, making them swear to turn good and to protect Buddhism. Question: It was said that there were great polemics during the dispute between Buddhism and the Bon-po. How were those polemics? Answer: At the climax of the struggle, there appeared the two-sentence prayer: "Let the ruler of Bon-po, Danbar Xiannopoo, stamp on the lotus seat of Shakyamuni." This is a direct insult to Buddha Shakyamuni! At that time twenty seven nobles demanded that the Bon-po be banned and that Buddhism be fostered. King Chisong Dezan held debates between Buddhists and Black Believers. Those were great debates. The Bon-po theories were shallow and far from refined and of course could bear no comparison with the profound Buddhist doctrines. The Bon-po believers met great failures during the debates. At the end, it was announced that the Bon-po theory was irrational and it was illegal to believe in the Bon-po teachings; Neither the military nor the civilian were allowed to study the Bon-po doctrines. After that, the Black Believers had to go underground. Question: How did Sutrayana and Tantrayana develop in Tibet? Answer: Many people know that right after the introduction into Tibet, it was mainly Sutrayana; later it was a mixture of Sutrayana and Tantrayana. Tantrayana did not prevail until it was in vogue in India, it was introduced into Tibet through Kashmir and many brilliant Tantric masters came into being. More importantly, Tantrayana is a secret way to gain Buddhahood, and it was suitable for Tibet as the place had been for long full of unrest. Question: Does the Black Religion belong to Tantrayana after all? Answer: The Black Religion was originally the natural worship in the Gao Shan area, and it did not belong to Tantrayana from the very start. Buddhism and the Black Religion had fought each other for two hundred odd years. The Black Religion was never Buddhism in nature, let alone Tantrayana! As for the fact that some Black believers believed in Buddhism, we can only say that they abandoned the Bon-po teachings and turned Buddhist - They were then believers of Buddhism. So once again, Tantrayana is Tantrayana; the Bon-po is the Bon-po. The two should never be confused. To mention the two in the same breath is to deceive the people of the world by confusing black and white. What is the use of that? Other people will certainly laugh at that!
CHAPTER 37 - Important Lectures By Grandmaster Lu A. Meditation, Tantrayana and Concentration Meditation emphasizes enlightenment from one's Nature, and lays a lot of stress on emptiness of nature. Enlightenment is the enlightenment from nature. Tantric practice puts much stress on life, that is, working from the inside of one's body. Mudras, mantras, visualization, the three mystic practices (Translator's note: bodily mystic practice - forming the manual sign of a specific deity; verbal mystic practice - reciting the spell of the deity; mental mystic practice - meditating on the deity), illumination in the heart area, inner fire burning, circulation in the three pulses and seven areas, merge with the light of the Universe, all belong to working on the body. They are means by which enlightenment can be achieved. The processes leading to enlightenment from meditation are difficult to ascertain. The processes leading to enlightenment from Tantric practice are more concrete and tangible. Such is their difference. However, concentration is indispensable in either meditation, or Tantric practice or Sutrayana, or any other sect in Buddhism, or in any religion in the world. Without concentration, there will never be enlightenment. In Tantric practice, without concentration, there will no inner fire achievement nor illumination around the heart area, nor merge with the light of the Universe. So for any achievement, one must first of all get concentrated. Concentration generates "oneness"; "oneness" generates "zero" or "nothingness"; from "zero" or "nothingness" you can get to "emptiness". Once you are empty, the light from the Universe can enter you and there will be illumination around the heart area. And then circulation of light and merge of light will make enlightenment possible. Concentration is absolutely essential. However, if one is always troubled by name or fame, by interest or gains, by influence or position, or by a craving for Masterhood or for magic powers, he can never take things easy, and he can never set his mind at rest. Of course concentration is not possible then. One has to learn to take life easy, to be broad-minded, and then he can relax and come to a "state of emptiness". Concentration is possible only when one has nothing to worry (about). For this reason, the daily cultivation is very important! B. What Is Reinforcement? What is reinforcement? Do you know? Is it a touch of the head or empowerment? (laughter). What is the significance of reinforcement? If you are playing baseball, you hit hard at the ball. The ball flies away, just at this moment, a gust of wind comes and carries the ball further than usual. This gust of wind is reinforcement! If you didn't hit the ball hard, or the ball didn't fly out at all, the gust of wind is of no use! C. Tricks in Chanting Mantras In chanting mantras you are expected to use the notions from brain-waves to direct the sound frequency of the mantra to the heart area. Chanting the mantra one hundred and eight times, you are to visualize: at the heart area there is a white lotus flower, gradually coming to full blossom. On the lotus flower there is a seed character "Om" which emits strong, dazzling white light. The white light goes upward along the middle pulse, through the throat, right to the crown point on the head. (Recite your guru's heart mantra one hundred and eight times) D. Tricks for Entering the State of Samadhi Quietly go into concentration and then enter the state of Samadhi. (Guide your consciousness into Samadhi of "Great Brilliance" through visualization.) Now visualize: the white lotus flower in the heart area is now in full blossom; the seed character is now emitting white light; the white light goes from the heart area upward to the top of the head. (Pause) Now visualize that there is a small white lotus seat at the top of your head; sitting on the white lotus seat is Living Buddha Lian Shen, wearing the Five-Buddha Crown with two sacred streamers, dressed in the yellow robe and the red kasaya, forming the "Lotus Youth Mudra". The white lotus seat stands firmly on your crown. (Pause) Living Buddha Lian Shen transforms into a ball of white light on your head; the white light is becoming stronger and stronger, very much like another sun on your head. (Pause) Now visualize that this ball of white light goes into your body by the crown point, through the middle vein, goes past the throat and right into the heart area. (Pause) Living Buddha Lian Shen is still sitting on the white lotus flower in your heart, sending out strong white light, as if there were a sun in your heart. (Pause a little longer so as to train the heart area to shine.) Living Buddha Lian Shen gradually expands in your heart, until he is as big as your body and merges with your body. (Pause) Now visualize that you yourself are just Living Buddha Lian Shen, no more, no less you are wearing the Five-Buddha Crown, with two sacred streamers dangling, and a string of prayer beads, in a yellow robe and a red kasaya, forming the White Lotus Youth Mudra. So you are now sitting straight in the lotus seat, staying in the void, with the best appearance, as majestic as the Buddha, surrounded by layers of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Vajra Dharma Protectors. (Pause) In your (Living Buddha Lian Shen's) heart area the seed character emits strong white light, dashing out to the ten directions of the Universe. (Pause). All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas send out great light, illuminating the ten corners of the Universe. The whole Universe is bathed in strong light. (Pause) Your (Living Buddha Lian Shen's) light meets the light from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The lights reflect one another, forming a vast ocean of light. (Pause) You merge with the ocean of light, thus becoming selfless with neither thinking nor thought ......(Entering the state Samadhi of a "Great Brilliance", of Vairocana Nature.
CHAPTER 38 - Great Success Of The True Buddha School At the end of 1986, a Representative in the American House of Representatives Mr. Robert Krueger and his wife came to Redmond, Washington state from Delaware state to take refuge in Living Buddha Lian Shen of the True Buddha School. Mr. Robert Krueger is a statesman, once an ambassador to other countries, a high-ranking official in the U.S. government, a Representative, and at the moment President of the Delaware State University. Mr. Krueger will run for the presidency some day as he is interested in working in the White House. Living Buddha Lian Shen told him to give up this chance in favour of the better qualified and that he can run for the presidency next time. Living Buddha Lian Shen once gave a lecture entitled "A Disciple of the True Buddha School, a future U.S. president", which won thunderous applause, with Mr. Krueger standing up and waving gratitude to the audience. Mr. Krueger once consulted Living Buddha Lian Shen about future policies of the government, important proposals on foreign policies as well as domestic problems. This President of the Delaware State University will confer an honorary Ph.D. on Living Buddha Lian Shen. Two senators from Washington State will also soon visit Living Buddha Lian Shen. The Dharma of the True Buddha School will spread to the political circle of the United States. Our Dharma has also spread to Australia. Lianhua Guoyong and his wife, both disciples of the True Buddha School, came to Redmond by plane. I told them to set up Yan Chi Tang in Australia. His wife is called Lianhua Bao'er. When she took a picture of Living Buddha Lian Shen, she got an amazing shot with the Dharma seat sending out strong light, which shows her superb affinity with the Dharma. Here is the address for Yan Chi Tang, Australia:
At present, the Dharma of the True Buddha School is most popular in Malaysia. Previously there were only nine chapters in Malaysia, and now there are two more, Pu Guang Tang and Da Guan Tang. Da Guan Tang is situated in New Hills, which is the center of Malaysia. The person in charge is Lianhua Zhonggeng who is very interposing. Da Guang Tang is expected to be spectacular in spreading the Dharma of the True Buddha School. In Indonesia previously there were Yin Guang Tang and Fa Deng Tang. Now new chapters include: Fa Deng Ci Hui Tang, Fa Deng Guang Ming Tang, Zhong Yi Tang in Marlang, Ben Yuan Tang in Xijagn, Zheng Jue Tang in Xijan, Miao Sheng Tang in Jakarta, Ding Guang Tang in Jakarta, Yuan Cheng Tang in Mianlan. The True Buddha School is gaining popularity in Indonesia at a surprising momentum. Almost all those who have renounced secular life have taken refuge in the True Buddha School. The True Buddha School has extended its influence to Latin America. At the Praying-for-happiness Service Ceremony on Feb. 7, 1987, Lian Rong flew to Redmond from Brazil. Living Buddha Lian Shen told her to set up Zhen Ti Tang in Brazil. Lian Rong has a good command of Chinese, English and Portuguese. She is going to translate the Living Buddha's books into Portuguese. Here is the address of Zhen Ti Tang in Brazil:
Here in disclosed is a letter from Lian Rong
CHAPTER 39 - A Trip To Seattle by Lian Han Many fellow disciples who have visited Seattle on a pilgrimage are familiar with the Lei Tsang Temple: the majestic and lofty shape of the building, the towering pine trees, the blue Lake Sammamish, the red tiles and white walls of the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, the extremely fresh air and the quiet environment, all leave an unforgettable impression on visitors. Blessed by the Buddha's power and endowed with great fortune, the present writer arrived in Seattle on June 23 to pay homage to the True Buddha Tantric Quarters and the Lei Tsang Temple and also to attend the birthday celebrations of Living Buddha Lian Shen. During the five weeks when I was very close to Living Buddha Lian Shen, I was bathed in Buddha light. To share this Dharma experience with fellow disciples, I have written this article "A Trip to Seattle". The Living Buddha's Birthday One June 23 (May 18 of the lunar calendar), I came out very early in the morning to the quiet Lei Tsang Temple, looking at everything admiringly while videotaping them. This was the birthday of Living Buddha Lian Shen. The morning sun was raising its head at the horizon, spraying its golden light onto the tiled roof of the temple, which made the roof more stately, very beautiful with many colours. Here in this sacred place longed for by several hundred thousand fellow disciples, bathed in the golden sunlight, I gazed at everything with sincere admiration and genuine delight. I stared at the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, where our great sage, Living Buddha Lian Shen, the enlightened one, worshipped by several hundred thousand followers, lived ... A crow that could chant mantras came from nowhere with a loud "Ah " and broke the quietude. I came out of my deep thought. In the afternoon, all disciples who came to congratulate on the birthday arrived from all parts of the world, all with the greatest sincerity and respect for a happy gathering. The abbot of the Lei Tsang Temple Master Chen Jue-huan (Lian Huo), his three brothers and the whole family, old and young, had got ready plenty of good food for the gathering and also a huge birthday cake. Everything was ready for the arrival of Living Buddha Lian Shen. At about five o'clock, Living Buddha Lian Shen accompanied by Grandmaster's wife arrived at the Temple. They were escorted by big crowds in front and behind to the Dharma seat, where they were to receive three prostrations from the disciples. But when we had just completed the first prostration, the Living Buddha and his wife stood up, turned around and prostrated, together with all of us, to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. With his tonsure, the Living Buddha looked more like a monk, dressed in a yellow robe and gray shoes. With a full moon face, he looked a real Buddha, extraordinarily kind, without the slightest air of a ruler of a sect, or the air of a Living Buddha. He was talking and laughing all the time. On the oversized birthday cake were written "Many happy returns of the day to Living Buddha Lian Shen!" and a candle was lit. Clapping to beat time, everybody joined in singing "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you..." The Living Buddha was looking around at the crowd with a gentle smile on his face. When the singing was finished, he bent down to blow out the candle. Everybody cheered and the Lei Tsang Temple was astir with jubilation. When the Living Buddha was cutting up the cake, the over two hundred pairs of eyes were fixed on him. Smiling, he slowly made a straight line on the cake, and unhurriedly he said in French with a Taiwanese accent: "A road goes straight!" His funny intonation set everybody laughing. Amidst the laughter, how many people understood the profound meaning of that sentence!? The gate of the Lei Tsang Temple was bustling with activity; people were eating and drinking to their heart's content. Just then, the Living Buddha took up the first slice of the cake with a knife and put it into my plate.... He had a picture taken with the crowd and then gave a Dharma talk with everyone sitting around him. The Colour Dragon On The Way To Vancouver One o'clock in the afternoon, June 27, the Living Buddha and his family, Master Lian Shi and some of us, eleven in all, got into a bus and left the Lei Tsang Temple for Vancouver. The purpose of the trip was to spread the Buddha Dharma for two days in Bodhi Chapter in Vancouver; and also walk around the World Transportation Exhibition. Early summer in West America was like the late autumn in Hong Kong: cool, clear and fresh. And it was such a fine day, without a single bit of cloud, the best day possible for an outing. There were beautiful mountains and rivers all the way, making the scenery forever so picturesque. Everyone was in high spirit and the Living Buddha was talking and laughing merrily. By the time we got to the Canadian borders, some Canadian fellow disciples had been waiting for quite some time to welcome the Living Buddha. We joined forces and raced to Vancouver. We got our destination after three hour's ride. The Living Buddha didn't go to his hotel for rest nor to a restaurant for dinner, but to the place of the service ceremony, for what was uppermost in his mind was how to "continue the wisdom-life of the Buddha and to light up the lamp of the Dharma". In the service place, people from the Bodhi Chapter were busy getting things ready. They were working hard and conscientiously. They felt since Living Buddha Lian Shen was going to give a Dharma talk there the next day, it was an important occasion. Now the Living Buddha suddenly arrived, they stopped whatever they were doing to prostrate to him. Then several people started reporting to the Living Buddha, saying that they all saw, at the same time, a colour dragon in the sky. They vied to speak to him first and showed both tension and excitement. But the Living Buddha was smiling without a word. I couldn't wait any longer and asked: "What kind of dragon? Under what circumstances?" "When we were loading the log onto the lorry, I saw it first," one senior disciple told me. "That is an open country where you can see very far. The dragon was like some clouds but not exactly clouds; it was like some sun rays but not sun rays. It was half transparent, seven-coloured," another senior disciple explained. "When we saw it, the colour dragon was slowly flying." "About what time?" I asked. "Noon time today. About one o'clock." "In which direction? Where was the dragon flying?" I asked. "It was in the south. It was flying towards the northwest." "Was it very clear? Why didn't you take some pictures of it?" "Very clear! We were all carrying huge pieces of log. Nobody had a camera. When we thought of getting one, the colour dragon disappeared!" "What a pity that you didn't take any picture of it." Scratching the head, I showed obvious helplessness, while the Living Buddha was smiling at me. All of a sudden, I got some insight! South? To the south of Vancouver, wasn't that Seattle? Flying towards the northwest, wasn't that the direction from Seattle to Vancouver? One o'clock noon time? Wasn't that the time we left Seattle and set off for Vancouver? So I got it. A colour dragon appeared in the sky because a great sage set out on his journey! I was too excited to speak. I turned to look at the Living Buddha, who was smiling at me. His look told me what was in his mind. I understood him, feeling a current running through me. The Service Ceremony At Vancouver One o'clock p.m. June 26, the service ceremony started. After a solemn ritual procedure by the masters led by the Living Buddha, they were ushered into the ceremony hall and seated on the Dharma seats. Below the platform were hundreds of heads quietly and piously listening to the Living Buddha teaching the Dharma. The Living Buddha gave an introduction to the True Buddha School, emphasizing that its guiding principle is: "Honour the guru, treasure the Dharma and practise diligently." He encouraged the students to practise diligently and to gain Buddhahood by real Enlightenment. At the ceremony, the Living Buddha asked the Canadian students who saw the colour dragon to raise their hands. Seven of them put their hands up. The ceremony came to a successful conclusion with an empowerment onto everyone by the Living Buddha. The next day, before the ceremony started, the Living Buddha had a few pictures taken with the students outside the ceremony hall. (When they were developed, in one of them, there was a big patch of white light under the red streamer where the Living Buddha and others stood so all the shadows were gone. That picture became one of the dozens of pictures that show supernatural powers of the Living Buddha. This picture will go into his latest book.) The next day, the Living Buddha gave a lecture on how Wealth Deities could help people to become rich. It was simply to arouse people's interest in the True Buddha School. (For further information, see Record of the Living Buddha's Dharma Talk at Vancouver June 29.) When the Living Buddha was giving an empowerment to everyone, I saw his wife and their two children, Fuo Qing and Fuo Qi, standing at the very back, piously prostrating to the Living Buddha, receiving the empowerment and devoutly putting the offering into the Offering Box. I was very much moved and ashamed of myself. A few masters on the platform and I did not prepare any offering for the empowerment. The Grandmaster's wife, having been with the Master all these years, still "honour the guru" so piously she really put me to shame! The two-day ceremony came to a successful end. On June 30, all disciples went to the International Fair with the Living Buddha in the lead. There were crowds after crowds of people and colourful decorations. The Living Buddha was talking and laughing cheerfully, completely free and natural. We walked around the whole day and visited nine exhibition halls. That evening I said goodbye to the Living Buddha and his wife, as I was going to Calgary early morning the following day all by myself. Our four-day stay in Vancouver gave a lot of trouble to the Canadian fellow cultivators of the Bodhi Chapter. They not only had to arrange everything for the service ceremony, which alone could have kept them very busy, but also looked after our accommodation and transportation. Their sincerity moved us all. The Ocean Of Letters To The Living Buddha On July 15, I returned to Seattle from Calgary. The Living Buddha and the group had been back for three days. After ten busy days, everything returned back to normal. But the Living Buddha and his wife became even busier, because during the birthday celebration period, letters and cards of congratulations from over a hundred thousand disciples all over the world flew to Seattle like snow flakes. During his six-day stay in Vancouver, the Living Buddha did not write any reply. As a result, the letters had piled up like a little hill. So he asked me to help him with the replies. In the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, he took me to his living-room. Upon entering, we saw three full baskets of letter plus piles of them on the desk. Beside the baskets I stared tongue-tied, though I could not figure out how many of them altogether, they were certainly many times more than I had imagined. The Living Buddha was just smiling and took me further into his wife's living-room. I saw two writing desks both full of letters. Goodness me! Inconceivable! "Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, please help me! I am being drowned in the ocean of letters!" the Living Buddha couldn't help laughing after saying this. This is the state of mind of a Living Buddha never worry at the sight of worries; never rejoice at the sight of joy; never moved or touched by anything! Under the mounting pressure of having to reply to these letters, he was still free, natural, totally unconstrained still talking and laughing merrily! The Living Buddha took his own seat to his wife's room and placed it beside a desk. He ordered me to sit opposite to him and his wife at another desk. Thus, a three-man "letter-reply company" was set up and plunged into the writing task! Every reply was reinforced. As a matter of fact, to this mountain of letters, the only person in the world who can give a reply or explanation is the Living Buddha alone; nobody else could ever shoulder this task! If you know the supplications in these letters, you will understand at once that I am telling the truth. Some of these letters asked questions about how to learn the Dharma or how to practise according to the procedures, but the great majority of the letters requested reinforcement and asked for good fortune. Many letters requested for taking refuge but at the same time asked a dozen questions. Many of those who requested refuge had suffered all kinds of setbacks and failures, such as economic dilemma, emotional problems, illness or bad health in general, dejected or mental disorder for the loss of their dear ones. All these people were waiting the Living Buddha to bestow good fortune upon them. There were also many letters that would like to have the writers' fortunes told, or asked for both good fortune and fortune-telling or asked for refuge and fortune-telling. In short there was every type of request you can imagine in those letters. In those letters there were descriptions of the most bizarre events which one could hardly believe. For example, there were strange illnesses that did not respond to any treatment. There were also unusual ideas and people that were far from normal by any standards. One thing that is both funny and annoying is that some people took the Living Buddha as a fortune-teller. They asked him to foretell when their daughter-in-law would give birth to a grandson, or when they could make a huge fortune, or when they would get married and what the husband would look like or when their business would fare better, or when their husband would stop taking other women, among a hundred other things. Many requests for instructions were also trivial: "How many incense sticks do I burn at a time?" "What is stepping on seven stars?" "What is stepping on seven moles?" "Why is one in high spirit sometimes and in low spirit other times?" "Is our house all right if it faces the west?"... The most strange question was: "Could I kill my father? He scold my mother and me everyday! I want to get rid of the evil on behalf of the people!" Reading these letters, one can realize how millions of sentient beings are living. The Living Buddha's self-possession deserved our respect. He was never upset by these strange questions and silly requests. Some letters were filled with closely-written words in flying hands; they ran into a dozen pages without much content; you still wouldn't know what they wanted to say after reading three or four pages. No matter how trivial or how stupid the questions were, the Living Buddha would read each and every one of them and reply to each and every one. The patience was amazing. I was more astonished by the way the Living Buddha read these letters. Generally speaking, if you could read five or ten lines at one glance, you will be considered as extraordinary. But the Living Buddha read more than ten lines at one glance. A letter in hand, he could know what it said by just one second's concentration! Sometimes a letter had as many as ten pages, and he would just leaf through it and got to know all the questions raised in it. Such supernatural wisdom was only very natural for the Living Buddha, but for us it was miraculous! While I was helping to write replies, I was often baffled by the questions these letters raised and had to ask the Living Buddha for instruction. He would have a quick look at the letter and then offer the explanation then and there. No matter how strange and how complicated the question might be, he never seemed to need any thinking he had a ready answer to any question and always hit the nail on the head. I was often greatly surprised had I not seen with my own eyes, I would have believed they were tales from the Arabian Nights. The way the Living Buddha wrote those replies was even more incredible. He wrote so fast, his hand flying over the paper without stopping to think. In the twinkling of an eye, a reply was finished he would perform whatever operation that was needed: a prophecy worked out or a talisman drawn up. To every reply finished, the Living Buddha would give some reinforcement and sometimes put in a lotus symbol or a picture of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva before it was enveloped. For every reply, he would say "Amitabha" once and breathe some vital energy into it before it was finally sealed. To post these replies, the Living Buddha would take bundles of them, chanting the name of the Buddha while walking, all the way to the letter box. So every reply was reinforced by his vital energy and spiritual light. Such valuable blessing was piously treasured by all who received the letters, fellow cultivators and kind-hearted beings alike. They were indeed the luckiest people in the world. The majority of the letters requested for taking refuge in the Living Buddha. Many of these writers were masters, professors, doctors, intellectuals from various countries; the gentry or first-rate celebrities; successful people from all walks of life, technical people; housewives, students, armymen; people from all strata of all countries, rich or poor, including the disabled. The Living Buddha, with the greatest compassion and a strong sense of equality, would accept these requests for the refuge. Among the letters, there were requests for refuge for the whole family or for a group of people. To fill out the refuge certificates was the most strenuous part of the work. This part was given to Grandmaster's wife, Master Lian Xiang, who was not only to fill out the refuge certificates but also to address all the envelopes, which kept her busy from morning till night. Every day, piles and piles of certificates were thus issued; countless disciples for the True Buddha School were thus born under the pen of Master Lian Xiang. She was rightly regarded as the great mother for the twelve hundred thousand disciples across the world! During those days when I was working for the Living Buddha, I found that many, many letters requesting for refuge or prophecy or for good fortune did not contain any offering. Even some letters asking the Living Buddha to conduct a Tantric session before the shrine for help did not contain any offering. As a result, the Living Buddha had to pay for all the postage, the cost of the refuge certificates, offerings such as flowers and fruit made to the Buddha during the Tantric session before the shrine, among other expenses. However, the Living Buddha and his wife treated these "empty requests" equally without discrimination. They would grant whatever was requested and spend their savings on these disciples. Such is the heart of a great sage of genuine compassion and kindness take on all sentient beings equally and deliver them from suffering with compassion. When the Living Buddha was reading a letter describing some miserable and dreary situations, he would assume a sad look and shake his head, saying "What misery!" When he was reading a letter of thanks and gratitude or praise, he would simply smile dryly, appearing very indifferent. When he could see from the letter that some disciple has harbouring intentions against the discipline or had designs to deceive the guru and other people, he would also shake his head saying "Miserable creature!" But he would still grant his request hoping that some day the disciple would see his own mistakes from self-examination and turn from his evil ways. What is most unforgettable was one remark from the Living Buddha: "As long as a sentient being has one thought of turning towards the Buddha, I would regard him as a Buddha!" Such is the broad-mindness of our sage! Here may I appeal to all those fellow cultivators the world over that they keep the following three points in mind when writing to the Living Buddha:
A Regulated Life And An Energetic Look The Living Buddha dealt with a thousand things everyday but he lived a very regulated life, as disciplined as when he was in the army. The Living Buddha would get up at six thirty every day. After a Dharma practice session, he would start writing his books. Breakfast was set for eight thirty, after which he would continue with his writing till eleven thirty, when he would get some exercise jogging around the temple for instance. Lunch is at twelve, after which there are thirty minutes for opening the letters. From one o'clock to four, he would write replies to the letters. From four to six thirty, it is for meeting visitors. Supper is usually at seven, but sometimes as late as eight when there were too many visitors or too many things were under discussion. Then after a bath and another Dharma practice session he would take a walk; while walking, he would give some thought to what to write the next day. When night fell (it gets dark at nine thirty in Seattle), he would either open the letters or do some reading or play the piano or watch TV (to learn English). Before going to bed at twelve, he would drink a small cup of mild wine. This timetable was strictly followed except supper time which was delayed sometimes when there were too many visitors. What amazed me in particular was that though he was so busy every day, the Living Buddha was always so energetic. He never took a nap; he never dozed off either. I asked his wife about this, who replied: "He's been like this all these nine years. Luckily he is like that, otherwise how could he deal with so many things a day!" This reminded me of my visit to his place in 1983. He was already as busy as now, but he never looked tired, but always vigorous. I followed the Living Buddha a few times when he was jogging around the Temple. At eleven thirty, when it was warm and clear, he would put down his pen on time, and do some warming up exercises in the sitting room. Then he would open the door and run out. He would run to the gate of the Temple, get up the stairs, turn round the Temple and then he would stop and place his palms together in respect to the dragon god under three huge pine trees, before continuing with his exercise. On his way back, he would stop at the gate of the Temple to pay respect to the Budhisattvas inside the Temple, or simply go inside the Temple to perform prostration. Then he would put his palms together to pay respect to the Heaven God incense burner before running downstairs to go home. I enjoyed running after the Living Buddha. Dressed in a yellow priest robe, he looked so stylish when running, so free and so natural, with the tail of the robe dancing right and left. Moreover, the Living Buddha was always talking and laughing during the exercise, which made the activity enjoyable. I will never forget those happy moments when I was running together with the Living Buddha on a fine day in the fresh air around the Temple surrounded by beautiful scenery! Seeing The Visitors No matter how busy he was, the Living Buddha never failed to set aside some time every day to meet the visitors. In the afternoon, when the clock in the entrance hall struck four, the Living Buddha, putting down whatever he had been doing, would come downstairs to see the visitors in the shrine. The shrine is the Tantric shrine in the True Buddha Tantric Quarters. On one side of the shrine near the window, there was a desk and three chairs. This was where the Living Buddha met his visitors. All people who came to pay respects to the Living Buddha had to make an appointment with his wife by telephone. This was the least courtesy one should show. By four o'clock every afternoon, the entrance hall was full of visitors. This was yet another item in the Living Buddha's already crowded schedule. His wife was busy, too, for the visitors. First, she had to see that every visitor had a seat and gave them a sheet of paper each to write down their requests for the Living Buddha, and arranged for them to go into the shrine in turn to see the Living Buddha. The entrance hall was always bustling with waiting visitors talking and moving around. The hostess had to treat them to tea, cakes and fruit. There was such a great variety of visitors, from all countries of the world, representing every type of sentient beings. What they asked mostly concerned the many kinds of worries in this world and requested the Living Buddha to bestow good fortune upon them. Among them, of course, there was no lack of those who were long-winded people who would really try others' patience. The Living Buddha's wife was a woman of great self-possession. No matter how wordy the visitors were, she always spoke to them smiling, showing no trace of impatience. We could easily imagine the great amount of patience and tolerance of the Living Buddha inside the shrine who had to grant all kinds of requests from all types of people. His wife said: "Grandmaster often teaches us that those people are miserable sentient beings whose requests we should always grant." From this we could see one speck of the boundless compassion of the Living Buddha and his wife. Because of the Living Buddha's great reputation, many visitors got very nervous and excited when they saw him. When their turn came to see the sage, their heart beat fast. Tongue-tied, they went in and came out, unknowingly and unfeelingly. One day, a woman visitor, who made a special flying trip of twenty hours to see the Living Buddha, was sitting dumb founded in the hall after her interview with the sage. When her friend came out of the Shrine after her interview and asked her if she prostrated to the Buddhas inside, this woman did not even notice that there were Buddha statues inside the Shrine. Everyone present felt strange inside the huge Shrine, there were many golden statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; no one could fail to see them. She said , however, "When my turn came, I was too nervous. I did not know how I went in or how I came out. All I know is that the Living Buddha asked me to sit down, that I took a seat in the chair and that I handed out the sheet of paper on which I had written my request. I didn't remember what the Living Buddha told me. After a little while, I came out. Honestly, I didn't notice the Buddhas... Even now my heart is still beating fast!" The Living Buddha's wife was kind-hearted indeed. She seized an interval where there were no visitors and took that woman visitor inside again to pay respect to the Buddhas. The woman was very grateful to the sage's wife. Sometimes there were also uninvited guests who rang the door bell. These people with no manners would have to "run against a soft wall" a polite refusal. As no appointment had been made in the tight schedule of the Living Buddha, these visitors had to be disappointed. However, for those who came from afar, the Sage's wife always tried hard to arrange their meeting with the Living Buddha within one week. If the Living Buddha happened to be traveling elsewhere, they had to come again next time. A Great Woman Everybody is familiar with the saying, "Behind every successful man, there is a kind-hearted wife." The Living Buddha, with steady steps, walked along a path leading to great success becoming a Buddha in the present lifetime. His success is a wonderful demonstration for all sentient beings. Each step on his path is bright with golden light, showing the way forward for the sentient beings. Behind the Living Buddha is his great, compassionate wife! In helping the Living Buddha to success, she earned the greatest merit! Over the years, she was beside the Sage during the most difficult days! Early on, when the Sage was living a hard life, he was attacked by such malicious slanders from all sides. Behind the strong determination and will power with which he overcame all the difficulties was his wife's comfort and encouragement. There were many moving stories about those days. Sharing weal and woe, the husband became a Living Buddha and his wife the greatest Dharma protector. During the years when her husband became a Living Buddha the wife also gained much experience and stood the test of setbacks. She had reached a very high level in her cultivation, had got the ability for unmovable concentrated thought, and the self-possession to handle everything to its perfection. In "honouring the Guru, treasuring the Dharma and practising diligently", she set a good example with her own conduct. She had been quietly practising vigorously. She had long understood that "all existences were in themselves perfect and interfused". So the Living Buddha had given her empowerment to be a Master. Seven years ago, my wife and I met Master Lian Xiang when we went to see the Living Buddha. In 1983 I went to Seattle again to learn the Dharma and I stayed the Living Buddha's place for a fortnight. His wife had not taught me any Dharma. At the end of last year, my wife and I listened to her lecture on two occasions, once in Zhuang Yan Tang in Taibei and once in Chi Jie Tang in Taizhong, and we were impressed by her wisdom and her achievement in her cultivation. During the present stay in the Living Buddha's, I had a chance to chat with his wife; her couple of casual remarks of instruction left me dumb founded then and there, greatly surprised and overjoyed. I was surprised by the incredible speed she had been advancing in her cultivation and overjoyed by the fact that her unintentional instruction solved my long-standing problem in practice. The problem was complex and mystic and was meant for the Living Buddha. Such a problem was explained clearly by a few casual remarks by his wife in an informal chat! This showed clearly that she had reached a very advanced stage in cultivation. On the other hand, the Sage's wife had all the fine qualities of a Chinese woman: simple, hardworking, thrifty, and has her way of keeping the house and her ways of educating the children. She had her heavy "housework" as well as "Dharma work". Her housework was to look after the whole house, the cleaning, the cooking, the chopping, washing, sewing, looking after the children including taking them to school. Her "Dharma work" was to fill out a huge pile of refuge certificates, to address a huge pile of envelopes (from among twelve hundred thousand disciples), to entertain everyday, with tea, cakes and fruit, the pilgrims from all corners of the world, and to arrange for their meeting with the Living Buddha one by one. Besides, she had to listen patiently at any time of the day long-distance telephone calls from every part of the world. She was simply as busy as she could be! After all these years' practice and training, she would direct all the work with perfect ease. Another important piece of her "Dharma work" was to wait upon the Living Buddha the Grandmaster respected and worshipped by twelve hundred thousand disciples the world over. The great contribution she had done for the deliverance of sentient beings from their sufferings is a brilliant page in the annuals of the True Buddha School. In the education of children, she proved herself to be a fine example of a kind-hearted mother. Every day she helped Fuo Qing and Fuo Qi with their lessons, and taught them how to conduct oneself in this world. She was both kind and strict, patient and careful. I was very lucky that I had the chance to go out and relax every Sunday afternoon together with the Living Buddha and his family. Once, in the Central Department Store, Fuo Qi had been in the toy shop for a long time while the family and I were waiting outside. Fuo Qing went in again and got him out from the crowd. As soon as Fuo Qi came out, he tried to drag his mother in. The mother sat still. After a tug-of-war, the mother promised him to go in "just to have a look". In the end, his mother really went in and "had a look", Fuo Qi following behind with protruding lips. We left the toy shop and walked on. I saw that Fuo Qi was quietly crying at the back, turning for a look from time to time. So I bent over to whisper to him: "Let's go back to the toy shop quietly and I'll get you the toy. Is that all right?" I had expected that he would of course change into a smiling face, but he shook his head saying, "No!" The toy shop was receding further and further while I was talking at the back of the group with Fuo Qi, watching how he wetted his sleeves with tears. I had tried three times to drag him back to the toy shop, but he refused firmly each time by getting himself free from me. Finally I asked: "Don't you like that toy?" He nodded. "Why don't you go back with me to get it? If I get it for you, your parents won't scold you." "They won't like that!" he replied resolutely. Thus, I was helpless watching this eight-year-old boy saying goodbye to the toy shop tears running down his face. His mother's education of the children was shown clearly and deserved our admiration. Gold Sunlight At Night At the gate of Lei Tsang Temple or outside the gate of the Living Buddha's True Buddha Tantric Quarters I was often lost in deep thought in front of the views around me. The sky here was dark blue against which a few clouds appeared exceptionally white. The green lawns and the sky-high pine trees served as a foil to the Temple with a golden roof. How beautiful the scenery! What grandeur! This was because the Living Buddha was living here! His spiritual light filled up Heaven and Earth, light up to the white clouds and deep down into the blue oceans. As I breathed in the fresh air, I felt carefree and happy and that all worldly worries disappeared. I turned my face upward, eyes closed I was intoxicated with happiness and no longer felt the existence of myself ... Very often I stood alone on the left side in front of the Temple, facing the three tall pine trees. Not long ago, when the Living Buddha stood right here, the dragon god in the pine trees shined golden light upon the Living Buddha ... I often went in the Temple early in the morning and late at night and sat opposite the Buddha statue in front of the sacrificial table. I know that was the center of the dragon's den and it was full of spiritual energy. Sitting there for meditation, the spiritual energy would soon settle upon the whole body, facilitating the state of Samadhi. One night, around ten o'clock, when I was meditating alone in a full lotus, I felt the spiritual energy running through my body and I entered the state of Samadhi. In a trance, I felt some light before me. When I opened my eyes, I saw some bright light on two glass windows of the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, very much like the dazzling reflection of sunlight; it was some sunlight from inside the house a ball of dazzling golden light, not on glasses nor on walls. I was surprised and overjoyed. With thought arising, I came out of the state of Sammadhi. As quickly as possible, I came out of the seat, and ran out of the Temple. (Numbed from the sitting position in the feet, I was actually running limping.) Looking at the two windows of the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, I could see nothing but darkness. There was even no light on. I walked slowly near the window and found nothing but quietude, with no light, no one talking, nothing! I stood there transfixed with puzzlement, reflecting on what I saw two minutes ago in the state of Sammadhi. Yes, what magic! There could be dazzling golden sunlight in the middle of the night! What light was that? What message did it carry? I know clearly only the Living Buddha could answer my questions! The Unequaled Heart Method In the nearly two-month stay in the Lei Tsang Temple, what I enjoyed most was the walk I took with the Living Buddha. The Living Buddha enjoyed taking a walk around the Temple about noon time before lunch or after supper before dark, and he preferred me in his company. We would walk either around the Temple or around the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, or sometimes on the road outside. We would chat while walking and sometimes sit for a while on a staircase of the Temple. I learned a lot about the Dharma from each walk. The Living Buddha would often tell me a lot of his experiences in the past like fairy tales which often left me dumbstruck. The Living Buddha also explained to me the geomanic features of the Lei Tsang Temple. His clear and systematic exposition, with the specific objects and localities in front of us, filled me with great admiration. The Living Buddha's earnest and tireless instructions cleared up my doubts and suspicions. For any query, he would hit the nail right on the head in a very casual remark and touch on it very lightly. Such informal teaching, however, always gave instantaneous insight and moved me to tears! As earnest as a father and as kind as a mother, the Living Buddha implanted in me his great wisdom little by little during our walks and made me, a slow-witted boy, see light. I was just like a green sunflower, growing up rapidly with nourishment of sunlight and rain. Two days after the night I saw the dazzling golden light, the Living Buddha called me for a walk before eleven o'clock, "Let's get a stroll." It was not yet time for jogging by my watch. However, jogging or strolling with the Living Buddha was something I really liked. I hurried to put on a jacket and went downstairs with him. On the staircase, he started talking as in a chitchat, "Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma for forty-nine years to show people just one Truth. But during the forty-nine years of lecturing he never explicitly told this one Truth ..." The Diamond Sutra says:
Of course I didn't understand, as it was such a profound question. I was wondering why, of all days, he chose that day to discuss this complex question. For a while, I did not see his purpose, and just listened attentively while walking along. The sage continued, "I've been writing books about the Dharma; I've finished sixty-five of them. There is a lot of Dharma discussion in them. Each time I lecture to fellow cultivators, I also talk about the Dharma. But..." "But I've not been really spreading the Dharma." I was at once puzzled and speechless. Smiling to me, he continued, "This is the same argument as in saying Shakyamuni had never taught the Dharma after forty-nine years of Dharma talk..." "Remember this one sentence from me: `All things in this phenomenal world are still on the other side of the mountain!'" "The Diamond Sutra says, `All things in this phenomenal world are like illusions, babbles, shadows, dews or lightning.'..." There upon the Living Buddha began to teach the most secret method of Shakyamuni: the "direct heart mudra" or the "unequaled heart method". (Other versions of translation include: mind-seal, seal of the buddha-mind, certification of one's enlightenment. It refers to the absolute mind-essence transmitted from master to disciple.) For over one month, the Living Buddha explained to me time and again what unequaled heart method was. Out of great compassion, he gave much thought to how to put across such profound theory in simple exposition, and to make it accessible, step by step, to my slow-witted mind. He did most of the instruction during our strolls, sometimes talking while walking , sometimes talking while sitting on the staircase of the Temple. We would either walk around the Temple or around the True Buddha Tantric Quarters or along the road outside the Temple. One day at about twelve, his wife came back home from outside and saw the sage and me sitting on the staircase leading to the doorway. She hurried inside to do the cooking, saying, "Poor creatures! Master and disciple must be starving!" The sage was actually lecturing to me, but he seized the chance for humour: "Right! We have been waiting for lunch at the doorway. Take pity on us, please!" Everybody laughed. His instructions on the unequaled heart method helped me to understand the Truth about gaining Buddhahood in the present lifetime and understand the secret heart mudra of Buddhas of the ten directions. "So this is what it is!" I was greatly surprised! The Living Buddha never formally told me that he was going to teach me the unequaled heart method; he taught it in our chitchats. When I vaguely realized that he was teaching me the Buddhas' greatest secrets which one might not hear of in millions of years, I was so excited that no words could adequately express how I felt. In my hotel room at night, I kept prostrating to the True Buddha Tantric Quarters, tears running down my face. I had several sleepless nights. I was even more amazed by his state of mind he had reached a realm difficult to fathom, incredible for commoners. The Living Buddha is a Mahavairocana alive! It is such a pity that mortals in this world cannot see the True Buddha before their eyes. They do not know how valuable the opportunity is! They are still being blinded by fame and gains, by greed, anger and ignorance. Their original nature is still deeply buried. Of the multitudinous sentient beings, who could understand that the Living Buddha has reached such a high realm and has such broad -mindedness? How great the sage is! How miserable the sentient beings are! Accepting The Rules Of Conduct For Bodhisattvas May I mention here in passing that I have accepted the precepts for the rules of behaviour for Bodhisattvas and have been prophesied for renouncing the family life. On July 7, 1986, the Living Buddha presided over the ceremony for my accepting the rules of conduct for Bodhisattvas. Though there weren't many people or activities at the ceremony, it was very serious and solemn. I was to follow the precepts for household Bodhisattvas. The Living Buddha gave me empowerment in the True Buddha Tantric Quarters and witnessed that I swore to abide by the precepts. After the ritual, the Living Buddha gave me a certificate for having accepted the rules of conduct of Bodhisattvas. When I was reading books by the Living Buddha many years ago, it was already said that he would some day renounce the family life. At that time I had a wish when he renounced the family life, I would follow suit. Early this year, when I heard that the Living Buddha had renounced the secular life, my first react was: Too soon! Very bad! I couldn't follow suit yet. But my determination was not weakened. Sooner or later I would definitely follow his footsteps! One night in late July, I saw the Living Buddha and a Buddha statue behind him. I knelt down in prostration and, smiling, he tonsured me. I told my dream to the Living Buddha who nodded, saying, "Very good. You can first be prophesied to renounce the family life." On July 28, 1986, after supper, the Living Buddha conducted a very solemn ceremony for me during which he cut a tuft of hair from my head and then gave a "Shakyamuni Empowerment for Prophesy". During that empowerment, I felt a warm current entering from the top and traveling to the heart area where it paused for a while before dispersing to all parts of the body. At that moment, I felt sudden insight at heart with a huge mass of light. In that comfortable state, I was reluctant to open my eyes. I prostrated several times to the Living Buddha and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Living Buddha told me that I could be tonsured any time. My Dharma name is Shi Lian Han. Om Mani Padme Hum.
CHAPTER 40 - A Thanksgiving Message To The Living Buddha by Lianhua Qixing This beautiful poem is written by a Malaysian disciple Lianhua Qixing. Its simple language carries profound meaning and makes an unhurried, leisurely reading.
(Living Buddha Lian Shen is now the Vajra Master, the Secret Ruler of the Realm of Vajra-mantra, the General Revered One. There are traces both in the East and in the West to show that he is the incarnation of a Buddha. His direct lineage embraces five true Dharmas and he is knowledgeable in Sutrayana, Tantrayana, Taoism and the Five Arts. Many Living Buddhas have compared him to the incarnation of Master Padmasambhava, to the incarnation of Master Milaraspa, to the incarnation of Patriarch Tsongkhapa, or to the incarnation of Amitabha. His great compassion and great wish and his miraculous changes have shaken the Realms in the ten directions. He has the greatest number of disciples. His great spiritual influence will definitely illuminate the whole world.)
CHAPTER 41 - After Reading Miraculous Thinking Of The Tonsured Head by Lianhua Jinfeng Here disclosed is a letter from a disciple about his reflections after reading my book Miraculous Thinking of the Tonsured Head:
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