Unless skilfully connected to a Dharma cause,
the low arts will remain low.— Stonepeace | Get Book
Newbie Buddhists often wonder if fengshui or geomancy has any connections with Buddhism. Well, along with astrology and such, the Buddha did see such practices as low arts, since they do not lead to enlightenment, while he did not outright say they are totally invalid or useless. Well, there is some connection between the elements and our lives, since our lives are interconnected with our environment. However, when these connections are spelled out as mystical rules to be followed blindly without reflection or enquiry, it becomes a pseudo-religion of superstition instead.
Let’s look at very basic ‘geomancy’ to see how it can make sense. If you open an eatery next to a stinking public toilet, it’s obvious that the stench will mask any tempting aromas from your shop. This would clearly be a case of ‘bad fengshui’, as we can tell with common sense! If a so-called fengshui master, instead of proposing moving or doing something with the stench, proposes some other bizarre remedy instead, that even he can’t explain the rationale of, would you follow his advice? At what point is advice sensible and what point nonsensical? You decide!
There are logical concepts of geomancy which subtly marry geology and psychology, but there are many aspects accepted dogmatically too. Why not actively enquire on their rationale before accepting them? If not, you might be taken for a ride that parts you with your money. Buddhism advocates changing of the mind before changing the environment. When the mind changes, the environment can too — even if it is just your perception of it. It is due to having sufficient good karma that a place with good fengshui can be found. Even so, its goodness can be destroyed by creation of bad karma!
As your mind is your immediate environment,
when your mind changes, the world changes.— Stonepeace | Get Book
Related Article:
Did the Buddha Teach Fengshui?
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/05/did-the-buddha-teach-fengshui
From the Buddha in the Kevatta Sutta:
‘Whereas some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such lowly arts as:
reading marks on the limbs [e.g., palmistry];
reading omens and signs;
interpreting celestial events [falling stars, comets];
interpreting dreams;
reading marks on the body [e.g., phrenology];…
making predictions based on the fingertips;
geomancy;
laying demons in a cemetery;
placing spells on spirits;
reciting house-protection charms;
snake charming, poison-lore, scorpion-lore, rat-lore, bird-lore, crow-lore;
fortune-telling based on visions;…
he abstains from wrong livelihood, from lowly arts such as these.’
