Chapter 9 - A Temple Near Bamboo South

To the north of the city of Chunan (Bamboo South), near Hsiang Shan (Fragrance Mountain), there is a mountain called Chian Pi Shan (Mount Brush Tip), and I have done some surveyance work there. At that time, about fifty families lived up on Mount Brush Tip and most of them were farmers. I had one junior officer, Huang Ch'un Feng, with me.

Throughout our assignment, we stayed at a blockhouse that belonged to the Coast Guard. We got along very well with the residents. During feast days, the civilians in the mountains considered it a great honor to have guests with them, and naturally, up there in the mountains, servicemen from the Coast Guard were the only guests they could find.

At that time there was a feast for the completion of the Yip Ta Jen Temple and both Huang Ch'un Feng and I were dragged over there to join in the celebration. It was a grand occasion with the mountain folk inviting as many guests as possible. The numbers ranged from fifty people in one group to as many as three hundred people in another. The feast was sumptuous, with plenty of fish and meat dishes, and everyone was having a good time talking cheerfully and humorously. Our host was extremely hospitable. He kept on urging us to toast and drink. There was an elderly gentleman at our banquet table who suddenly sighed,

"The feng-shui of this mountain could have been pretty good. It' s such a pity. . ." He stopped in mid-sentence and did not go on.

"It is a pity that the dragon vein has been severed into two pieces," I finished for him.

The eyes of the old gentleman widened and with surprise in his voice, he turned to me, "Young man, do you know geomancy?"

I pointed to the low-lying land in front of the mountain, "In geomancy terms, this depression is known as the Double Dragons Facing the Sun. In feudal times this would have meant the emergence of a high ranking official of at least a second grade from the area. The energy of this area was such that it used to produce many outstanding people until a tile manufacturing company came here. The earth was dug up, and the feng- shui was ruined. After discovering that the type of soil here was not really suitable for making red bricks, the company withdrew and left behind a gaping hole in the mountain. Isn't it so? Since the disruption of the dragon vein, energy has been slipping away. That is, in fact, why the Yu Ta Jen Temple was built right here on the track of the dragon vein in order to stop further loss of the energy. I think this is also why you are celebrating today."

The old gentleman nodded his head, "Excellent, excellent, young man. Who is your teacher? I have been studying geomancy for forty years under the Fukien San Yuan School, and I thought I was the only person who could recognize the energy in this area. It really surprises me that you can even figure out the reason behind the building of this Yu Ta Jen Temple. This is not a simple feat. Tell me, who is your teacher?" "My geomancy teacher is Taoist Master Ch'ing Chen of the Ch'ing Cheng School," I answered.

"Taoist Master Ch'ing Chen? I have not heard his name." The old gentleman shook his head.

"Master Ch'ing Chen just practices Taoism quietly by himself. He has not done any feng-shui analysis for a living, or has he intermingled within society. That is why no one knows him," I explained.

"How about this? Can you take a look at this temple and give me some opinions on its construction?" Without waiting for my reply, he pulled me along with him to the front of the temple. Huang Ch'un Feng and several local residents also came over.

I walked once around the temple, to have a careful look at it.

It was moderate in size, about five times as big as the average local earth god temples. Inside was a golden statue of Yu Ta Jun , about eight inches tall, and two other unknown statues. I wondered to myself who was this Yii Ta Jen? After looking around, I offered the following analysis.

"The Pa Kua diagram and the golden censor are hung upside down. The door is divided into three compartments of upper, middle, and lower sections. There are seven pillars inside the temple, and the interior is laid out according to the encampment of five battalions. All these special elements have been designed to suck back all the earth energy that has been dissipated."

This time, the old gentleman was so astonished that he was speechless for quite a while before asking me, "Could it be possible that you have learned the whole Ti Ling Ching (Earth Energy Classic)?"

"What is the Ti Ling Ching?" I asked.

"The Ti Ling Ching is the greatest treasure in this world. Every geomancy practitioner dreams of learning the knowledge contained in this book. I have sold all the farmlands I used to own in order to trade for a fraction of this knowledge from the Fukien San Yuan School. Who is this Taoist Master Ch'ing Chen? How much did he charge you for transmitting this secret teaching to you?"

"I did not spend a single dime in learning it."

"You must be kidding."

"I am not kidding. It is the truth," I answered him sincerely. "Then can you tell me when this temple will be endowed with spiritual power and become famous?"

I took a look at the Pa Kua diagram above the shrine and said, "It won't take more than twelve years."

"Young man, I am totally convinced of your abilities. You are right. I have incorporated the twelve zodiac houses into the design of the Pa Kua. Do you realize that if you take up feng-shui as a profession and find a customer who appreciates your knowledge, you are going to make a fortune? You are so young and already have such sharp discriminatory power, I am definitely sure that you will become very successful soon."

Sir, may I ask who this Yu Ta Jen is?" I was curious that the sculptured figure of Ya Ta Jen did not have any spiritual energy in it.

"So you have detected that too? It won't be convenient to talk about it here." Holding onto my hand, the elderly gentleman took me to a nearby densely wooded area and spoke solemnly to me,

"I am Yu Ta Jen."

"I see." I nodded my head and said no more.

This elderly gentleman had incorporated the year, month, day, and time of his own birth into the Pa Kua diagram that was displayed in the temple. He also had placed some of his own hair and nail clippings inside the golden statue. He figured that he did not have more than twelve years left to live and after his death, his spirit could stay in the temple and be attached to the golden figure. With generations of people coming to worship and praying to him, he would become the powerful Yu Ta Jen Deity of Mount Brush Tip.

The method he used was a kind of soul transference that Master Ch'ing Chen also had taught me. I advise the reader not to try it for fun, as I have outlined the principle here but not the exact details. One's life might be shortened if one tries the method without a full understanding of it.

Going back to my surveying assignment, part of the job was to measure the depth of the great cavern that had been excavated by the tile manufacturer. When my assistant was about to climb down to the bottom to set up the surveying equipment, I stopped him. "Wait, this downhill climb is not easy. Let me try another way."

"Are you going to use the Spiritual Divination method?" Huang Ch'un Feng asked.

"I think I will give it a try," I replied.

Maneuvering my spirit energy, I extended its psychic antennae to the bottom of the cavern and came up with a measure of sixty-three meters. However, I was afraid that my reading might not be accurate, so in the end, I asked Huang Ch'un Feng to go down to the bottom with the surveyor's rod. With the measuring instrument aiming at the rod, I did some computation and came up with sixty-five meters-two meters more than my Spiritual Divination had shown. That was strange. Why was my Spiritual Divination off by two meters?

After a while, Huang Ch'un Feng came running up to the top of the hill, and as soon as he caught his breath, he said, "It turned out that the bottom of the cavern was not very flat. I was standing at the lowest spot, which was two meters lower than the rest of the flat surface."

"Thank you, that explains it," I said.

Huang Ch'un Feng was my best surveying partner. He was smart, young, and strong. Currently he has left the surveying post and started a business, the Ch'iaoli Artistic Lighting Company, on Ping Deng Street in Taichung. I helped him pick the name Ch'iaoli, and he installed all the light fixtures in my home for me. If readers want to verify the incidents in this chapter, they can look him up.

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