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:

• Wire posts and pillars facing the gate directly.

• A long and straight avenue which brings evil forces.

• A deep pit or an overhanging cliff that is very close.

• The curving side of a winding river or road or a round building.

• The chimney, corner of walls, a sharp wall or any pointed object from the house opposite.

• The gate of someone else, which is bigger than yours.

• A manure pit, or a vegetable plot, or a furnace for refuse incineration, or any dirty objects.

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.

For taboos that have to do with land forces, we change the land forces.

For taboos that have to do with psychology, we change the 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:

• A staircase upon entering the house.

• A sharp wall upon entering the house. (A sharp wall is just a wall; the edge of the wall stands right to the middle upon entering.)

• A roof beam visible upon entering.

• To be tightly cornered by a wall upon entering such that one can hardly turn about.

• To see the bed in the living-room, or fire in the kitchen, or the nightstool in the toilet, or the fireplace upon entering the house.

• To see the back gate upon entering the house. If the front gate leads to the back gate, it is "to dagger through the chest".

• To reach the rear of the house upon entering. The "chest is too thin". This is called "pressed from chest to back".

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.

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