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.

It would be a waste for a small house built on strong forces.

It would bring decline if a big house is built on meagre forces.

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.

Straight roads can bring about "evil road spirits".

Winding roads can result in "evil backwash spirits".

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.

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