The most famous verse written by Master Hung-jen, the Fifth Zen Patriarch, is as follows:

When seeds are sowed with the essence of love,

They grow to bear fruits;

In the absence of the essence of love or seeds,

Neither nature nor life then exists.

This verse is also most appropriate when one applies it to the art of household feng shui. According to The Secrets of Earth Magic, the decisive factor determining the prosperity or failure of a house is the "essence of love" or the absence of it.

With the essence of love or affection --> the household thrives.

Without the essence of love or affection --> the household declines.

This "essence of love" is a quality we can detect in a house just as we can in a flower that we are admiring. When a flower has a luscious bloom with exuding fragrance, it is in its most beautiful and glorious moment. When a flower is wilted and lifeless, with its petals turning brown and dry, we know instinctively that it has come to its moment of decline.

In the study of human faces, a vital and healthy complexion with expressive eyes full of sensitivity indicates the "essence of love." On the other hand, a face that is expressionless, listless, greyish or pale with little vitality is a face indicative of the absence of the "essence of love." The idiom "a widow's face" has been used conventionally to describe someone who is completely devoid of youthful vigor and passion.

In analyzing residences, it is a great art to distinguish ones with the "essence of love" from the ones that do not have this essence. When the exterior of a house looks lively and dynamic, without any clashing elements, then it can be described simply to have the "essence of love." Many houses with multiple protruding angles also may look very dynamic, but if clashing features exist everywhere, then they lack the "essence of love."

Houses that are too overbearing, greatly flawed, unpleasantly plain, or look ridiculous and unreasonable belong to the category that "lack the essence of love."

A true feng shui practitioner can observe a house' exterior and tell quickly whether it has the "essence of love." This knowledge is gained only after many years of keen observation and practice. Upon seeing a house, an experienced feng shui master can assess with certainty whether the "essence of love" exists.

I, Living Buddha Lian-sheng, feel that the judging process is one that depends entirely on one's senses and cannot be conveyed by words. It is a skill that requires years of field training to develop. Experienced masters know what to look for, while the inexperienced ones would not be able to put their fingers on it. A truly capable feng shui master can just take a sniff of a house and know if the "essence of love" exists - this is by observing the chi of a house.

This is the secret key to the studying of a house' exterior.

In addition, whether a house has the "essence of love" also depends on the "magnetic birth orientation" of the owner of the house. Every single individual is born with two major "lucky" and two major "unlucky" orientations within the 360 directional points of the compass.

When the orientation of a house is compatible with the magnetic birth orientation of the owner [i.e., if the orientation of the house correlates to an orientation that is favorable to the magnetic birth orientation of the owner] - then the "essence of love" exists in that house.

When the orientation of a house is not compatible with the magnetic birth orientation of the owner - then the house lacks the "essence of love."

Therefore feng shui professionals generally base their judgment of a house on how favorable its orientation is in relationship to the owner. If the orientation of a house is compatible with the horoscopic animal of the owner, then it will bring great fortune and prosperity. If these are incompatible or clash, then misfortune and disaster will follow. This is entirely based on the theories and principles of "magnetic birth orientation."

In general, feng shui masters use the system of twelve directional points in which the twelve Earthly Branches are matched with twelve of the specific directional points of a compass. Every person is born under one of the twelve Earthly Branches, which also correlate with the twelve Chinese horoscopic animals. The twelve Earthly Branches are: Tzu, Ch'ou, Yin, Mao, Ch'en, Szu, Wu, Wei, Shen, Yu, Hsu, and Hai. However, some feng shui masters also prefer to use the system of twenty-four directional points. Still others prefer to use the Nine Stars or Eight Directions methods. My personal feeling is that the twelve directional points method is most correct, although a combination of various methods may also be used.

Therefore, in my opinion, the two basic elements used to determine the luck of a house are its "orientation" and "exterior appearance." If the orientation of a house is favorable to the owner of the house, then the next thing to consider is its exterior. Before we build a house, one might consider consulting a true feng shui expert because the exterior appearance of a house often determines whether there will be "essence of love" or absence thereof, peacefulness or misfortune, and auspiciousness or disasters.

I was once invited to do a feng shui reading for a western-style villa. After walking once around the house, I spoke with certainty to the owner, "Whoever lives in this house has tumors in the body."

The owner asked in astonishment, "Master, how do you know?"

"How can I not know! There are tumors all over on the house."

Later I found out that the mistress of the house had had tumors in her uterus, intestine (three of them) and the stomach as well. She has had numerous surgical operations!

The exterior appearance of a house plays a very important role. If it is dynamic, with smooth architectural lines that do not clash with the environment, then it has the "essence of love" and will definitely bring prosperity to the inhabitants. Otherwise, it will bring forth decline.

"Nature thrives in essence of love and perishes in its absence" is indeed a golden saying.

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