奇缘风水研究 开办风水课程 传承风水文化

研究风水超过25年，拥有近1000学生的奇缘风水研究的周载胜老师，9月2日将再次开办理论与实践相结合的风水课程，普及风水知识，传承风水文化。消息传出，便接到公众的踊跃报名，场面火爆。目前正在南洋理工大学修读硕士文凭和中医专业文凭的周老师，开办风水课程培训最高峰达到一周五班的佳绩，已吸引了上至60岁的老人，下至南洋理工大学的青年学子的积极报读。周老师以生动通俗的语言，以古书为纲，引经据典，正本清源介绍风水的历史与来源，探讨风水各派系之间的关系，传播风水文化，还亲临学员家中，运用现代建筑结构的实例，现场讲学，引起了强烈的反响。周老师说，许多人对中华风水文化了解不多，现在的风水市场又存在良莠不齐的现象，一些似是而非的理论，以及以讹传讹的伪风水学，加深了人们对风水一知半解的盲从，这就必须要通过科学的、正规的教育，普及正确的风水知识，提高风水文化的社会认知度，从科学、逻辑学、历史学的角度，传承风水文化，避免出现风水界后继无人，甚至断层的局面。周老师说，学习风水并不难，只要学生有兴趣，听得懂或看得懂华文就可以了。想要参加课程的公众，可以致电63393616询问详情，也可亲临福禄寿大厦#02-05奇缘风水研究咨询。

寻求本地旅游机构合作 开通风水文化游学之旅周载胜15岁开始研究风水，至今超过25年.为了拜师学艺,他曾多次远赴中国、台湾等地求学，也积极报读各类课程充实自己。周老师说，风水学是一门综合的学问，除了要饱览古书，还必须结合现代社会学，必须理论和实践紧密结合。其中了解风水的历史，感受风水的文化和背景，是十分必要的。对于这次报名参加风水课程的学生，周老师决定带他们到中国安徽、浙江、江西等地，走一趟风水文化游学之旅。为了考察行程，周老师4次前往中国各地，寻根溯源，确定了有600年历史的安徽宏村,浙江诸葛八卦村等地作为文化游学的首选地。

周老师现正四处寻求本地旅行社的合作,他通过本报，向本地旅行社抛出绣球，寻求合作。“我希望全力打造新加坡风水市场的拳头产品----风水历史文化游 , 为新加坡的风水文化注入新的活力。”

玄空飞星专业风水文凭课程
开课日期：02/09/2007上课时间：星期天3.00pm--5.30pm上课地点：149 Rochor Road #03-11 Fu Lu Shou Complex

吃牛奶真的就不杀生了吗？

A interesting article I found online.

吃牛奶真的就不杀生了吗？听到很多因不愿意杀生而吃素的朋友仍喝牛奶。原因是喝牛奶不杀生。喝牛奶真的就不杀生了吗？以下是我的一个美国朋友告诉 我在美国的情形。我没有台湾的乳牛业的资料，但我想养所有的殖业的目的都是赚钱，在减少成本增加利润的前提之下，台湾的情形不会比美国好到哪去。如果有哪 位知道台湾乳牛养殖业的情形，或哪里可以找到台湾乳牛养殖业的资料，敬请赐教。

养乳牛的目的是供奶，为了要让乳牛持续的有奶，就必须不断的让它怀孕生小牛，一只乳牛一年之中有9个月是在怀孕。但是乳牛妈妈生出来的小牛有百分 之五十是公牛。无论是小公牛或小母牛，只能吃到2天的母奶，在出生2天后就被从牛妈妈身边偷走，因为牛妈妈的奶要给养殖业者赚钱用，当然不能浪费在小牛身 上。(顺带一提，为什么让小牛吃2天的母奶呢，并不是业者有任何的慈悲心，原因只是刚生产的母牛的头2天的奶味道不好，无法卖去赚钱，且母奶中含有营养及 抗体可让小牛如后较少生病。所以让小牛吃2天的母奶并不会使业者利润降低。)

牛宝宝被偷走会造成年妈妈很大的心理伤害，牛妈妈会不停地痛苦悲嚎二天。小母牛会步入乳牛妈妈的后尘被养大成为日后生产牛奶的乳牛，小公牛的命运 有二，直接被卖作肉牛(由于年龄太小，有些小公牛进拍卖场时身上还挂著脐带)。或是再花些许成本养大些被培养成柔嫩的粉红色小牛肉(veal).(再顺带 提一提，小牛肉的养成过程极其残酷，要使肉质柔嫩就不能让它长肌肉，因此小公牛们被关在小到无法转身的栏中，脖子上绑著绳链子限制它们站起。它们的空间小 到必须拱其背才能勉强卧下。要肉质成粉红色就必须让它们缺铁，因此它们的饲料中绝对不能含一点点铁，关它们的栏子绳链也不能是铁制品，因为缺铁的小公牛会 去舔任何的铁制品。为小牛肉培养的小公牛只有3至16周的生命就会进入屠宰场。)由于大部分的乳牛在其一生中至少生2至3次，乳牛养殖业因此有太多的小 牛。在 2002年美国的乳牛生出了超过8百万只小牛。而其中进入屠宰场的小牛都是乳牛业的衍生产品。

因此当我们今天吃牛奶的同时，我们就是在支持乳牛养殖业，而我们买到的每一杯牛奶中都含有无数乳牛的鲜血。第二，母牛的产奶年龄有限，它们的牛奶 产量在生前二胎时最好，当一只母牛的产奶率下降后，养殖场当然不会一直浪费钱继续养著它们。它们约6岁就会被送往屠宰厂。因此唯一不杀生的牛奶，就是将母 牛和它的兄弟子女们养在自己家(根据公母一比一的比例，只要运气不太坏，养一只乳牛只要再养一只公牛即可)，且要让它们颐养天年自然死亡,即使母牛老了无 法产奶时也不会把它作成牛排。而它的公牛兄弟则一辈子天天玩耍，也可快乐终老不会被炖成牛肉汤或黑椒牛柳。并且母牛生的小牛也要一直养下去。在乳牛养殖场 的乳牛平均活6岁，而如果让它们颐养天年的话，它们平均可活到20岁。这样生产的牛奶成本甚巨，可想成本乳牛养殖业当然不会这样做啦。牛奶固然含钙很多， 但是不是多喝就好也尚无定论。而喝牛奶的同时，也无可避免的吃进饱和脂肪，胆固醇和注入牛身体的贺尔蒙及抗生素。况且很多蔬果中也含大量的钙。人类对有些 蔬果中的钙的吸收率甚至超过牛奶。例如，牛奶中钙的可吸收率是百分之32(WeaverCM,PlaweckiKLDietarycalcium: adequacyofavegetariandiet,AmJClinNutr美国临床营养杂志1994May;59(5Suppl):1238S- 1241S)，根据美国饮食协会的立场文件(positionpaperof American Dietetic Association)绿花椰菜，大白菜，秋葵及甘蓝(collard)中钙的吸收率是百分之49至百分之61，石膏豆腐中钙的吸收率是百分之31。钙 片也很容易买到。且经常作负重运动(weightbearingexercise)和不抽烟都对骨骼健康很有帮助。这些都是我们应该自己负责做到的。我们 实在没有必要为一己之私剥削乳牛，抢走本该给牛宝宝吃的牛奶，还把牛宝宝自牛妈妈身边拖走送入屠宰场。

General Fee Guide to Feng Shui Consultation

Recently I went to Hougang Mall and was given a pamphlet of Feng Shui services offered by a local company. It lists the consultation fees they charge for the various types of building and gave me the idea of compiling a list of my own of most of the fees charge by most Feng Shui consultants (at least six) in Singapore. This will give everyone a rough guide on how much they will be expected to pay shall they engage a consultant and prevent people from being overcharged. Many times, these consultants will ask you to buy their feng shui products to improve your luck. Some will be genuine while mostly, it will be just a sales item to increase their profit margin. You see, many of them are professionally-run feng shui businesses. They have salaries to pay to their workers and high rental to be paid very month, so the high consultation fees are needed to keep their business profitable. Anyway, you can see for yourself that the fees are quite exorbitant and I wonder how people can afford to pay them.

Non On-Site:
Auspicious Directions Selection (based on Life Gua): S$68

Fax Floor Plan Review (based on floor plan): S$100 – S$168


On-Site (Residential):
House Directions Selection: S$288

HDB 2-rooms Flat (Already moved in): S$150 – S$588
HDB 2-rooms Flat (Yet to move in): S$250 onwards

HDB 3-rooms Flat (Already moved in): S$150 - S$688
HDB 3-rooms Flat (Yet to move in): S$250 onwards

HDB 4-rooms Flat (Already moved in): S$250 – S$880
HDB 4-rooms Flat (Yet to move in): S$350 onwards

HDB 5-rooms Flat (Already moved in): S$250 – S$980
HDB 5-rooms Flat (Yet to move in): S$350 onwards

HDB 6-rooms Flat / Exec Apt / Exec Mansionette (Already moved in): S$350 – S$1080
HDB 6-rooms Flat / Exec Apt / Exec Mansionette (Yet to move in): S$450 onwards

Private Apt / HUDC (Already moved in): S$350 - S$1088
Private Apt / HUDC (Yet to move in): S$450 onwards

Executive Condo 2 Rooms and Below (Already moved in): S$350 - S$1580
Executive Condo 2 Rooms and Below (Yet to move in): S$450 onwards

Executive Condo 3 Rooms and Above (Already moved in): S$350 - S$1860
Executive Condo 3 Rooms and Above (Yet to move in): S$450 onwards

Penthouse (Already moved in): S$450 - S$1388
Penthouse (Yet to move in): S$550 onwards

Shop House: S$788 – S$988

Terrace House less than 2000sqft (Already moved in): S$450 – S$1388
Terrace House less than 2000sqft (Yet to move in): S$550 onwards

Terrace House more than 2000sqft (Already moved in): S$450 –S$2200
Terrace House more than 2000sqft (Yet to move in): S$550 onwards

Semi-Detached House (Already moved in): S$550 – S$2600
Semi-Detached House (Yet to move in): S$650 onwards

Bungalow less than 5000sqft (Already moved in): S$650 - $3388
Bungalow less than 5000sqft (Yet to move in): S$750

Bungalow up to 6000sqft: S$3088 – S$3388

Detached House: S$1188


Finding a home (from the best of 5): [House type] x 2

Building a house: [House type] x 3

Moving In Process: S$260


On-Site (Office / Business):
Office Cubicle/ Room: S$150

Business Premises less than 1000 sqft: S$2300 or below or US$728

Business Premises less than 2000 sqft: S$1088 – S$3200 or US$728

Business Premises between 2000 to 2999sqft - S$1488 – S$3200 or US$998

Business Premises between 3000 to 5000 sqft - S$2488 or US$1688

Factories / Showrooms: S$1.20 per sq foot, minimum of S$500 upwards.



Date Selection:
Choosing Dates for Marriage: S$168

Choosing Dates for Cesarean: S$688


Written by Alvin Chua. All rights reserved. Copyright @. Not for commercial use of any kind.

What is Daoism’s concept of the soul?

Another extract from my book on Daoism.

What is Daoism’s concept of the soul?

Unlike the single soul concept in many religions, Daoists do not believe that only one soul exists in every individual. In fact, we believe that an individual is made up of a committee of ten spirits. These ten spirits are divided into Yin and Yang and together they rule over different aspects of the human. The Yang components are called Hun and there are three of them. They are Shuangling, Taiguang and Youjing. Plants are said to possess only one Hun while animals are given two. Having only one Hun gives plants the minimal requirement for existence as a living thing but lacks the power of locomotion and intelligence. With two Hun(s), animals are endowed with the basic intelligence to hunt, breed and avoid danger in order to survive. It is with mankind who have the three Hun(s) and the functions of a highly developed intelligence and consciousness that makes it possible for him to rule over the rest in the ecology. The Yin counterparts on the other hand have seven of them and they are Shigou, Fushi, Queyin, Tunzei, Feidu, Chuhui, and Bichou. They are often associated with the negative aspects of human nature.

Daoists believe that a human life is conceived when the three Hun(s) are merged together. However the fetus is still not fully formed until the seven Po(s) come in and reside in the body. This process will take forty-nine days, as one Po will enter the fetus every seventh day from conception until all seven of them are consolidated in its body.

Since the universe is made up of the Yang and Yin, it is only natural that the ancients had the concept of a soul with dualistic compositions. As tradition has it, the world in its primordial state consisted of Qi, the energy essence. With the gradual concentration of this Qi, a major part of it started to take Xing (Form) and in the process was given Zhi (Substance). Via the same process, the Hun(s) and Po(s) were created with the former as the manifestation of Qi and the latter as Xing (Form) and Zhi (Substance). In the human body, the Hun(s) are said to control our ability to think and judge, giving us the power to reason, in other words the mental aspect. The Po(s) are then the ruling force behind our somatic aspects. Daoists believe that when a person dies, he or she will become a Shen (divine being) if the Hun(s) are stronger. If the Po(s) are stronger instead, he or she will become a Gui (ghost).

Death occurs when all the three Hun(s) leave our body at the same time. However, if only one or two of them were ousted from the body, the person will immediately fall into a trance-like state since the Hun(s) control our psychological abilities. Such events can happened due to a shocking accident or untimely exposure to powerful Yin energies in places the person had gone before. If the Po(s) are lost alternatively, the person will lose control of his body. Either way, rituals will have to be performed at the site where the Hun-po was believed to be lost in order to have them back and restore the person’s physical and mental health.

Regards
Alvin Chua

Written by Alvin Chua. All rights reserved. Copyright @. Not for commercial use of any kind.

What about joss papers? What is the history behind it?

Below is an extract from a book on Daoism that I did not managed to finish writing. Nevertheless, I have put it up here to share the parts I have written on joss papers since now is the seventh lunar month aka Ghost Month.

What about joss papers? What is the history behind it?

The earliest record of the use of joss papers is found to be during the Six Dynasties. Life in ancient China was extremely difficult. The people lived simple life and most were farmers. Most of them toiled year after year without enough to eat and wear. To fulfill their desires and hopes for a good fortune, a great harvest, a baby boy, an official promotion, or simply freedom from the corrupt authorities, the Chinese people and the rural population in particular created various deities to suit their needs. Literally everything can be deified and worshipped, be it a beast or a historical human figure. Through the indigenous form of early printmaking called Zhi Ma (literally means paper horse), these hopes and desires were then expressed. Zhi ma was also called Jia Ma (first horse). Images of deities, gods and immortals that the Chinese worshiped were carved onto blocks of wood which was then used to print on paper. These prints were then burned as offerings and sacrifices. This ancient form of paper joss was called paper horse as many had images of horses on them.

Eventually, these beliefs were complied and presented as two scriptures, which were claimed to be direct celestial instructions from Lao-zi in Heaven. The two Daoist scriptures are generally known as the Shou Sheng Jing (The Rebirth Classic). Like many other texts, the authors were never mentioned nor were there any indications of the time they were written. ‘Shou’ here means to receive and accept while ‘Sheng’ stands for birth. Together, they represent the acceptance of undertaking a human life. Tradition has it that before we are born into the human realm, we are given certain amount of wealth from the spirit world’s treasury for us to use once we successfully take up our human forms. This amount of wealth must be returned to the treasury during our lifetime. Failure to do so will bring forth illnesses and catastrophes upon oneself. And the method to return the wealth will be to burn paper money. A later Buddhist imitation of these scriptures also appeared with the word ‘Shou’ changed to the one meaning longevity. This new version preached a similar theme as that of the original Daoist version.

But why the use of paper and not other materials? Well, there is a tale on how it all started. A man named Cai Lun invented paper, however the people did not take a fancy to what he created. He pondered very long on how to market his invention and came up with the idea to collaborate with his wife to stage his death and bury him for seven days. Breathing through a tube while buried in a coffin, Cai Lun managed to stay alive for seven days, all the while his wife was burning away his stockpiles of paper. She pretended to blame the husband’s death on the paper because he was depressed about not being able to sell his invention and his health deteriorated. On the seventh day, Cai Lun miraculously came back alive from his grave and everyone attributed his resurrection to the burning of his invention, paper. And from then on, the belief spread far and wide among the Chinese. Whether this event actually happened, no one knows for sure.

In present day Daoism, there are many types of paper joss but mostly are representations of money in forms of gold and silver ingots. Paper josses of gold ingots are offered to celestial gods while silver ones are meant for deceased family members. There are also josses for requesting favors as well as paying back the deities for any tasks performed by them. Stemming from the belief that the netherworld is an exact replication of our world and to fulfill families’ obligation of filial piety, joss images of daily essentials and luxuries like clothes, cigarettes, cars, houses, handphones, etc are sold as offerings to be burned for deceased relatives. All for the sake of giving them a good life in the netherworld that they probably were unable to do so while still alive.

Regards
Alvin Chua

Written by Alvin Chua. All rights reserved. Copyright @. Not for commercial use of any kind.

Feng Shui Mirrors in Thailand

Talking about the use of mirrors in Feng Shui, do you know that this practice is very much alive in Northern Thailand? In fact, in a trip there few years back, I managed to see probably the largest Feng Shui mirror in the world (at least, in my limited perspective). Many of the houses located at a T-junction are equipped with a concave mirror hanging above the main entrance to face the onslaught of the traffic Sha (attack of the menacing Qi). And guess the size of the mirror? 2 to 3 feet in diameter! I think the reflected light will blind drivers at the junction and cause accidents instead. Pity I don't have a camera with me, if not i can take some pictures of them.

Regards
Alvin Chua

Joey Yap's Apartment Seminar

I spent the whole of yesterday at Raffles City Convention Center, attending Joey Yap's seminar on Apartment / Condominium Feng Shui. A few hundred people were present for the event and as usual, JY blew the crowd away with his witty Cantonese lines and humourous suggestions. Contentwise, I don't think I will attend any other future seminars of his. In fact, I felt like going through a revision class that I have went through umpteen times before. I am not saying it's not good but rather it is targeted at those in the beginner level and the general populace. I was so tempted to buy his new Xuan Kong Flying Stars book (the 1st in a 3 books series) though but resisted as I am saving up to further upgrade my Feng Shui knowledge.

One thing interesting however is that I saw a few Masters from another Feng Shui institution. I recognised Master Chew from Way OnNet Geomancy and his associates. I think more than 5 of his students came for this seminar too. They are probably from Way OnNet Geomancy's Ziwei Doushu class since WayOnNet do not conduct any Feng Shui classes at present. Are they there to do espionage work? Beats me...

Regards
Alvin Chua

hi small fut,

It's meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Not to be taken seriously. I respect them too as learning the Five Arts is a arduous journey for anyone to undertake and make it their life's calling. Anywy, thanks for visiting. Cheers.

Alvin Chua

The Feng Shui History of Singapore's Hyatt Hotel (Updated!)

I believed many of you have heard of the story about Singapore Hyatt Hotel's application of the Castle Gate Method (Chen Men Jue) on its doors (that's why they are tilted diagonal in relationship to the facing of the building) and the inconspicuous water feature in front of the building. This story was told also by Lilian Too if I am not wrong. The work was attributed to the late Venerable Hong Choon, a famous Buddhist monk that was popular with some political figures in Singapore. Grand Hyatt Hotel was said to have the building analysed by him and the Castle Gate method was a suggestion from him.

Here's an extract I found online from Frommer's website:
"Despite its fantastic location, this hotel was doing pretty poorly until they had a feng shui master come in and evaluate it for redecorating. According to the Chinese monk, because the lobby entrance was a wall of flat glass doors that ran parallel to the long reception desk in front, all the hotel's wealth was flowing from the desk right out the doors and into the street. To correct the problem, the doors are now set at right angles to each other, a fountain was built in the rear, and the reception was moved around a corner to the right of the lobby. Since then, the hotel has enjoyed some of the highest occupancy rates in town."

The grand staircase at the main lobby has 32 steps, which when spoken in the Cantonese dialect, sounds the same as "business".

A few months back, I spoke to a colleague (a bellhop working in my company) and discovered that he used to work in Hyatt Hotel for more than 20 years since 1976. He was there when the feng shui audit was being done (around 15 to 20 years ago) and he told me it was not the monk, Hong Choon who did it but rather a layperson, a feng shui master. He said many monks were invited to blessed the place (Venerable Hong Choon was probably one of them) but not to do feng shui. My colleague told me that the feng shui master was very particularly about the room he was staying during the consultation period. Only one room was selected and he would only use that room. As for the name, my colleague is unable to provide as the incident had happened so long ago.

However, I have passed by Grand Hyatt hotel along Scotts Road today and had noticed the partial closure of the main entrance for renovation. On the wooden partition (put up to enclose the construction work inside) was a notice saying that the renovation was done so as to reap the feng shui benefits for period 8 and 9. The notice also states that the original feng shui design was done by the Venerable Sek Hong Choon for Period 7. The main door now requires to be tilted to face 313 degrees and the fountain to be raised to the height of 1.35 metres for the current period. Go down and take a look if you have the time. Some said its Castle Gate but many practitioners say its nonsense. I myself think that it is not Castle Gate method because the correct way will mean relocating the entrance so that it falls in a different palace in the flying star chart altogether, which can't be achieved simply by tilting the door. I didn’t manage to measure the facing of the building so can’t draw up a flying star chart for it. This is a great case study for Feng Shui practioners.

So based on the notice outside Hyatt hotel, the information I was given by my colleague was not accurate. It was indeed the monk Hong Choon who did the Feng Shui audit. But who exactly is Venerable Sek Hong Choon?. Here's what I found on the internet:

"Venerable Sek was born in 1907 (2nd Age), came to Singapore in 1938, thereafter went to Penang in 1943 to be the abbot of Mio Hiong Lim Temple where he met Wu-Chang Sect Geomancy Grand Master Yu Xi-yin. This chance encounter made the Grand Master accept the Venerable as his selected disciple to impart the Xuan Kong geomancy theories.

Therefore in 1965, Venerable Sek officially returned to Singapore to take charge of the building of Phor Kark See Temple. Venerable Sek Hong Choon devoted his time to the Buddhist faith. It is a great loss for not imparting his geomancy skills to any of his close disciples. We could only induce from the geo-design of Bright Hill Monastry, the theory of his geomancy methods."

In addition: Just discovered yesterday that the recent Feng Shui audit of Grand Hyatt was done by Master Victor Li, a famous Wu-chang Style Feng Shui Master from Hong Kong but currently residing in Singapore. His office is in Fu Lu Shou Complex. Since Victor Li is a Xuan Kong Da Gua expert, thus I believe this is the actual method used in tilting the main door since Xuan Kong Da Gua is known for using precise measurements in compass directions. As for Venerable Sek, he has a fellow brother disciple from the same Tan Yang Wu's lineage by the name of Master Francis Leyau, currently teaching in Kuala Lumpur at Central Academy of Feng Shui.

Regards
Alvin Chua

Written by Alvin Chua. All rights reserved. Copyright @. Not for commercial use of any kind.

Online Feng Shui Course

A few months back I took up a Online Feng Shui Course from a famous Feng Shui institute. I wanted to get some form of certification for my knowledge and the course was kind of expensive but still affordable. There are three levels and they require me to start right from the foundation level. Once I embarked on the course, I was kind of disappointed as the content is too basic. Even the Advanced level’s syllabus seems too elementary for me and I felt that my money could have been spent on something more worthwhile. Students are given 2 months to complete their studies of the Beginners level but I finished the whole thing in less then 45 minutes. Haiz…what a waste of my $$$. Thus, I figured that I should look somewhere else to further my Feng Shui knowledge.

Regards

Alvin Chua