Determining the Facing of a Apartment

Determining the Facing of a Apartment: Different Feng Shui Masters’ Perspectives

This is one of the most confusing aspects in the practice of Feng Shui and I have compiled most of the methods here. Whether the advice given by your Feng Shui consultant works or not is dependent on this factor. Using an incorrect method can mean the whole audit has turned to naught. Take a look and you can see how messy the standards can be. By the way, the term apartment here would refer to high-rise buildings that normally comes with elevators e.g. condominiums.

Disclaimer: Please note that this is not a comprehensive guide but only notes taken along my research journey. There are many factors like concepts of Yin Yang Dong Jing (Yin and Yang aspects, Movement and Stillness aspects), internal and external Luan Tou (Forms) and experiences that cannot be put in writing. Some masters use a few of the different methods and they will choose the method most appropriate depending on the actual situation. There are also masters who sworn by their one method only. There are no hard and fast rules about it. There will be mistakes since I did not learn from the masters personally and thus are based on my deductions only from readings from all possible sources.

The Main Door of the Unit as Facing:

Yap Cheng Hai 叶清海 (Malaysia)
Notes:

This is what Master Yap Boh Chu (the son of Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai) wrote in The Sun Property Plus when asked about the facing of an apartment unit:

(Dated 25th November 2005) You are absolutely right, it is more difficult to define the facing of an apartment. Some feng shui schools consider the balcony as the facing, while others consider the apartment entrance or the main entrance to the block as the facing. For me, it would depend on the circumstances. I would usually consider the apartment entrance as the main facing and my case histories have proven me to be correct.

(Dated 17th February 2006) Problems crop up when determining the facing of a house, especially for a condominium. Certain masters would determine the facing of a condominium from the balcony, basically standing at the balcony door looking outwards. We have found that this is not necessarily correct. In most cases we would use the actual entrance door of your condominium, standing inside the unit and measuring outwards. Why measure outwards? This is the direction the Qi is coming from.

Also, this is an extract from an article in The Sun Property Plus titled “What to do for Condos and Apartments” in which Master Yap Cheng Hai and his son explain more about apartment facing:

(Dated 15th April 2005) For a landed property, the direction it faces is equated to the direction of the main door. There is no quarrel here. But what about condominiums and apartments?

The confusion arises because the owner has to enter the common entrance to the condo or apartment grounds before getting into his or her own unit within the block. So, which entrance is considered the property’s main door? The common entrance (foyer) or the one that leads directly to the owner’s dwelling?

With the popularity of condo and apartment living on the rise, its a question many are asking. We ask Grandmaster Yap and his son, Boh Chu, who point out that there are two options one can consider. This is provided for under two major schools of feng shui — Ba Zhai (8 mansions) and the popular Flying Stars.

Ba Zhai
This school of feng shui is very clear. The entrance to the respective condo or apartment unit is considered its main door. So, this is where the owner should tap his auspicious direction.

On the other hand, while the common entrance to the condo or apartment project is not important to the individual unit owners or dwellers, it is important to the developer.

Flying Stars
Some find this school of feng shui confusing. The entrance is considered as the qi koh or mouth of qi (energy) of the property. In other words, the main door represents the mouth of the property — where the all-important qi is ushered into the premises.

In ancient China where feng shui originated, most dwellings had only one main door and a back door. This is often no longer the case in modern times. Condos and apartments, in particular, have multiple entrances — the guarded gate, at the respective block and, often, the balcony door.

Some feng shui practitioners see the main entrance to a condo block as the most important. Others point to the balcony door instead, reasoning that as the largest opening in the unit, this is where the greatest inward flow of qi is. Yet another school of thought insists that the main entrance of a dwelling should be the unit door itself.

Conclusion
The Yaps consider the specific door to a condo or apartment unit as its main entrance because this is the door that determines one’s entry into the dwelling. The next important things would be the entrance to the condo or apartment block, where relevant.

This is, however, only a guideline and not a definitive answer. Diligent feng shui practitioners should take into account the direction of both doors — common and specific.

“In our opinion and experience, the balcony door does not qualify as the main door. This is taking into consideration that the doorway is defined by the action of entering and exiting a property, and in the process, bringing in the qi from outside the property,” say the Yaps.

One can’t possibly walk in through the balcony door, nor can one exit from the balcony door to leave the unit.

Imagine if your unit were on the 20th floor. It would be impossible to ‘enter’ the balcony from the outside unless you are into extreme sports, rappelling from the roof or with the help of a helicopter!

The same applies to windows. They cannot be considered ‘entrances’.

Peter So 苏民峰 (Hong Kong)
Notes:
In his instructional videos titled "Feng Shui Lecture Of Master So Vol 1 & 2", he has explained that the main door of your own unit is the facing, never the balcony or the windows since you do not enter your home via them. We should use the elevator door on our level as the facing reference if we are analyzing the feng shui of the entire level. The main entrance of the whole building is used only if you are the developer or owner of the whole building.

The Most Yang Side of the Unit as Facing:

Pak Hok Ming白鹤鸣 (Hong Kong)

Joseph Yu (Canada)

Larry Sang (United States)

Lynn Yap (Singapore)

Heluo aka Roel Hill (The Netherlands)

Kartar Diamond (United States)

Chen Bo Yu 陈柏瑜 (Taiwan)

Eva Wong (United States)

Fan Rong 梵羢 (Taiwan)

The Most Yang Side of the Unit as Facing Provided the Main Door Is Not At Sitting Side:

Tan Khoon Yong (Singapore)

Neo Zhen Jue (Singapore)

The Facing Is Based On the Level of the Unit:

Edward Li Kui Ming 李居明 (Hong Kong): For level 1 to 5, use the main entrance of the whole building. Level 6 and above, use the unit’s door facing.

Lilian Too (Malaysia): For level 1 to 8, use the facing entrance of the whole building. Level 9 and above, the side with a view from the balcony or patio will be used as the facing since this is akin to living in the high mountains and the Qi distribution will be different.

Cecil Lee (Singapore): For level 1 to 7, use the unit’s door facing. Level 8 and above, the side with a view from the balcony or patio will be used as the facing.

The Facing Is Based On the Facing of the Whole Building:

Joey Yap 叶威明 (Malaysia)

Vincent Koh (Singapore)

Song Yin Chen宋英成 (Taiwan)

The Facing Is Based On the Main Entrance of the Whole Building:

Yeung Dengkwong 杨椗光 (Hong Kong)

Johnny Chan陈癸龙 (Hong Kong)

Stephen Skinner (Malaysia)

Lum Kwok Hung 林國雄 (Hong Kong)
Notes: In his book on Xuan kong Flying Stars, he wrote:
“我的经验是以门为向。就是在建筑物的大门外度坐向。如果有多支门的，就以写有门牌或建筑物名字的那一支为向。”

Below are some interesting apartment floor plans, which do you think is the facing side of each of them?

Are the methods above applicable to these apartments? I firmly believe that Mr "Qi" will not arrive and enter an apartment unit just because a famous feng shui master says so. It comes in accord to the landscape and the physical structure both externally and internally. Is it able to understand the facade that the architect had intended the building to have? Can it be contained in a skeletal structure (with minimal walls and multiple openings) and influence every household under that same roof? Will it come knocking at an entrance facing a Ming Tang or another entrance used by most of the occupants? A young master from my neighboring country says that he has learned from many Hong Kong masters whose expertise are in high-rise buildings' feng shui and his method of determining the facing is the correct one. But if this is so, how come the few most famous Hong Kong masters (see the list above) could not agree on a standardized method and none of them uses this young master's method?

As for the use of the main door, Master Howard Choy has indicated to me the parts in Shen Shi Xuan Kong classic that states that it is not used to determine the facing of a house. Here is one of the page from the classic:




















Also, in the Bazhai classic "Jin Guang Dou Lin Jing" (Classic of the Dipper Casting its Golden Light) , there's indication that the house's facing is not the main door's facing.


Regards
Alvin Chua

Who is Master Raymond Lo (卢恒立)?

身为风水大师的卢恒立却没有风水堪与的家学渊源，而是出身于文学艺术气氛浓厚的书香门第，父亲是香港的电影导演。由于那时候的电影导演收入菲薄，前景黯淡，他父亲也不强迫他子承父业，而是给了他对未来职业自由选择的天地。卢恒立从小好奇心很强，喜欢研究和探讨奇奇怪怪的东西，并且博览群书，追根究底地去找答案，由此养成了善于学习和独立思考的习惯。他生长在香港，自幼勤奋好学，因此英文很好。他与风水学结缘就是从研读英文的星象学开始的，然后触类旁通，涉猎中国的风水文化知识，决心探究风水学这个谜团的深浅与真假，以及探究风水盛行的原因何在。但是卢恒立在大学学的却是与风水无关的经济专业，毕业后供职于香港电力公司长达十年之久。此间他只是业余开展风水业务。

1997年之后，由于他在风水界名气越来越大，看风水的业务越来越多，他才辞去公职，成为一名全职风水师。在香港，与其他风水师相比，他的优势是显而易见的: 他精通英文，上过大学，学过经济，做过经理，不仅熟悉西方的星象学，而且了解西方哲学和文化。

在香港，他第一个把风水理论翻译成英文进行讲解，他在大学里获取的科学的学习和研究方法以及做经理获取的管理和处世经验对他开展风水业务很有帮助，他明白怎样运用有效的市场营销方式进行风水业务的开拓和推广，深奥的风水理论怎样表达和解释才能使具有不同文化背景的外国人容易接受。他注重和采用西方人所习惯的逻辑推理的方法，而不是中国人所习惯的死记硬背的方法去讲授风水，他还采用西方的理论、概念和术语来对风水进行解释，收到了很好的效果。

Master Lo was born to a couple who moved from Guandong to Hong Kong and was the only son in a family of four. Subsequently he was educated in an English school in Hong Kong, choosing a social science degree specialising in economics while at university.

Initially, Master Lo’s interest in Feng Shui was borne out of a curiosity for anything connected with Chinese metaphysics some 20 plus years ago. He has since spent much of his time studying the Classics as well as private tuition with the ‘old masters’ of Hong Kong. However, things changed when he met Master Suen, an expert from mainland China who had a good understanding of metaphysics and theory. Master Suen emphasized the importance of logic and guided Master Lo to apply this logic to his practice of Feng Shui.

His research and personal perseverance in Feng Shui has earned him his reputation as a Feng Shui master who predicts accurately. His professionalism and expertise has led to his increasing popularity and has put him on a global lecture circuit to countries like Germany, Switzerland, London, America and Australia where he also conducts courses.

Finally, you can watch a video of Master Raymond Lo here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzcqAOx2U0s

Video of Master Val Biktashev

Master Val Biktashev is the co-author of the book "The Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui". Here is a video of him on Youtube:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vn0BiQg_0HI

Regards
Alvin Chua

Unveiling Some Fishy Business

I watched a show called “Unveil The Truth” on 8TV, a Malaysian channel last week. And there was a segment of which the topic of Feng Shui was mentioned. A famous Feng Shui master (though I never heard of the guy before) was invited to the show and he demonstrated a technique for viewers to try at home to bring prosperity throughout the year. This technique requires the homeowner to purchase 4 types of flowers, each belonging to one of the 4 seasons. The flowers are then placed in the four cardinal directions of the house representing the four seasons. This way, it is said that the house will enjoy prosperous energy throughout the 4 seasons. I am not sure about the validity of this technique but I do know that real plants are considered Wood energy and putting it in the wrong place can be harmful.

Also, the master advised viewers to put a fish in a small tank on top of the refrigerator. Since the fridge is where we keep the food and the Chinese word for fish is “yu” which sounds like the word for extra, surplus, he explained that this would bring endless surplus of food to the household. What utter nonsense! Get this man off the show before more people are misled to such wrong information. Call SPCA for his propagating of fish cruelty!

Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year (since yesterday was Lap Chun or Li Chun, we are already in the New Year).

Regards
Alvin Chua

Feng Shui Problem?

There was a local comedian actor who was a firm believer of Feng Shui. He got a Master to feng shui his home and even have his Chinese name changed by the Master. This Master is well-known for helping Singapore celebrities changed their names to an auspicious one. Being an expert in Bazi and Feng shui (lineage passed down from his grandfather), this Master has been in the limelight for many years and respected by many celebrities. Being a ardent fan of the Master, this actor frequently hosted the Master's seminars and apparently his own acting career seemed to improve with the Master's help in feng shui.

Then suddenly, the comedian actor had difficulty breathing yesterday and was sent to hospital. He passed away after the doctors failed to revive him.

This makes me wonder about the feng shui skill of this Master. While feng shui can't make miracles, it can still indicate certain signs of potential health problems. There are cases where the client doesn't follow the warning given by the feng shui consultant thus its the client's own problem but in this case, I think it is unlikely since I know the actor was a firm follower of the Master's words. I have attended the Master's talks before, hosted by the late actor, thus I know he consulted the Master for almost everything. Nevertheless, we must remind ourselves that feng shui cannot prolong lifespan nor make miracles happen. Even Bazi and Ziwei Doushu cannot be used to predict a person's death accurately.

Nevertheless, Feng Shui problem or not, it doesn't matter. We only know that Singapore has lost a great, humble, filial and humorous talented artiste. Come to think of it, I still had the audio recordings of him hosting a Feng Shui talk. Goodbye my friend.

Regards
Alvin Chua

Name Analysis? Can It Really Help?

After the passing of actor Jimmy Nah (commonly known as MC King), it was reported in yesterday’s Chinese newspaper that many Mediacorp artistes have decided to change their so-called “auspicious” name back to their original Chinese names.

Jimmy Nah changed his name after consulting a local famous feng shui master and his career apparently improved there after. Unfortunately, he suffered from heart failure (I think) few weeks back and passed on. Fellow actors like Christopher Lee, Edmund Chen and a few others who have consulted the same master for their name change started to have second thoughts and quickly abandon their “auspicious names” and embrace the old ones. While success did came to them, it was short-lived like in the example of Christopher Lee who was imprisoned last year from driving offences despite the use of the new name which is supposed to bring him good luck.

Could it be the method used, that causes it? In Chinese name analysis, there are quite a number of methods and most masters use a combination of these methods. Each master would claim that his method is the genuine ancient Chinese method but it is hard to verify the claims. One of the most common methods in the feng shui market now is the counting of strokes in the character. It is known as the 5 Formations method 五格.

1
姓氏 筆畫 A 天格= 1 + A
名一 筆畫 B 人格= A + B
名二 筆畫 C 地格= B + C
-----------------------
總格= A + B + C
外格= 1 + C

This is a questionable method and seems rather unconvincing. How many strokes a character comprises of is not consistent. For example, the character eight, is made up of two strokes (this counting is straight forward and applies to most characters) but if I am not wrong, strokes of numeric characters are not counted but based on the value it carries, e.g. eight is taken as eight strokes instead of two. What is the rationale for this? Another thing is the External Formation 外格, where it equals to 1+ C above. Why the need for an External Formation? Why plus 1? Where the 1 comes from? If you do some research, you will realize that this method originated from Japan. It is not a genuine Chinese name analysis method. Name analysis techniques were lost back in China and its practice was most likely passed down and kept by only a small handful of people.

This method was created for Japanese name which is normally of 4 characters, unlike the Chinese names which is normally 3. A Taiwanese learned the technique and brought it back to Taiwan. From Taiwan, the rest was history and name analysis craze was started. So how he adapted the Japanese method for Chinese name? He added the External Formation 外格 for the missing fourth character. Why plus 1 and not 2 or 3? There’s no logic here. For those who can read Chinese, do a search online and you should be able to find tons of information on this and verify for yourself.

I remember I once saw a Chinese book of case studies on the validity of this method. One case study mentioned was of an excellent name, using the method above to analyze. The interpretation indicates a man who enjoys good wealth and health. But in reality, who does the name belongs to? A young man who drowned and passed away.

So how much influence can a name make? Master Dong Nong Zheng once said on a television talk show that it has less then 15% influence (or was it 12%? Can’t remember the exact percentage but definitely not high) on our lives and this level of influence is lesser unless the person uses the name since birth. Changing our names in adulthood won’t help much as psychologically you have been conditioned by the original name for years and society knows you by that name also.

I remember a case in the book Freakonomics (Chapter 6: The socioeconomic patterns of naming children), which talks about a real account of a New York City father named Robert Lane who named his son Winner in 1958. The parents probably ran out of names to give their next son, the seventh one three years later and they simply named him Loser Lane. Mind you, according to the book, this actually happened in the United States. And so what happened to them after they grew up? One became a criminal and lives a miserable life, with more than 30 arrests for burglary, domestic violence, trespassing, resisting arrest, and other mayhem while the other went to prep school on a scholarship, graduated from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and joined the New York Police Department, where he made eventually got promoted to become a sergeant. So who is this successful one? His name is Loser. In the end, the message to bring across is that our name is an indicator—but not a cause—of our life path. There’s a blog which the writer wrote about this same story but analyzing their names using Numerology: http://therealmotherhen.blogspot.com/2007/10/whos-winner.html.
Pretty interesting.

Life is a card game. God dealt you the cards but it’s up to you to play the game.

Regards
Alvin Chua