Understanding Buddhism and Feng Shui

 Buddhism and Feng Shui

Over the years I have taken an interest in the links between Tibetan Buddhism

and feng shui, and so far I have found that they are very tenuous indeed. Feng

shui has been practiced in various forms for at least the last four thousand years.

Introduction to Geomancy

7It therefore predates Buddhism by fifteen hundred years. The link between the

cultures of India and China seems to have been through Tibet, and here it seems

that the practice of Tibetan astrology holds some clues.

Tibetan culture was far more influenced by India than China, although now-

adays it must seem somewhat unique. However, it is very clear that Buddhism

is at the very heart of Tibetan culture, and Buddhism came from India. As far as

I can ascertain, until quite recently feng shui was practiced in the capital city,

Lhasa, but only among the elite families. There is no evidence that it was used

in the monasteries at all, and these formed the basis of education in Tibet for

centuries. There are some texts that give advice on the orientation and dimen-

sions of temples, but this does not conform to any particular school of feng

shui. It may be that the essentially nomadic nature of life in Tibet made the

practice of feng shui unnecessary.

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In the sixth century C.E. the king of Tibet sent four scholars to China to learn

elemental astrology and astronomy. It seems that at this time the Tibetans also

absorbed knowledge of these sciences from the Indians, the Arabs, and even the

Greeks. The next king, Songtsen Gampo, was responsible for creating a Tibetan

written language based on Sanskrit script. He also married a Chinese princess

called Wencheng who brought many scholars of classical astrology, astronomy,

and medicine with her from China. So at this time, knowledge of the I Ching

and feng shui must have been available in Tibet.

Buddhism came to Tibet from India in the eighth century C.E. and quickly

flourished. In particular Tantric Buddhism seized the imagination of the Tibetan

people; the Tibetans say that in 1027 C.E. the system of meditation known as the

Kalachakra Tantra was translated into Tibetan and the practice became widely

established. The Kalachakra Tantra clearly describes the cycle of the elements. At

death the elements of the body are described as absorbing into each other. Earth

dissolves into water, water into fire, fire into air, and air into space. This reflects

the destructive cycle of the elements in feng shui. In the Chinese system, air is

replaced by metal, and space by wood. The trigrams of the I Ching are also to

be found in the iconography of the Kalachakra system.

feng shui: seeing is believingThis rather tenuous link is the closest I can find between geomancy and

Buddhism. Maybe more will emerge later. We should not be too surprised

at the lack of common ground however. The main focus of geomancy is the

manipulation of those outer environmental energies that can cause good for-

tune to ripen. Buddhism is concerned with the inner mental energies that

determine our destiny; it is the internal search for truth and peace that is the

driving force in Buddhism, and the outer environment, or destiny, is simply a

reflection of our progress in controlling and channelling our inner forces. Put

simply, if we always create the right causes, we must always achieve the right

effects.

Buddhist monks are sometimes criticized for their interest in feng shui. For

one thing, it appears to be mostly derived from Taoist beliefs and not from the

words of the Buddha. Additionally, people who practice it are generally looking

for some material benefit, which would seem at odds with the more noble aims

of a religious philosophy. I can offer no better explanation than Reverend Hong

Choon, who told a student that, as a Buddhist, he had a duty to help others. He

said it would be wrong for him to watch passively as others strayed from the

correct path and not to guide them back.

In my own view, life is hard enough without making it more difficult unnec-

essarily. How can we hope to find enough peace and space in our minds for

loftier and spiritually nourishing pursuits when we are beset by basic prob-

lems? Geomancy has some of the answers to these basic problems and so we

do indeed have a duty to help others by using its techniques. 

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