Oriental Metaphysics Journal

金鸡独立 - A simple and effective exercise

2012-02-14T01:03:00.004+08:00

Below is an email I received recently and I have done some research on it. Do give it a try.

SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE EXERCISE
The essence of the exercise is that your "Eyes Must be Closed" when you are doing this exercise. You must practise the "Jin Ji Du Li" exercise with the eyes closed. This exercise was so simple and amazing that I thought I had to share it here.
Here is the exercise:
Stand on one leg while your eyes are closed. That is all. Just try it right now, stop reading and stand up, close your eyes and try standing on one foot.

If you are not able to stand for less than 10 seconds, it means that your body has degenerated to 60 to 70 years old level in other words, you may be only 40 years old, but your body has aged a lot faster.

Compare your performance to the norms for various ages:

20 to 49 years old: 24 to 28 seconds.

50 to 59 years: 21 seconds.

60 to 69 years: 10 seconds.

70 to 79 years: 4 seconds.

80 and older: most cannot do it at all.

I tried this exercise myself when I read the mail. I thought “oh, big deal, I’m sure I can do this easily” I was fooling myself, I’m glad I tried it because I discovered much to my surprise that while I could stand easily on one foot with my eyes open, trying the same thing with my eyes closed was another story! I just could not keep my balance for more than two to three seconds before I started wobbling and hopping around.

You do not need to lift your leg high, if your internal organs are out of synch, even lifting your leg this bit will make you wobble.
Now this was quite scary because it told me that my body was almost 60 years old and here was me, barely into my forties! These Chinese are really very advanced in their knowledge of the human body. It was very heartening to know that frequent and regular practice can help you recover your sense of balance. In fact Chinese specialists suggest daily practice of Jin Ji Du Li for 1 minute, this helps prevent dementia.
You can try slightly closing both eyes while practicing Jin Ji Du Li, instead of completely closing them; in fact this is what the health specialist Zhong Li Ba Ren recommends.
Daily practice of Jin Ji Du Li, can help in healing many illnesses or diseases like

Hypertension,
High Blood Sugar or diabetes,
Neck and Spinal diseases,
it can also prevent you from getting dementia.

Zhong Li Ba Ren has written a book titled "Self Help is Better than Seeking Doctors' Help", which is a bestselling book that has been the best seller health book in China since it was first published last year. Its success can be measured by the fact that it has been reprinted 12 times within 6 months, with more than 1 million copies sold. The book is a hot seller because is it teaches many simple practical health tips.
It is said that according to the understanding of Chinese physicians, diseases appear in the body because the coordination between the various internal organs encounter problems and that causes the body to lose its balance. Jin Ji Du Li can readjust this inter-relationship of the organs and how they function with each other. Zhong Li Ba Ren stated that many people can't stand on one foot with their eyes closed for even 5 seconds, but later on as they practice it daily, are able to stand for more than 2 minutes.
As you gain ability to stand for longer time, the feeling of "head heavy, light feet” disappears. As benefits or practising Jin Ji Du Li, you will experience that the quality of sleep improves, the mind clears up and memory improves significantly. Most importantly if you can practice Jin Ji Du Li with your eyes closed for 1 minute every day, you will not get dementia. (I think it this also means the brain will remain healthy).
Zhong Li Ba Ren explained that there are 6 important meridians passing through our legs. When you stand on a single leg, the weak meridian will feel sore while getting the necessary exercise, and as this happens, the corresponding organs of these meridians and their path-ways, start getting the necessary tuning. This method can focus or concentrate the awareness, and channel the body's qi to the foot. The beneficial effects of practising Jin Ji Du Li on various illnesses associated with hypertension, diabetes, neck and spinal diseases are quick to be seen and felt. Jin Ji Du Li can also prevent gout.
Jin Ji Du Li helps to Strengthen body Immunity rapidly
Jin Ji Du Li it is suitable for everyone generally. It is the basic cure for "Cold Feet Disease” and it can also strengthen the body’s immunity. You do not have to wait until you have any illness to start practising Jin Ji Du Li. It is especially beneficial for young people, when they practice it daily while they are healthy, so that their chances of contracting the various illness associated with aging is comparative lower.
Please note that it is not suitable for people over 70 years old, or those old people whose legs are not strong and cannot stand steadily.

Testimonials, video and more info in Chinese can be found here:
http://blog.39.net/jcj19560518/a_6170560.html
http://blog.sina.com.tw/cj_lankofun/article.php?pbgid=33100&entryid=251171
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4a35e10b0100cyp4.html

English Articles on Sense of Balance and aging:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Senior-Balance---Why-Does-it-Get-Worse-As-You-Age?&id=1498086
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/health/08brod.html

Regards
Alvin Chua

Interesting Discoveries by a Taiwanese Forensic Pathologist

2012-02-12T00:57:00.001+08:00

Watched a Taiwanese TV talk show today and one of the invited guests is an experienced forensic pathologist, Dr Gao. He shared with the viewers some interesting trends that he discovered over his 27 years career, having performed autopsies on over 3000 dead bodies. Here’s what he shared:

1. A high percentage of unnatural deaths (e.g. accidents, victims of crimes, etc) occur at the age of 9, 19, 29, 39, 49 and 59.

2. A high percentage of unnatural deaths occur in the 2 months just before the birthday of the victims.

3. Most of the younger victims (age 20s to 30s) of unnatural deaths REALLY do have a shorter Life Line (this is one of the main lines in palmistry, commonly said to denote the lifespan of a person. The longer it is, the longer the lifespan. Majority of palmists however, do not believe this is the case).

Very interesting discoveries indeed.

This forensic pathologist has written a book about forensic medicine before:

http://www.books.com.tw/exep/prod/booksfile.php?item=0010258582

Regards

Alvin Chua

活到老，学到老

2012-01-02T12:44:00.002+08:00

Few days ago I was at a bookshop looking at feng shui books (as usual, my 职业病). Beside me was an old man in his 70s, and he started asking me if I was looking for books on bazi. I politely replied that I was just browsing around, not just bazi but feng shui as well. He then went on “it is not easy to good books on bazi, furthermore, the more you read, the more confused you become”. How true indeed, I thought to myself. “After so many years of studying bazi books, I came to the conclusion that there is only one author that truly presents the theories and concepts effectively, and his books are highly recommended to you”. He then showed me a book from this author, and I truly agreed with him. The author is almost the same age as this old man and his name is Zhu Que Qiao 朱鵲橋. I thank the old man for sharing his wisdom and secretly marveled at the fact that despite his age, the man is still an ardent fan of bazi study.

Regards and Happy 2012!

Alvin Chua

The Hour Pillar in your Bazi Could be Wrong

2011-12-30T01:10:00.003+08:00

Hi all,

Do you know that the Hour Pillar in your Bazi could be wrong if you are born in Singapore?
Singapore have adjusted the national time a couple of times since 1950s, hence, the accuracy of your birth hour could be undermined since being born in each different decade in Singapore's history would mean a wrong hour instead of what is indicated in your birth certificate.

The following article will shed some light on this:
http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/teaching/timezone.html

Regards and Happy New Year
Alvin Chua

Dynamic Meditation of Luangpor Teean

2011-11-22T22:33:00.002+08:00

Today, I would like to introduce a very effective method of meditation called Dynamic Meditation. It is sometimes also known as Rhythmic Meditation or Mahasati Meditation. It is a method that uses a sequence of hand movements to focus the mind, very different from the typical way of which stillness is the keystone.

I have tried it and find it highly suitable for the urban dwellers since you can really achieve the stillness of the mind in a shorter time than the conventional methods. There is less time wasted on the mind wandering during practice.

Someone even did a University Thesis on this method of meditation.

It is a way that is simple to learn and practise.
The following links will provide you the necessary background knowledge as well as the instructions:

http://paulgarrigan.com/luang-por-teean-and-his-dynamic-meditation/

http://www.mahasati.org/

http://www.awarenesswithmovement.org/rhythmic.php

http://www.archive.org/details/Ajahn-Suthep-Introduction-to-Basic-Dynamic-Meditation

http://buddhaleelamahasati.com/

http://www.mcu.ac.th/thesis_file/255122.pdf

Regards
Alvin Chua

Bed Against the Stove

2011-11-19T23:52:00.004+08:00

In feng shui for the bedroom, one of the major taboos would be to position the bed with the headboard sharing the same wall with the stove directly on the other side.
Anyone sleeping on such a bed location will become impatient and short-tempered over time.

Thus, it came to me as a surprise when I watched a documentary about Northern rural China, where it is a norm in certain villages to deliberately position their bed this way. This is because of the cold temperature they experience most part of the year. By having the bed behind the stove, the warmth created after cooking will help to warm their bed before their bedtime. Since they use wood as the fuel, the smouldering can provide warm throughout the night.

Hence, in their environment, this feng shui taboo has lost its significance and instead providede a more conducive living condition. Very interesting.

Regards
Alvin Chua

Feng Shui Shops no biz...

2011-10-30T14:11:00.002+08:00

In the last few years I have seen a handful of feng shui shops, selling feng shui paraphernalia, cures and offering consultation services by their in-house masters, all closed down after a few years of bad business.

Yesterday, I saw another feng shui shop in town area, located in a recently opened shopping mall. I was surprised that the owner chose to open his branch here since the mall is known to be a flop since day 1. There are no customers at all and rental is not going to be cheap in town area. It will probably fold once the lease is up.

All these make me question about the validity of feng shui applications for retail businesses. After doing some extensive research about it, it seems that feng shui theries used for commercial premises is a rather recent development. The earliest record I can find is a theme park in Shanghai built in 1916, where a fengshui master was consulted in the building of the place. In fact, up to the 1960s, feng shui was used solely for Yang Zhai (town planning, residential dwellings, basically buildings for non-commercial basis) and Yin Zhai (burial places). It was only after the Cultural Revolution, in the early 1970s when feng shui became a primart concern of businesses growing durong the post-unrest economic boom. So to say, feng shui being applied to retail businesses has less than a century of history and developments.

Regards
Alvin Chua

Woodlands Checkpoint

2011-10-11T00:54:00.004+08:00

Don't know why but when ever I travel via the Woodlands Checkpoint, I always felt that the building looks like the traditional headgear worn by the Chinese Emperors of the earlier dynasties. But only if you view it from the front.

A simple prayer to the Di Ji Zhu (地基主)

2011-10-03T22:56:00.002+08:00

Conducted a prayer to the Di Ji Zhu (地基主) at a client's new home today. After which a space cleansing ritual was conducted.

Hope all will be well and blessed for the new occupants of the house.

Regards
Alvin Chua

A Case Study - Period 6, 3 Room HDB Flat

2011-09-28T23:50:00.001+08:00

The following was a recent case I attended. The house is a 3-room HDB built in the late 1970s and the couple moved in 1986 when they tied the knots. As it is an old flat, getting a copy of the floor plan was not easy since most people who bought their flats in the 80s don’t really see the need to have one.

The house has a 9 Facing Star located at its main entrance, which is excellent in terms of prosperity. But this is true during the current period 8. The couple moved in Period 7 and thus the auspiciousness of Star 9 was not strong enough to be of any benefit.

Unfortunately, there are a few serious flaws of the house that undermines the feng shui even further. First, the bedroom has a 2-5 combo at the room’s door and the bed was locate in the 3-6 sector, with the quarrelsome 3 Sitting Star activated.

The sector representing the male owner’s was severely drained and the sector representing the female owner was weakened by the Wood element (a big tree, this unit is on the 6^th floor but you can see canopy of the tree from the living room).

Marital woes started in 1990 onwards and eventually ended in estrangement and finally divorce.

Regards

Alvin Chua

Birth Month Suggests Career Path -- Science & Technology -- Sott.net

2011-09-10T14:23:00.000+08:00

The recent study in UK suggests that being born in certain months will determine the career paths as well as potential health problems. Maybe this is why in Bazi, the month is always the most important aspect.

Birth Month Suggests Career Path -- Science & Technology -- Sott.net: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/234518-Birth-Month-Suggests-Career-Path

观世音菩萨的一串念珠

2011-08-08T14:37:00.000+08:00

今天上网看易学文章之余，看到了这个故事，非常有道理：

佛印禅师与苏东坡同游灵隐寺，来到观音菩萨的的像前，佛印禅师合掌礼拜。忽然，苏东坡问了一个问题，“人人皆念观世音菩萨，为何他的手上也和我们样，挂着一串念珠？观世音菩萨念谁？”佛印禅师：“念观世音菩萨。” 苏东坡：“为何亦念观世音菩萨？”佛印禅师：“他比我们更清楚，求人不如求己。”

A Feng Shui training recently attended

2011-08-02T23:03:00.003+08:00

A photo taken with my latest teacher (my 4th one), Mr Wilson Heng from True Yijing Training Center. Definitely have improved my perspective on feng shui analysis. The truth is learning feng shui is a lifetime process.

Regards
Alvin Chua

A Science Lesson on Earth's Inconstant Magnetic Field

2011-07-30T00:39:00.001+08:00

Do you know that our planet's magnetic field is in a constant state of change?

This fact may not even be known to a lot of feng shui practitioners.

Fortunately, we have in our modern times, Google maps and satellite images for us to make a comparison and check the deviations. The generic directions can still be determined with fair accuracy.

However, if you are talking about zooming right down to a degree or two, then I shall wish you good luck. The reason being the reading you have taken may have deviated a degree or two over just a few years and Google satellite images can’t give you that level of precision. Hence , you can see, this fact can in some ways undermine the very soundness of certain feng shui methodologies.

Below are some extracts from an article published by NASA:

“Scientists have long known that the magnetic pole moves. James Ross located the pole for the first time in 1831 after an exhausting arctic journey during which his ship got stuck in the ice for four years. No one returned until the next century. In 1904, Roald Amundsen found the pole again and discovered that it had moved--at least 50 km since the days of Ross.”

“The pole kept going during the 20th century, north at an average speed of 10 km per year, lately accelerating to 40 km per year…”

“Earth's magnetic field is changing in other ways, too: Compass needles in Africa, for instance, are drifting about 1 degree per decade. And globally the magnetic field has weakened 10% since the 19th century.”

Source: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/29dec_magneticfield/

Regards
Alvin Chua

Quote of the day

2011-07-20T22:51:00.001+08:00

Nothing to blog about metaphysics but rather a beautiful quote to share:

"If you are right then there is no need to get angry
And if you are wrong then you don't have any right to get angry".

Regards
Alvin Chua

Giok Hong Tien Temple in Havelock Road

2011-07-11T00:00:00.003+08:00

I was going to pray at this temple today but unfortunately it was closed. It seems that it is close on weekends. I used to pray here every year during Chinese New Year since I will visit one of my aunts that was staying in that area but I don't recall it to be a weekday or weekend. Anyway, this temple is said to be the oldest Chinese temple in Singapore and has many tales about it.

Let me share with you a secret: It is said that couples who want to conceive can have their wish granted after praying in this temple.

The following is an amazing account of the miraculous power the deities manifested:

天公坛的传奇

天公坛又叫玉皇殿，屹立在加里村的村口，是五六十年代香火最鼎盛的庙宇之一。每逢神诞日或七月鬼节，从全新来的香客把庙挤得水泄不通。

庙的历史究竟有多长，没人说得清，据外祖父说，他来到加里村落脚时，庙已存在，算起来，该有百多年历史。

日军攻打新加坡时，曾经在村里投下三枚炸弹，一枚落在私塾学校，把地上炸出一个大坑，炸死了好多人。两枚就落在天公坛前的马路上，说也奇怪，都不爆炸。村人说这是天公显灵，是不是天公保佑，也没人说得清。就因如此，光复后，天公坛的香火变得更加兴旺。

庙里除了供奉玉皇大帝，还有十八罗汉，风雷雨电四大金刚，观世音菩萨，正德福神（大伯公），以及其他各种各样的神像，可谓满天神佛。庙里有个灵媒，叫何仙姑，在庙后为信众下地府叫唤阴灵。何仙姑又叫猫神，据说是天上的猫神在人间的化身。虽然缠脚，走起路来却疾走如飞，听说还能飞檐走壁。村人见过她三更半夜像猫一样潜伏在墙角，一有动静，马上“嗖”的一声闯上屋顶，两手一探，就抓住了老鼠，然后往口里咀嚼。隔天，庙后的垃圾堆上总有一撮带血的鼠毛。言之凿凿，越加添何仙姑的神秘色彩。

庙前也是三轮车夫聚集的地方，当时还有牛车行驶。我家大舅是个搬运工人，有一回，当货车经过庙前时，忽然翻覆，成吨重的铁条压在他身上，人们都以为会被压成肉饼，但只是头部压伤，变成个猪头。命是被捡回来了，只是此后头脑有点迷糊，也没什么大碍；人们这又说是玉皇大帝显灵。我家三婶也遭过一劫，她小时候在街边玩儿着，不知怎的，被一辆载草料的牛车从腰部辗过，连青色的粪便都喷出来了，人却好好的。这一来，天公坛的名气越发响亮了，甚至连印尼也来了人参拜。

六十年代末，村里发生了一场大火，几乎把整个村子夷为平地，大火烧到庙旁就拐了个弯而去，你说怪不怪？至今，周围都建起组屋，天公坛仍然站在原地，只是香火没以前那么旺了，但每次经过，我都会停下脚步，进去庙里拜一拜这些伴着我走过童年的神像。

原文章作者：李海鹰
http://www.sgwritings.com/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=33328

History of the 4 Directional Animals and 28 Constellation

2011-07-09T11:26:00.002+08:00

A must-watch Chinese documentary for all serious feng shui enthusiasts on the origins of the 4 Animals Concepts (Green Dragon, White Tiger, etc) and also the 28 constellations. I have watched it a few times and feel that it is a pity not to share this excellent video.

Cheers

我的天！鲁班尺都跟iphone扯上了关系

2011-05-21T00:50:00.003+08:00

New Lu Ban feng shui ruler apps in Iphone... What the...?

http://funiphone.pixnet.net/blog/post/30393310

Anyway, you can still see some feng shui masters using this ruler (not the apps but the actual thing) but can it be trusted?

古人使用的鲁班尺和时下流行的鲁班尺有何区别？古籍记载，“鲁班尺乃有曲尺一尺四寸四分，其尺间有八寸，一寸准曲尺一寸八分。”“曲尺” 即古代木工匠师用木工尺，其长度与历代朝廷工部颁布的营造尺相同。因明清时期的营造尺长32厘米，故鲁班尺的长度为46.08厘米，鲁班尺每寸为5.76 厘米。古代流传下来的鲁班尺并不多见，北京故宫博物院收藏有一把鲁班尺，长46厘米，与古籍记载的鲁班尺长度非常接近。

目前国内流行的鲁班尺主要有两种，一种是42.9厘米，另一种是50.4厘米，这两种鲁班尺和古代的鲁班尺长度都不一样，可以说，这两种鲁班尺都是不准确的。

Cheers

Alvin Chua

宏船法師的移門大法

2011-05-20T09:17:00.000+08:00

新加坡的普覺寺很出名，已經去世的主持宏船大法師就更加出名。在一九八三年的夏天，筆者由當地報界朋友帶領，前往普覺寺參拜，有幸得見宏船大法師。

宏船法師當時已是八十四歲，還很健康，臉上笑咪咪的，毫無高僧的架子。朋友告訴我，他是福建人，是新加坡佛教徒的精神領袖，也是新加坡佛教總會的主席，當地福建人都很親暱地叫他做師公。

據說普覺寺以前的規模很小，由於宏船法師曾經對一位年青人指點迷津，此人後來發了達，捐贈千萬元坡幣擴建寺院，普覺寺才有現在的宏偉規模，也成為當地家傳戶曉的故事。

大家都知道宏船法師會看相，惟是他不輕易替人看相，反而喜歡看風水。普覺寺重建時，他親自主持寺院風水的規劃。不但把寺門的方向改變了，還把大門漆上紅色，並叮囑大門不能完全敞開，只能夠開到某一個角度。他自己的睡床也時常更換位置，據說是避免邪魔的干擾。

不但新加坡本地人來請宏船法師看風水，就是不知風水為何物的外國人，也都入鄉隨俗的前來虛心請教。宏船法師看風水有一個獨門絕招，就是改變門口的方向，經過這麼一改，以後的情況便完全改觀，這就是宏船法師名震遐邇的移門大法。

最使人津津樂道的一個故事，是宏船法師替著名的凱悅酒店看風水。在一九七三年，凱悅酒店的生意很差，新調來的總經理戈蘭基感到束手無策。酒店的業主八十五歲的富豪張先生，是宏船大師的信徒，有個法名叫做光淨，曾捐獻大筆金錢給普覺寺。他向戈蘭基建議，邀請宏船法師來看風水。

宏船法師來看風水時，酒店門前的噴水池由於日久失修，沒有噴水。因為酒店的生意不好，修理費用又很大，便任由它擱著。宏船法師主張立即修復噴水池，戈蘭基半信半疑的照著辦。修復的那一天，上午十點恢復噴水，下午兩點便接到電話，有一架珍寶客機載來三百八十多名旅客，問凱悅酒店是否可以接待？這批豪客住了四天之後，酒店的生意便越來越好。這時候，德國籍的戈蘭基深信中國的風水道理，把宏船法師當作活神仙。

以後，宏船法師在凱悅酒店的風水上給予不少意見。最奇妙的卻是，他吩咐在酒店另一邊的Nutmeg路，要留下一個出口，日後自有用處。當時大家都莫名其妙，不知道悶葫蘆裏賣的是甚麼藥？

到了一九七九年，凱悅酒店的生意越來越好，必須擴充業務，便買下毗鄰旁邊的一塊土地，建造新廈與舊廈相通。到了一九八四年，擴建工程完成時，才想起宏船大師當年的吩咐很有道理，因為所留下的出口，正是新廈與舊廈相通的地方。於是大家都奇怪，難道宏船法師早已預知凱悅酒店必會擴充業務，而且會買下 Nutmeg的那一塊地？

以後我到新加坡去，每當路過普覺寺時，腦海中便會泛現宏船法師那張慈祥笑咪咪的臉孔，不禁雙手合什，暗誦法號。 (全篇完)

Source: http://www.fengshui-magazine.com.hk/No.92-Feb05/A101.htm

阴宅地理师的部落格 Blog of a Yin Feng Shui Master

2011-05-20T08:47:00.003+08:00

Hi, for those into Yin Zhai (feng shui for burial), I have the following blog to recommend. It belongs to a Taiwanese Yin Feng Shui Master and he shares alot of the cases he encounters in his work. Interesting read.

http://blog.xuite.net/mrt0405/blog

Cheers
Alvin Chua

Buddhism Stand on the Practice of Divination

2011-05-15T23:46:00.002+08:00

Saw this Q & A on a Chinese website on Buddhism, so I posted here:

佛是反对抽签问卦的，但作为中国文化瑰宝《易经》上有问卦的内容，作为一个修行人可以学习易经吗？

真修行人就是要求自转命运的，相信命运有，那怎么能学得解脱命运转，所以真正佛弟子是不能去算命的，也不应该相信命运，这样从内心习气断才能转运。所以会算命而不会转命，也不是真的佛弟子。

劫煞

2011-04-12T23:06:00.005+08:00

申子辰见巳, 亥卯未见申, 寅午戌见亥, 巳酉丑见寅.

查法: 以年柱或日柱为主, 四柱地支见之者为是.

为喜神：代表好争上进，做事拼搏，遇事果断。

为忌神：性刚暴好妒, 奸猾狡诈, 常招凶灾。

The following bazi contains a Jie Sha in the month pillar.

The DM is a weak Ren Water thus the Jie Sha is a unfavorable element. When a Jie Sha happens to be an unfavorable element, the person is said to be deceptive, jealous, aggressive and stricken by frequent mishaps. Pls note that Jie Sha is not always bad if it is favorable. So what is this person actually like in real life?

He is always jealous of his colleagues who got promoted and complains to others about it.

He has serious mood swings and blatantly displays it in his actions and speech when he is angry.

He has no respect for his superior at work and resigns immediately when he was given a poor appraisal for it.

He likes to gamble and goes around borrowing money. For colleagues who refused to lend him any money, he is said to have tried to sabotage them in their work.

Debt collecting companies actually called up his workplace to ask him for payments which he defaulted.

分金线爻度准确性之怀疑

2011-03-28T01:06:00.001+08:00

古今不少风水名著与今人操盘安排风水，都把分金爻度看得极为重要。甚至有些人把分金宿度、抽爻换象说成是风水的最高境界。这里不评论其理论的吉凶应验的可信度，就其分金爻度的准确性就很值得人们怀疑、思考与验证。不信，请看益福堂之几点浅见：

一：天北、地北、磁北之争论。

1、天北（天文北、天星北、北极星北），是以北极星为北来定方位。

现时北极星与真北相差0.7度。北极星虽也在运动移位，不过短期内变化极小。所以用北极星来定方位还是很准确的。

但是，请问现在的风水师又有几个按北极星来定北方0度？并校正过罗盘？

2、地北（极北、真北、正北、地轴北、日晷北），是以地轴（地球的自转轴）的南北两极来定方向。

地球的正南北极，为在地图上东西经线的交汇点。

在北半球，也就是正午（当地日出时刻与日落时刻的中间时值）太阳（日晷）竿影所指的方向即为地北。

按家乡传说，杨救贫先师上山点穴定向只用拐杖、十字线，所以就有倒杖法、十字天心法传世。当须选吉日时才用罗盘（应是水罗盘或土圭，据说是玉石罗盘，要四个人才能抬得动）定方向。而且，杨公之前，罗盘也只标有十二地支，八干四维是杨公后加的。当他发现罗盘磁北与日晷北有7.5度的偏角时，才又增加了天盘廿四山。所以杨公当时应该是只用天盘（地北）格龙定山立向消砂纳水的。那时哪有什么人盘72龙120分金384爻和365.4度等，这些都是后人加的。

如果现在还用天盘格龙立向，那就是真的泥古不化了。

3、磁北（地磁北），是以地磁的南北极来定方向。

现在，几乎所有的风水师都用地磁北来定方位。

地球是一个大磁体，它有两个磁极:一个叫地磁北极，另一个叫地磁南极，因为磁性同性相斥，异性相吸，指北针的磁针（小磁体）在这地球（大磁体）两个磁极的吸引下，所以就永远一头指北，一头指南。

地磁极是接近地理南极和北极的，但并不和南极、北极重合，一个约在北纬72°、西经96°处；一个约在南纬70°、东经150°处。
磁北极距地理北极大约相差1500km. 在一天中磁北极的位置也是不停的变动，它的轨迹大致为一椭圆形，磁北极平均每天向北移40m。

磁偏角是磁北与正北之间的夹角。
东经25度地区，磁偏角在1-2度之间；北纬25度以上地区，磁偏角大于2度；若在西经低纬度地区，磁偏角是5-20度；西经45度以上，磁偏角为25-50度，在我国，正常情况下，磁偏角最大可达6度，一般情况为2-3度。
在我国除部分磁力异常的地方外，一般磁偏角都是西偏。磁偏角还是不断有规律变化的。
我国主要城市的磁偏角（2000年）
北京 6°05'（西）
成都 1°09'（西）
重庆 1°45'（西）
桂林 1°50'（西）
南京 4°59'（西）
昆明 0°57'（西）
拉萨 0°12'（西）
齐齐哈尔 9°48'(西)
天津 5°40'(西)
哈尔滨 9°51'(西)
济南 4°51'(西)
西安 2°30'(西)
长春 9°14'(西)
兰州 1°33'(西)
徐洲 4°52'(西)
西宁 1°00'(西)
沈阳 8°05'(西)
太原 4°12'(西)
拉萨 0°12'(东)
乌鲁木齐 3°05'(东)
上面所列数值代表2000年数据，今后数年内使用时，按不同城市每年增减1'修正，即凡数据偏东者每年增加1'，偏西者每年减少1'。

因为磁北是运动的，且各地区的磁偏角又不同，所以用磁北定方向其准确度可靠性就值得怀疑。当时定的爻度，久后其爻度定会移位，那其吉凶是否与前同论？此地定的方位，其理论如有准，那异地因磁偏角不同，其理论是否同样适用？自古至今，风水理学之纠缠不休，也许此为主要原因之一吧。所以用磁北方位的理气理论就值得重新检讨。

如果用杨公古法，以真北论方位，那各位风水师就应按照不同时段，不同地域来临时调校罗盘。请问有几人懂得这样做和这样做过？就算能调，其准确度又会如何？

这些该如何验证与施行？三北谁更可靠？

所以方位理气理论在没有确定北方0度的坐标基点之前，遑论其它？一切免谈！

有些人连这理气理论的基础都还未弄懂，就大吹特吹其本事来，真使人啼笑皆非！

二：木制罗盘之误差。

上世纪60年代70年代因罗盘的毁灭绝迹，益福堂曾手工制作了几十个罗盘以解燃眉之急，虽然做得很粗糙，但很多地师用后都认为还准确。因此本人对罗盘的准确性条件有些了解，在此谈点个人看法：

要便罗盘准确，必须全部符合下列十余种条件。

　1、磁针的准确，稳定，灵敏。

2、磁针的直线。南北两极的重合准确。

3、顶针相对海底的垂直。

　4、海底南北线与内盘子午线的重合（平行）准确。

　5、内盘的中心点（顶针）与外盘十字线中心点的重合准确。

　6、外盘十字天心线90度直角。

　7、外盘四边的平整。四角90度直角。

8、外盘四边与十字天心线90度直角。

9、内盘外沿与外盘内空的贴合紧密。

　10、十字天心线与内盘周天0度、90度、180度、270度的重合准确。

11、内盘各层分格的准确。廿八宿365.4度中太度半度少度的分格准确。

12、罗盘置件水平性。

以上十二个条件，有一个出现微小误差，罗盘所示爻度的准确性就会大有影响。因此在市场上买十个罗盘，就会有七八个不合标准。有些可以（使用前或使用中）自己修整调校（方法另文详述），有些则无法修整调校。所以一般的罗盘能有99%的准确就阿弥陀佛了。谁又敢说自己用的罗盘100%准确？还有，在使用中，十字线的粗细，罗盘的大小，罗盘水平的放置，附近金属、电流的影响等，都将影响罗盘的准确性。

由此看来，用罗盘定384爻和365.4度的准确性就值得怀疑。既然爻度的准确性不可靠，那据爻度所论的吉凶又可靠吗？

三：阴阳宅实际测量位置之不同。

阳宅：

农村建房的粗糙，造成很多座向两墙不平行，城市建房，也有很多四墙都不方正，这时以哪墙为据？有的门与墙都不平行，是以门为用还是以墙为用呢？有的一堵墙有些老木门能量出几个爻度出来，这该以何为准呢？如以某处为主那他处所量的爻度就不起作用了？

加上高层建筑，磁针受钢筋电流磁场等影响，其准确性就更为无法保证。

如今可借助卫星地图来定方向，但能测量准确到爻度吗？

阴宅：

以前血葬，钻洞的，立座以棺木的前板来校罗盘。挖圹的，以棺材顶的中线来校罗盘。谁能保证尸骨的方向与棺材的方向完全一致？从益福堂以往检金实例来看，大部分头骨都会移位，那其按棺材定的方向可信吗？检金迁葬的，以头骨与尾椎为直线定方向，排金葬还好些，金缸葬谁能保证金骨方向准确无误，不移位？很多有风煞之地，翻棺倒椁都有之，那先定的方向又有何用？现在骨灰葬，那骨灰乱成一堆，那有何方向？方形骨灰盒还好测，有的用圆形骨灰盒，那方向在哪？虽然在盖上有前后标示，那两个字能定出爻度吗？

有些墓面，过梁、基础、碑石，方向爻度各不相同，那又以何为据呢？如果只以碑为准，那墓面其它位置就不起作用了？就算以碑为用，现在的花岗石碑还好些，像以前用的青石糙石，表面都不平整，一碑可量出几个爻度来，那又以何为据呢？

所以单从某一处的爻度来论定吉凶，那纯粹是自欺欺人而已！

从以上三个方面来看，罗盘所定的方位，特别是卦爻宿度，就很值得人们的怀疑与探讨。其理论的可靠性也就值得大家推敲与检讨。

原文：http://www.zhfsmsw.com/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=268

台湾的醒灵寺

2011-03-17T23:45:00.004+08:00

I came across this Taiwan legend of a spiritual medium from a temple named Xing Ling Si, who uses his supernatural abilities to enter hell during the Taiwanese 228 Rebellion in 1947. Very interesting and this story was made the theme of a album by Taiwanese Black Metal called Chthonic 闪灵. Here is the story and also the music video (this song is in Taiwanese, or Hokkien as we know it in Singapore. Pls don't watch if you can't stand metal music).

十殿故事摘要

1947年，台北爆發二二八事件，中國第21師軍隊自三月九日登陸基隆開始屠殺，並於三月十三日抵達台中。為了對抗中國軍隊，中台灣的青年紛紛加入民兵「二七部隊」。

埔里醒靈寺的少年「潘正源」，是該寺陣頭裡面最有靈性的家將，自小就宣稱能神遊天庭與地府；當寺內的夥伴們都已前往台中加入民兵對抗中國軍隊時，正源則與夥伴們約定，他將定身在醒靈寺地窖，靈魂出竅前往地府竊得生死簿，控制陽間生死，保護夥伴的性命、打倒暴政。

他從第一層「孽鏡地獄」進入，眼見數以萬計的台灣魂魄墜入地獄，驚覺陽世大屠殺的慘況遠超過他所想像，且這些魂魄墜入地獄之後，仍要受地獄的刑罰；正源感到自己的責任重大，激燃了他的神格本命，連破各層地獄，直闖地獄底層。就在他即將奪得生死簿，得以控制陽間生死的同時，第十殿的艷都鬼王已遣鬼眾前往陽世醒靈寺，要把正源的肉身本尊封住，阻止他爆發的法力；時為陽間三月十六日，只剩下四十名的台灣民兵「二七部隊」亦在此時退守到醒靈寺，與兩千五百名中國軍隊浴血奮戰。醒靈寺外的靈界與陽間兩個次元鬼哭神號、山河動盪，史稱「烏牛欄之役」。

台灣民兵最後被六十倍的中國軍隊殲滅，定身在醒靈寺地窖的正源的本尊則被鬼神封住其法力，靈魂回歸肉身，難以再次出竅。眼見親友屍橫遍野、庄里殘圮的正源，毅然決定自殺，結束生命、讓靈魂再次墜入地獄，誓要奪得生死簿、控制陽間生死，讓暴政滅亡、為故人復仇。

直闖地獄第十殿的正源，其憤怒雖讓他的靈性神格全面爆發，卻仍難敵酆都鬼王及觀世音化生的焦面鬼王，最後終被制服，並卸除其原生的靈性、法力。

由於正源大鬧地獄、違逆輪迴，地府判其終極刑罰「孽鏡沉暮」。
正源之靈魂化身為守護孽鏡的鬼卒，
第一個十年，他看著故土同胞被暴政屠殺、凌虐。
第一個甲子，他看到暴政被推翻。
第一個千年，他看到更多的暴政在陽間出現，並如同生命輪迴般終至滅亡。
第一個萬年，人類生命體與地球在他眼前的滅亡。
第一個億年，他目睹宇宙間的第二種生命體誕生。
第一個兆年，他已看過數不清的各種生命體輪迴，從無到有、從有到無，六道輪迴終於也走向沉暮，而他卻仍被封在孽鏡地獄。
在千千萬萬億億兆兆年，接近永恆的時刻，地獄所有生命體的靈魂都已服刑完畢、六道輪迴中的鬼、神、修羅也灰飛煙滅，孽鏡終於不再映照出任何生命體，正源成為宇宙間最後的一個靈魂，在孽境前慢慢消逝，結束了他的刑期。

Yang Ren (Star of Aggression) Example

2011-02-20T23:28:00.000+08:00

I encountered a rather impatient and inquisitive lady during my work today and I can’t help but wonder if looking at the bazi can I see any clue to her edgy nature.

D M Y
乙丙甲
亥寅子

She is a strong DM thus Wood is an unfavorable element and the month branch happens to be her Yang Ren (Star of Aggression) and of the Wood element. Such an unfavorable star will make the person impatient, hostile and bossy.

Friendly Neighbors or Good Feng Shui?

2011-02-17T23:04:00.002+08:00

Think about this, having good Feng Shui is one thing but having good neighbors is hard to come by. And no, I am not referring to just your neighbor living opposite. Those living above, below or next to your (apartment) unit will also count.

If you ask me, I would say that having good neighbors weigh more than having good Feng Shui. Why?

It is because a nasty neighbor can turn your new home into a living hell. Think Joo Chiat…

Feng shui can remedy the bad vibes in your house but it’s not going have much effect on what is going on externally. Imagine your neighbor’s dog pooing on your doorstep as his daily modus operandi or loud banging by the one living above you every day after midnight. You may call the cops but there is only little of what they can do to resolve the problems. Think Joo Chiat again…

So next time you go house hunting, don’t forget to see who your neighbors are.

净空法师回答：出家人会看风水吗？

2011-02-10T01:48:00.000+08:00

The Dhamma Brothers

2011-02-08T00:29:00.002+08:00

I would like to recommend a great movie about practice of meditation and how hard core prisoners have their life changed from it.

A truly inspiring movie...

Unusual Graves in Singapore

2011-01-27T23:38:00.001+08:00

3 video clips about unusual graves in Singapore. Very interesting:

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/55888.html

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/55886.html

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/55884.html

Cheers

The History of the Tongshu 通書

2011-01-25T00:01:00.004+08:00

Be it wedding date selection or opening of a new business, the traditional feng shui master will always refer to the Tong Shu 通書 or Tong Sheng 通勝.

But how much do you know about this book?

Watch this very informative show (in Cantonese) to know its history:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzcwMjMyMzY=.html

Hanging of the Red Sash at Your Entrance (红彩) for Chinese New Year

2011-01-22T23:42:00.005+08:00

Since the Chinese New Year is approaching, many of you will be decorating your home with all the auspicious symbols and calligraphic pictures. Some of you may even be hanging the Hong Cai 红彩 (red sash) over the main entrance to usher in the New Year.

But before you do that, check that your main entrance is not located in the North or East Sector of the whole unit. If it does, then you should avoid hanging the red sash or else you may end up activating the Illness energy 二黑病星 (North in Year 2011) or Calamity energy 五黄凶星 (East in Year 2011).

So check your compass before you do so.

Happy Chinese New Year. Gong Xi Gong Xi...

Clear and Simple Video Explanation of the Heart Sutra 心经

2011-01-11T01:13:00.002+08:00

The following clips are by far the best presentation of the meaning of the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra. Alot of people chant this sutra daily but not many truly understand its meanings. These cute clips will give you an insight of its significance. Highly enjoyable and easy to understand:

Pop Version of the Japanese Heart Sutra 般若心経

2011-01-10T00:07:00.001+08:00

Check this out....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivYC5lNFv_g

Exorcism, Singapore-style

2011-01-06T23:26:00.002+08:00

Watch the following videos of Master Chew in action (3 parts):

http://image.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/57498.html

http://image.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/57524.html

http://image.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/57522.html

Enjoy...

光华电子新闻 | 小小彬被唱衰红不过今年

2011-01-03T23:13:00.000+08:00

光华电子新闻 | 小小彬被唱衰红不过今年

Peter So made a revelation that Xiao Xiao Bin's fame is short-lived....Let's wait and see...

貔貅旺財？

2010-12-22T23:05:00.002+08:00

貔貅擺放在家裏鎮宅就可旺財？

非也。。。非也。

貔貅擺放在店裏售賣就可旺財？

是也。。。是也。

Bazhai Feng Shui 八宅游年歌 (My version of Poetic Formula)

2010-12-03T13:18:00.004+08:00

When I first started learning Bazhai Feng Shui, memorizing how each of the 4 auspicious and 4 inauspicious directions are derived from the Gua is a rather difficult task. The traditional way will be to memorize the You Nian Ge formula, but I was too lazy to remember by hard the wordy “song”, so I invented my version in Chinese. To use my version, first you have to familiarize yourself with the order of the 8 directions, which I have arrange from the most auspicious to the worst:
Sheng Qi > Yan Nian > Tian Yi > Fu Wei > Huo Hai > Liu Sha > Wu Gui > Jue Ming

So my song goes:
三全下两滞
一夾二三中
Just 10 characters are all you have to memorize.
And here is how you use it:
E.g. A person who Ming Gua is Qian 乾☰

So the trick is out, this is how you can know a person’s or house’s 4 auspicious and 4 inauspicious directions immediately without referring to any charts.

Feng Shui Market

2010-12-03T10:18:00.002+08:00

A Taiwan Master was asked why did he share his secrets and experiences of Feng Shui openly and is not afraid of the students competing with him after they graduated from his programme. I find his explanation interesting. He said that the demand for feng shui services is simply too high in Taiwan and the rate that Feng Shui consultants are produced each year is way too slow to meet the demand. Even if he is to do a new consultation every single day, he can only do 365 cases in a year but there are thousands more cases unattended to. It takes years of training and experience to offer Feng Shui services effectively, so each year the numbers of practitioners who go professional is very low, compared to the demand in the market.

So what about the Singapore market?
I did an estimate of the demand for such services below:

Disclaimer: This is based on the statistics I found online and thus it is a very very very rough estimate.

Resale Flats:
Resale Cases Registered between 1st Quarter to 4th Quarter 2008: 28,000 (28,419 to be exact and this is the lowest out of the last 4 years since 2007)

New Flats:
In the next five years, HDB estimates that it would need to offer between 10,000 to 12,000 new flats per year to meet demand. We take the lower figure to do the maths.

Hence, this would mean that at least 38,000 flats are transacted per annum. We then less off the 25% (24.8% to be exact, based on Wikipedia) of non-Chinese (ok, this is assuming that only Chinese use feng shui services which is not true, but we are aiming to count the minimum here). Then out of this amount, we make the assumption that 80% (pure guessing as there’s no stats on this) of these households do not seek feng shui services and deduct this percentage, we will get 5,700 of households that will engage feng shui services each year. That would mean 15 households a day. And we are only talking about HDB flats alone, not counting landed properties, condominium, etc, yet.

Which means we need 15 masters doing 1 audit for every SINGLE day (including weekends) in order to meet the local market demand.

Very interesting…Maybe you can do the calculation yourself if have more accurate data to work with.

Funny Comic on Bagua in MyPaper

2010-11-02T23:24:00.004+08:00

在地铁上看到这漫画不经意差一点就大笑了出来。真逗趣。

Guide to Moon Block Divination (擲筊程序)

2010-09-22T07:04:00.001+08:00

I have complied some info (in Chinese) I found on the internet with regards to Buah Puay 擲筊 or communicating with the ancestors / deities using the moon blocks (杯). Hope you find it useful. The file is in pdf format:

http://kinryu.multiply.com/journal/item/162/162

“有钱能使鬼推磨”的由来与冥纸的起源

2010-09-21T10:33:00.000+08:00

“有钱能使鬼推磨”这句俗话是说金钱万能，钱能通神，是一种拜金主义的观念。这句话的由来，有一段传说故事：

東漢的時候蔡倫發明造紙，於是造紙業興隆讓蔡倫財源滾滾，後來蔡倫的嫂子也叫自己相公學造紙，沒想到相公造的紙質量太差，成了一堆草紙，賣不出去。

　　於是蔡倫的嫂子慧娘想了一個辦法，就是裝死躺在棺材裡面，然後要她相公裝哭，一面燒草紙。當朋友鄉里來他們家弔唁時，慧娘卻從棺材中坐了起來，讓眾人大吃一驚。慧娘要大家不要害怕，她說：「剛剛我不過到了陰間一趟，本來閻王爺罰我推磨，沒想到看到我丈夫在燒草紙，原來草紙就是陰間的錢，所有小鬼就拼了命的要替我推磨，後來我想想，乾脆把所有的草紙錢給了閻王爺，閻王爺就放我回來了。

　　當眾人聽完慧娘的話，就紛紛的向他們購買草紙，想為死去的親人送錢，於是慧娘家的草紙就這樣賣完了。而這句話也因為如此留了下來。包括現在要燒紙錢給死去的親人，也是因為這件事。

Goh Keng Swee's Chinese Name

2010-09-17T23:45:00.004+08:00

Singapore have recently lost one of its founding pioneers, Dr Goh Keng Swee. It dawned upon me one day to analyze his name to see for any clues to his greatness, for my research purpose.

依照笔画吉凶来看，凶得不得了。笔画的吉凶非姓名学之重点，但参看也无所谓。五行方面，“庆”字则给于了他所需要的火（不过这可能不准因为始终没有时柱）。此名看似没什么特别，可是从总格中发现了特点所在。36划是为波澜万丈卦，卦义为：英雄豪杰，浮沉万丈，舍己成仁，不利商界，只宜政界。为人豪侠仗义。

七月是吉祥月而非鬼月

2010-09-17T23:21:00.002+08:00

亞洲大學民俗館為民正俗吸引外國媒體專訪！---

「為鬼正名，為民正俗」活動吸引馬來西亞媒體專程來台專訪，盼端正馬來西亞華人七月鬼月的迷信。

亞洲大學（Asia University, Taiwan）台灣民俗館「為鬼正名，為民正俗」活動，引起國內外媒體爭相報導，更在網路發燒，網友們將「為鬼正名，為民正俗」活動訊息，廣為流傳到海內外華人世界，9月6日馬來西亞傳播媒體還專程搭飛機來到亞洲大學、台灣民俗館等地訪問，希望能端正馬來西亞華人七月鬼月的迷信。
　

馬來西亞飛鴿傳播製作人梁志光偕同攝影小組，6日上午9時來到亞洲大學，先到亞洲大學藝術中心拍攝「為鬼正名、為民正俗」近30多張掛圖，還專訪台灣民俗館館長朱界陽、副館長顏榮豐，暢談此項活動的意義；接著前往台中市台灣民俗館參訪，馬來西亞籍的亞洲大學國企系主任李偉權也到場致意。
　

製作人梁志光表示，他是在網路新聞上看到亞洲大學台灣民俗館「為鬼正名、為民正俗」的新聞訊息，覺得很興奮；長久以來，馬來西亞的華人社會也為七月是鬼月的民俗所困惑，亞洲大學台灣民俗館能研究鬼月的歷史真相，且引經據典的公布出來，非常具有說服力，吸引他們專程從馬來西亞坐飛機來採訪，也希望能讓馬來西亞的華人知道，七月是吉祥月，讓他們不要再被明朝政府所「唬弄」。
　

製作人梁志光強調，很高興透過朱界陽館長、顏榮豐副館長的詳細說明，在專訪中提供非常完整的資訊，尤其是顏榮豐副館長在1小時的專訪中，將鬼月的歷史及其民俗講解的很清楚，也很有說服力，相信能造福馬來西亞的華人，破解他們長久以來對鬼月的迷失。
　

此外，「為鬼正名、為民正俗」的研究，由於對七月鬼月迷信的破除，有非常正面的效果，此一新聞訊息，農曆七月還在台灣車業界廣為流傳，彰泰汽車總經理昌郁閔說，我們車業界將「為鬼正名、為民正俗」的新聞資訊強力放送，使得今年七月的車市，新車掛牌量第一次逆勢成長，非常感謝亞洲大學能研究指出七月鬼月是明朝政府的愚民政策，且引經據典，非常具有說服力。

Source: http://www.asia.edu.tw/main_pages/hot_news/news_10_09_09.htm

Fengshui Talk on 22-July @AEC Edu College - Master Shang

2010-07-10T08:55:00.006+08:00

Institute of Fengshui Bazi have organized a monthly Fengshui Bazi Talk for all students & guest. Here are the details from Mr Yap:

"Hi everyone,

For this month's Fengshui Bazi Club on 22-July, we have invited Master Shang Zong Wei to share his knowledge on the topic of " Fengshui -
Inspired by Nature! "

Talk by Master Shang at Bazi Club
Topic : Fengshui - Inspired By Nature !
- What is Animalistic Architecture Fengshui ?
- Eastern & Western inspiration in Fengshui
- Implications of Animalistic form in Fengshui
- Review Orchard Road Fengshui - Latest shopping mall such as Orchard
Central, Summerset 313 and Ion.

Date : 22-July 2010, Thursday
Time : 7:30pm to 10pm
Place: AEC Edu College, 167 Jalan Bukit Merah, #02-13, Tower 4.
Located at the old HDB hub center.
Fee : $10/pax

Please register with Mr Yap via this e-mail (yapmc@i-fsbazi.com) or SMS. Register early as seat are limited.

Looking forward to meeting all of you in this monthly Bazi Club gethering.

Have a nice day !

Regards
Mr Yap
96153046"

RazorTv : Master Goh's Interview

2010-06-13T08:47:00.001+08:00

Just received the following email from i-fsbazi, go check it out:

Have you heard of Razor TV (a subsidary of Straits Times) ? Recently,
Master Goh have been interviewed by them on the subject of Chinese name
analysis. Its interesting and hope it Would arouse your interest in
learning Chinese Name Analysis.

Here's the link to the first clip.

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/lifestyle/48532.html

There're 5 clips altogether. You can click on the 'Related video' tab to
look for the rest.

數筆划的姓名學可靠嗎？

2010-05-22T13:53:00.002+08:00

書名：教你幫人改名字_白鶴鳴著

內容重點：

1. 姓名要配合大運和八字命格，只配八字，沒配上大運，改名後，可能運程分別不大(大運常變，難道名字也要常改？怪哉！)
2. 改名字後，不用把身份證及重要文件的名字都改為新名字，只要把卡片及通知家人及朋友稱呼你新名字已有效能。
3. 姓名學最基本是要懂數筆畫，何謂一畫？就是單一的線、點，每一筆都沒有停下來。如：「名」----6畫。(不會數？翻字典就可以了)
4. 部首要看原來的型態，如「芬」字，不是8畫，因為草字頭原寫是「艸」，共6畫，所以整個「芬」字，應為10畫。(不懂？也是去翻字典)
5. 姓名的格局分為「天、人、地、外、總」5格。
6. 最後，作者提供詳細檢查頁，讓讀者以最簡單的「總格」來檢查自己名字的吉凶。

阮師奶當然第一時間看看自己及身邊一眾親人的名字是吉是凶。

1. 阮師奶的名字共「30畫」，吉中帶凶，一生吉凶參半，運程反覆多變，財運、事業都是，有左右逢源時，也有諸事不順的日子(哪個人的人生不是這樣？)，沒有橫財運，不可投機，只會招至失敗。

2. 阮先生的名字共「28畫」，凶，一生遇波折，時有意外之災，甚或牢獄之災，並與配偶或子女有刑剋，夫妻緣薄，不要要求天長地久。(不是嘛？！阮師奶跟阮先生彼此相愛，天天打情罵俏呢！)

3. 阮師奶爸爸的名字共「20畫」，凶，六親緣薄，多災多難，為人具進取心及野心，但運氣不好，難成大業，凡事不要強求，要積穀防飢，多留私房錢，不要給配偶或子女，防晚景淒涼。(爸爸早年喪父，13歲就獨個兒到香港當學陡，一生沒有大事業。但我爸從沒有野心，但求安穩，至於晚景，好得不得了，因為子女孝嘛！)

4. 阮師奶媽媽的名字共「47畫」(我媽最不喜歡自己的名字，因為筆畫太多，小時候學了好久才會寫自己的名字)，吉利，貴人相助，中年以前，長輩或平輩都樂意扶持，事業大順，家人融洽，家庭生活愉快。(外祖父是個不負責的人的，外祖父的母親重男輕女，媽媽的童年及青年都是刻苦的在田裏工作，根本沒有所謂事業，婚後，媽媽在國內，爸爸在香港，早期婚姻生活寄人籬下，苦，來了香港，出外工作，因她的聰慧，處處深得老闆喜歡，現享兒女福)

看到自己家人給批的命運不大好，心有戚戚然，所以找來一個人人稱羨的名人名字來看一看，那就是香港首富「李嘉誠」。

「李嘉誠」：名字「34畫」，大凶，缺先天運數，更一生厄運不休，無論下多少心力，都是勞多獲少，甚至徒勞無成，又與家人緣薄，有生離死別之勢。(阮先生爸爸的名字也是34畫，已過世，一生之命運真如文章所述，但其失敗應與其愛賭有關，反之，我們認識你的李嘉誠先生卻憑個人的堅毅、奮鬥，成為亞洲首富，高踞世界富豪榜首20名)

所以，命運風水真的只可以作參考，人的命運還是掌握在個人手中。

原文：http://mrsjuan.mysinablog.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1641006

你明白祖先定十二生肖的含意吗

2010-05-20T23:18:00.002+08:00

网上所看到的一篇好文章：

有一次，我有机会和欧洲贵族聚餐。

可能酒喝多了，一位德国贵族站了起来，

讽刺说：" 你们中国人都是属什么猪啊！狗啊！老鼠啊！

不像我们，都是金牛座、狮子座、仙女座……

真不知道你们祖先怎么想的？"

当时这些贵族听完哈哈大笑，还互相碰杯，先前的优雅完全不见了。

按理说，人家在骂你祖宗了，你即使没有话说，起码可以掀桌子啊！

但所有人都坐着不吭声，也可能是还没反应过来，

我当时只好平和地告诉在场所有外宾：

"中国人的祖先是很实在的，我们十二生肖两两相对，六道轮回，

体现了我们祖先对中国人全部的期望跟要求。"

这时，现场气氛虽然从嬉闹转为安静，

但是他们脸上还是一副不屑的样子。

我说：

" 第一组是老鼠和牛。

老鼠代表智慧，牛代表勤奋。智慧和勤奋一定要紧紧结合在一起。

如果光有智慧不勤奋，那就变成小聪明；而光是勤奋，不动脑筋，那就变成愚蠢。

所以这两者一定要结合，这是我们祖先对中国人的第一组期望和要求，也是最重要的一组。"

"第二组是老虎和兔子。

老虎代表勇猛，兔子代表谨慎。勇猛和谨慎一定要紧紧结合在一起，才能做到所谓的胆大心细。

如果勇猛离开了谨慎，就变成了鲁莽，

而你没有勇猛，一味的谨慎，谨慎就变成胆怯。

这一组也非常重要，所以放在第二。"

我看着这些贵族，补上一句：

"所以当我们表现出谨慎的时候，千万不要以为我们中国人没有勇猛的一面。"

"实际上，我们祖先追求的是一种和谐的智慧和圆融，从来不会单独给一个要求和任务。"

看着大家陷入沉思，我继续往下说。

"第三组是龙和蛇。

龙代表刚猛，蛇代表柔韧。

所谓刚者易折，太刚了容易折断，但是如果只有柔的一面，就易失去主见，所以刚柔并济是我们历代的祖训。"

"接下来是马和羊。

马代表勇往直前，直奔目标，羊代表和顺。

如果一个人只顾自己直奔目标，不顾周围，必然会和周围不断磕碰，最后不见得能达到目标。

但是一个人如果光顾着和周围和顺，之后他连方向都没有了，目标也失去了。

所以一往无前的秉性一定要与和顺紧紧结合在一起，这是我们祖先对中国人的第四组期望。"

"再接下来是猴子和鸡。

猴子代表灵活，至于鸡呢，

以前的年代没有钟，都是听鸡鸣声决定一天的开始，所以鸡定时打鸣，代表稳定。

灵活和稳定一定要紧紧结合起来。

如果你光灵活，没有稳定，再好的政策最后也得不到收获。但如果说你光是稳定，一潭死水、一块铁板，那就不会有我们今天的好日子了。只有它们之间非常圆融的结合，一方面具有稳定性，保持整体的和谐和秩序，另一方面又能不断变通地前进，这才是最根本的要旨。"

"最后是狗和猪。

狗是代表忠诚，猪是代表随和。

一个人如果太忠诚，不懂得随和，就会排斥他人。而反过来，一个人太随和，没有忠诚，这个人就失去原则。
所以无论是对一个民族国家的忠诚、对团队的忠诚，还是自己理想的忠诚，一定要与随和紧紧结合在一起，这样才容易真正保持内心深处的忠诚。

这就是我们中国人一直坚持的外圆内方，君子和而不同。

中国人每个人都有属于自己的生肖，有的人属猪，有的人属狗，这意义何在？

实际上，我们的祖先期望我们要圆融，不能偏颇，要求我们懂得到对应面切入。比如属猪的人能够在他的随和本性中，也去追求忠诚；而属狗的人则在忠诚的本性中，去做到随和。"

解释完十二生肖，我说：" 不知道你们那些宝瓶座啊、射手座啊、公羊座啊，体现了你们祖先哪些期望和要求？也希望不吝赐教。 "

结果呢，席间都没说话，全场鸦雀无声，一根针掉在地上都能听见。

最后贵族们纷纷由衷地表示对中国人和中国人的祖先非常敬佩：

"没有想到中国的十二生肖有这么深刻而实在的意义。"

Tai Sui, Sansha and Important Directions of 2010

2010-04-02T06:27:00.000+08:00

Finally I got the time to do this diagram for 2010.

The Factual History of Pixiu

2010-03-24T09:24:00.002+08:00

A very good article by a reporter who interviewed an archaeologist, a researcher, a historian and also professor of arts on the real history of this mystical creature. Most articles only talk about the legend and mythical background, which makes this article very valuable. The possibility of the Pixiu and the Bixie as two different creatures totally is also being investigated.

守墓兽的秘密：辟邪为何能降妖伏魔？
2008年11月17日 09:15现代快报

辟邪跟貔貅是一回事吗？二者有没有区别？辟邪它到底是不是镇墓兽？如果是，人们为什么选择它，它又是何时走上墓道的？

春秋时期的辟邪跟镇墓完全不搭调？

辟邪是镇墓兽吗？为解开这个答案，《发现周刊》记者联系了南京博物院的考古专家王奇志，王奇志告诉记者，其实，早在辟邪形象出现之前，人们就可能开始使用动物镇墓了，而且就是货真价实的动物。例如，在新石器时代的墓葬，考古人员就发现过鹿骨和野猪骨，不过，由于缺乏文字，至今还没有办法界定这些动物是一般的陪葬品，还是特地用来镇墓辟邪的。

不管怎么说，在古人的观念中，大概觉得一般的动物似乎还不够强大，不能达到完全降妖伏魔的目的。因此，春秋时期，人们开始使用一种人、兽、鸟三者合一的“怪物”来镇墓。而到了战国时期的楚国，更是开始大量使用镇墓兽，不过，“这些镇墓兽大多是木质的和骨质的，少数是陶质的，而且个头也很小。金属和石制品较为少见。”

也就是在这个时候，“辟邪”这个词出现了，在《左传•昭公十六年》中就提到，“辟邪之人，而皆及执政，是先王无刑法也。”不过在这里，辟邪不是一种动物的名称，而是通假“僻邪”，是个形容词，意思是邪恶不正。

如此说来，即使在战国时期，作为动物形象的辟邪，还根本没有出现，但是到了南朝，它为何又雨后春笋般地大量涌现了？

一名大力士为辟邪的登场做了准备？

为弄清这些问题，记者联系上了《万家灯火》主讲人、知名考古学者王涛，他告诉记者，其实，六朝石刻辟邪的大量出现，并非突然兴起，而是要追溯到“神道文化”，要说“神道文化”，就得先说说“坟”和“墓”。

墓是埋葬死者的穴，而坟是墓穴上的封土。在孔子以前，人死后只有墓而没有坟。孔子年幼丧父，17岁的时候，母亲也去世了，他埋葬母亲后，在墓前加了封土，以希望自己四处讲学归来，还能找到母亲的墓，在她的坟墓前祭扫。

自从孔子将“坟”与“墓”合二为一。古代的墓葬制度就越来越讲究了。自秦代以后，人们除了在墓内放置一些辟邪之物用于镇墓，也开始在陵墓前摆放石兽和石翁仲。

“石翁仲，就是石头做的翁仲，”王涛解释说，“据说，翁仲是秦始皇时的一名大力士，一身英气高大伟岸，在抗击匈奴的战役中屡建奇功，可惜英年早逝。秦始皇为了纪念翁仲，将它的铜像置于咸阳宫司马门外。皇帝都如此厚爱翁仲，于是后人纷纷效仿，甚至有人把翁仲石刻立到陵墓前。”

“陵寝前开始出现石翁仲和石兽，神道就随之出现了。”王涛告诉记者，《后汉书》记载:“大为修冢茔，开神道。”李贤注:“墓前开道，建石柱以为标，谓之神道。”这也是史料中有关于神道的最早记载。

注解：“神道即墓道，意为神行的道路，它是指陵墓前面布置在石刻通向陵墓之间的道路。因此，设立在神道两侧作为陵墓标志的石刻，便称为神道石刻。”据记载神道石刻是在魏晋南北朝时期发展起来的。

那么，到底是谁的陵墓前第一次出现了神道了呢？

霍去病神道上有没有辟邪？

南京博物院的庞欧告诉记者，“汉代大将霍去病的神道是目前被发现最早的神道。”

霍去病陵墓的神道上有些什么呢？辟邪在其中吗？

据专家介绍，霍去病墓前一共有14件石刻，包括马、卧马、小卧象、卧牛、卧猪、怪兽食羊、马踏匈奴等。其中马踏匈奴被认为是霍去病的精神象征，“当时的人相信来世，达官显贵在陵寝前的神道上摆设镇墓兽，除了驱邪辟恶外，还有在身后也享受排场和富贵的含义。”

可惜，由于还没有掌握镂刻巨石的技术以及工具的缺乏，霍去病墓前的石刻还相当程度受制于石材形状，只有尽量选取与准备雕成的造型的轮廓大致近似的石材，以求进行最少量的修凿加工。

自霍去病之后，镇墓兽便开始在神道上大出风头。

尽管辟邪还没有走上霍去病的神道，但也是在西汉时期，史书上出现了关于辟邪这种动物的记载。西汉元帝时，黄门令史游著《急就篇》卷3记载:“射魑辟邪除群凶。”唐代颜师古注:“射魑、辟邪，皆神兽名也……辟邪，言能辟御妖邪也。”在这里，辟邪不再是个形容词。也就是说，在西汉时期，我们今天所熟悉的辟邪已经出现了，它是人们加以想象后，虚构出来的一种神兽，能驱除妖邪。

而在《汉书•西域传》中，更有一段关于辟邪形象的简短记载，“乌戈山离国有桃拔、狮子、犀牛”。对这段记载，汉代文学家孟康还特别做过注释，“桃拔，似鹿尾长，独角者称为天鹿，两角者称为辟邪。”

辟邪出现了，神道也出现了，但是辟邪却为什么迟迟“不肯”站到神道上去？

辟邪何时当了神道“主角”

在经历了漫长的“就职”铺垫后，终于，在东汉时期，辟邪正式登上了神道。

南京博物院的庞欧告诉记者，东汉初年，神道两侧设置石兽被定成了制度，“据东汉《风俗通》记载，神道石兽的作用主要是趋吉祥、驱除鬼怪和象征墓主身份及地位，如东汉光武帝刘秀的陵墓神道上就置有高大的象、马等石兽雕塑。上行下效，王公贵族也竞相效仿。”

而据宋代人赵明诚的《金石录》记载，东汉时期，一些官员的墓前均设有两只铭文石兽，其中一只，腿上刻有“天禄”、另一只则刻有“辟邪”字样。与此同时，辟邪的形象也出现在了铜镜上。

而到了南朝时期，“陵墓神道石兽造型趋于一致，形成定制，而且有严格的等级区别:皇帝陵墓神道石兽，独角、双角各一；王侯陵墓神道石兽皆无角；石兽均有双翼，也就是辟邪。”

这些王侯将相神道前面的镇墓石刻，它们的相貌除了头顶的角外，几乎是一模一样。至于究竟它们谁是真正的辟邪？在古代已经出现了张冠李戴的现象，而且至今学术界还有争执。

曹操改革丧葬让辟邪独霸墓道？

从汉代起，辟邪开始在神道上出现，但并不抢眼。然而，从墓前的考古发掘来看，到了六朝时期，辟邪却一跃成了陵寝前最主要的镇墓兽。它是怎么当上镇墓兽“代言人”的呢？

王涛详细谈起了产生这一变化的原因，说起来还和曹操有关。

东汉末年，厚葬的风气盛行，为父母打造豪华陵寝的子女甚至可以被推举为“孝廉”，成为官吏的选拔对象。一些没有经济实力的子女怕背上不孝的骂名，甚至倾家荡产修筑神道来厚葬父母。曹操考察到这一社会现象后觉得非常不妥，他开始推行简葬制度，要求大幅缩减陵寝的规模。

陵寝的规模小了，这就意味着神道上再也放不下太多的瑞兽。在取舍过程中，人们选择了外形威武的狮子。于是狮子逐渐成了神道上最主要的瑞兽。再到接下来的六朝时期，和狮子“沾亲带故”的辟邪被用到王侯的陵墓神道上。而王侯的墓葬，相对皇帝来说，要多得多。所以辟邪也就比较多了。

虽然到了后来的唐宋时期，随着简葬制度的逐渐消亡，墓葬文物中再次出现了各种镇墓兽，不过，辟邪在人们心中镇墓兽“代言人”身份已经根深蒂固了。

如此说来，辟邪的确是“专业”的镇墓兽了。那么，南京人对它的喜爱，难道就是出于这个理由吗？似乎说不过去。

于是，不少人说，南京人喜欢的是貔貅，而不是辟邪。而且，记者仔细分辨后发现:辟邪和貔貅的长相确实非常相似，外貌也像，发音也像，它们难道是同一种东西吗？

辟邪和貔貅到底是啥关系？

南京大学历史系的范毓周教授详细向记者介绍了貔貅的来历。

貔貅这种动物生活在3000多年前，它们威武有力、性格彪悍，是和老虎、豹子一样令人生畏的动物。

比如，《尚书•牧誓》中讲到，周武王姬发在牧野誓师讨伐商纣王时，就曾经用“如虎如貔”来形容他手下的士兵。这个意思是说，他的士兵就像老虎和貔貅这两种猛兽一样，威武有力而且英勇善战。

而在《逸周书•周祝》中也曾提到，“山之深也，虎豹貔貅何为可服？”再次把貔貅和老虎、豹子这样的猛兽相提并论。

范毓周认为，尽管周武王见到的貔貅到底什么样，今天已经无从考证了，但从这些文字中看得出，它的确是类似于狮子一样的猛兽。

可是，这种长着翅膀的猛兽为什么今天看不到了？

“我们今天看到貔貅，已经和书上记载的不是一回事情了，”范毓周给出了这样的答案，“貔貅的形象，有一个演化的过程。”

“汉朝张骞出使西域之后，有使臣把狮子作为礼物带到了中原，狮子的形象酷似史书上的貔貅，所以汉代很长一段时期，人们都管狮子石刻叫貔貅，这种叫法流传至今仍有一定影响力。所以不少外地游客来南京，见到与狮子酷似的辟邪，就会叫成貔貅。”

那么，辟邪和貔貅到底是不是一回事呢？关于这个问题，范毓周说，“有人认为辟邪和貔貅是两种瑞兽，其实，貔貅只是辟邪另一种叫法。一般来说，我国南方习惯称‘貔貅’，北方习惯称‘辟邪’。指的是同一种东西。”

辟邪的祖先其实就是一只镇墓兽?

但是，关于辟邪和貔貅的关系，王奇志的观点却与范毓周有分歧，他认为，“现代人经常把辟邪和貔貅混为一谈。其实，辟邪和貔貅是两码事，辟邪是一种瑞兽，就是放在墓前的，是镇守帝王阴宅的。而貔貅就不好说了。”不过，不管名称怎么叫，它们都是看守帝王阴宅的镇墓兽。

王奇志认为，辟邪的形象很可能来自战国时期的铜雕。例如，河北平山战国时期中山王陵，就曾出土过一个错金银有翼神兽，这个长着翅膀的铜雕神兽，也许就是辟邪的雏形。

王奇志说，正式的辟邪最早出现在汉武帝时期西域乌弋山离国，进入中原以后，被制成钟放在殿阁宫苑前，供大家参观。东汉时候，石制天禄、辟邪置于墓前，给帝王们看阴宅。到南朝，成了一种帝王贵族们的丧葬习俗。

一些银行门口站岗的到底是貔貅还是辟邪

王涛认为，其实在古代，辟邪不仅仅用来充当镇墓神兽。南朝时期，有的官府门前也摆放两尊辟邪，营造威严肃穆的气氛，并且，因为辟邪头生两角，也有用犄角制裁不法之徒的寓意。看到官府门前摆放辟邪，不少大户人家也开始效仿，用辟邪威严的形象来镇宅护院，同时也炫耀自己显赫的社会地位。

不过，辟邪镇守阳宅的功能，现在似乎已经很少见了。

但是，对王涛的观点，其他一些专家持有不同看法，他们认为，辟邪作为镇宅瑞兽，缺少证据支持，仅仅是一种推测。

过去大户人家和官府门口放的是石狮子，而不是辟邪。一个证据就是，《红楼梦》中讲到黛玉初至贾府门前，有这样一段描写:忽见街北蹲着两个大石狮子，三间兽头大门，门前列坐着十来个华冠丽服之人……正门之上有一匾，匾上大书“敕造宁国府”五个大字。

如今，在很多银行的大门两侧，都端坐两尊石兽雕塑当“门神”。之所以如此做，是人们认为它是貔貅。而貔貅为什么大受欢迎？据说，貔貅喜欢吞食金银珠宝，吃得量多了以后，就由内而外散发出珠光宝气，深得玉皇大帝的宠爱。不过，由于它实在太贪吃，免不了会拉肚子，有一次实在忍不住就随地大小便了。这还了得，玉皇大帝龙颜大怒，一巴掌就照它打下去，正好打在了屁股上。结果，它的肛门就被玉帝的“神手”封了起来。从此貔貅吞下的金银珠宝只能进不能出，于是貔貅就成了聚财的吉祥物。

有了这个画龙点睛似的传说，貔貅形象在民间大受欢迎，南京各景点的貔貅工艺品火得一塌糊涂。

既然是大家都喜爱的瑞兽，人们也在貔貅身上添加了不少可爱的元素。民间甚至有说一法，认为貔貅习性懒惰非常喜欢睡觉，所以，不论是供奉在家中还是随身携带，每天都最好把它拿起来摸一摸，玩一玩，要叫醒它，这样财运才会随之而来。在香港，有的人带着貔貅形象的玉器去打麻将，甚至会遭到牌友的拒绝。

这种说法当然没有科学根据。

但银行门口的石兽是不是貔貅呢？去细看一下就知道了。如果没有翅膀，那就是狮子；如果有，则应是辟邪。

中山门青铜辟邪的原型一直是在守墓

南京师范大学美术学院的倪建林教授对雕塑颇有研究，他告诉记者，中山门外的青铜辟邪，它的原型就在南京栖霞区的一座古墓附近，而这所古墓的主人则是南朝的一位王侯。除了这尊辟邪，在南朝的很多墓葬附近，都发现了辟邪。

古人为什么要在墓地里放上辟邪？是不是像它的名称那样，辟邪就是用来辟邪的？

王奇志认为，“古人在墓葬中使用辟邪，是因为他们认为，辟邪能降妖伏魔，阻挡阴间鬼怪来侵扰死者灵魂，起到镇墓的作用。”

记者又翻开了现代汉语词典，其中对辟邪的解释是“避免或驱除邪祟。表示降伏妖魔鬼怪使不侵扰人的意思。”如此说来，辟邪是不折不扣的镇墓兽。

不过，从今天的考古挖掘来看，人们一开始并没有选择用辟邪来镇墓。比如，在南京博物院的展厅内，人们可看到时间更久远的镇墓用具——玉。这些玉，出土于南京北阴阳营一带5000多年前的墓葬中，有的玉是含在墓主的嘴巴里，有的塞在肛门里，有的握在手上。王奇志告诉记者，“这些玉其实和后来的镇墓兽一样，古人都认为它们能降妖伏魔，保护死者灵魂。”

王奇志肯定地对记者说，不过，不管名称怎么叫，它们都是看守帝王阴宅的镇墓兽。

我们的调查到此似乎可以结束，然而问题又来了，在调查过程中，有关方面称，中山门外的那尊铜兽，根本就不是辟邪。那么，辟邪应该是什么样的？南京到底有没真正的辟邪？如果有，它们在哪里？现状又如何？

You can find the original article here:
http://culture.ifeng.com/guoxue/200811/1117_4087_880849.shtml

Regards
Alvin Chua (罗龙礼水君)

What happens to hotel rooms with gory past?

2009-11-11T23:40:00.000+08:00

What happens to hotel rooms with gory past?

Extremely Yin House

2009-10-27T08:30:00.002+08:00

I was quite amazed when I saw this house the first time. The owner planted a big tree to literally cover the entire facade of the house in order to enjoy the shade it gives. From what I see, this house receives not sunlight all year round and perceptually dark if the occupants do not switch on the lights even in the day. I would not be surprised if the occupants experience strange occurrences since such extreme yin place is a great rendezvous for spiritual entities.

Best Place to find Chinese Metaphysics books in Hong Kong

2009-10-27T08:18:00.004+08:00

If you are in Hong Kong and happen to be in the Mongkok area, try to pop by this bookshop. On the second floor of this bookshop, you will find a very extensive collection of Chinese books on bazi, fengshui, ziwei doushu, etc. It is so far the biggest collection I have seen. I would say that the amount of metaphysics books here is easily twice of what you see in Singapore's Wanli bookstore.

What's best is that you get to buy books by Hong kong authors at their original retail price. Here's the address in Chinese:
馬健記圖書有限公司
旺角通菜街103號

Cheers
Alvin Chua

The Correct Way to determine the Sitting of a Apartment Unit

2009-10-23T13:44:00.001+08:00

The master explains clearly the correct way:

http://www.105.idv.tw/陽宅_c7.asp

『人』在主導命運...而不是『命盤』在主導命運

2009-10-07T15:46:00.004+08:00

來自潘文欽老師blog的文章：

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!HajC9wyCERl6DdI42nWn2A--/article?mid=-2&prev=475&l=a&fid=14

Master Tan's Interview about the Nina Wang Case

2009-09-28T10:39:00.001+08:00

A interesting interview with Master Tan Khoon Yong conducted in 2007:

http://www.xin.sg/article.php?article=4614&st=dtl

Regards
Alvin Chua

Ebooks on Palmistry

2009-08-14T23:41:00.001+08:00

I have a few ebooks on Palmistry that I would like to share:

Cheiro's Palmistry For All.pdf
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L4X8LNVP

Palmistry - David V Barret.pdf
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7XMTV1JG

Palmistry Secrets - Per Hogseth.pdf
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BV7H3UH0

Regards
Alvin Chua

Szeto Fazheng Vs Joseph Yu

2009-07-13T08:24:00.002+08:00

司徒法正報告抄襲網頁余若愚「背書」盤問腰斬

雙方風水證人

【明報專訊】龔如心(相關)遺產案閉幕前在庭上展開風水大鬥法。華懋基金的風水專家司徒法正，指06年遺囑非常接近續命法事所用的風水遺囑，但被「踢爆」報告內容抄襲網頁；陳振聰(相關)一方的專家余若愚則認為，燒錢乃「唔識風水嘅風水師行為」，惟法官得悉其風水知識只是來自書本後，即終止盤問。

司徒法正供稱，其道教法師的資格獲國家認可註冊，從事家宅風水逾30年，處理過逾400次法事，其中6次涉及大型的「種生基」法事。

他的報告結論指出，龔如心的辦公室及房間均有風水佈局，放了很多法器及吉祥物，其日常生活的地方供奉了多類與道教有關「和合（指涉男女或夫婦感情事宜）」的神祗。報告又指龔臨死前沉醉續命夢想，不惜以天文數字做法事，旗下物業更有超過37個生基洞穴，認為06年遺囑非常接近續命法事所用的奏表。

惟陳一方的資深大律師陳景生質疑報告的權威，指司徒法正的報告內容抄自台灣某寺院網頁、《鬼谷子無字天書》（鬼谷子被尊稱為中國的「智聖」，著有《無字天書》）及風水顧問鄭智賢的博客。司徒聞言後承認抄襲，但稱只抄襲認為正確的內容。

來自加拿大、陳一方的風水專家余若愚稱，認為陳振聰家傳的《天圖佈局》是風水書，內容屬中國民間傳說的邪說，相當恐怖。余又認為燒溪錢、紙紮等行為已屬迷信，燒真錢就更迷信，認為是「唔識風水嘅掛名風水師嘅所作所為」。但當法官得悉其風水知識來自書本後，即終止向他盤問。

司徒法正在庭外稱，從龔的風水洞挖出的玉石上寫有很多咒語，部分寫着「王門」、「東龍」，意指「王德輝回來的門口」及「東海龍王」（王被指在海上失蹤），寓意都是為了尋回王德輝。被問及認為陳振聰是什麼人時，司徒法正稱他為「行家」，認為陳「能夠講到你信又賺錢」，指他利用風水謀生，故認為他亦是同行。

Report originally published here:
http://news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/434/3/1/1195989/1.html

Joseph Yu's Court Appearance in Tony Chan's case

2009-07-13T08:17:00.001+08:00

風水專家露底半粒鐘被叮走
2009-07-11

【東方日報專訊】陳振聰(相關)一方的風水專家余若愚擔任爭產案最後一名證人，但其作證卻以「戲劇性」告終。余若愚雖曾先後在全球廿餘個國家執業，並專程由加拿大來港作供，惟他昨在庭上直認其風水知識有九成由書本自學而來，結果作證不足半小時便被法官林文瀚「叮走」。

余若愚主張以邏輯及數學，將風水變成理論，他於八六年移民加國，先後在多國教授風水，又曾於希臘教授學生，有學生將其講學翻譯成書，林官聞其履歷不禁說「Globalisation（全球化）喎！」華懋一方開始盤問時便問余「係咪所有迷信嘅嘢都反對？」余答說：「按照科學定義，嚴格嚟講，風水唔係科學，係邏輯。」

坦承不懂法科風水

但余承認對法科風水、降頭、茅山及道法等統統不認識，亦未試過種生基；他有看過《天圖佈局》，「感覺到係民間傳說嘅邪術，內容非常恐怖」。至於燒銀紙，他直言「幾荒謬，燒衣紙嘅人已經係迷信，燒銀紙嘅人更加迷信！呢啲唔係掛名風水師嘅所作所為，common sense（常識）都知呢種係愚蠢嘅行為」。

九成知識書本自學

余若愚作供半小時後，林官不禁問其風水知識師承何處，余承認九成從書本自學，一成由師傅教授，但師傅並非直接教他，只是發現其報告有不妥之處時，會「唔睬」他，令他自行再研究修改。法官隨後向華懋一方律師說：「相信你都唔使再問佢！」余作供亦告結束。

對於被法官「叮走」，余若愚在庭外說：「我盡咗本分，希望幫到法庭。」身為陳振聰證人的余形容本案「對風水界嘅聲譽好差、好差、好差」，認為陳只是「唔識風水嘅風水師」。他透露，陳陣營去年九月透過網頁以電郵接觸他，問他是否有興趣替風水案作供，並列出數條問題，余一一解答後，對方認為他合適並邀他作專家證人。至於報酬，余指在此案要翻看兩大箱文件，又要準備風水報告等，對方會逐一計錢，「我都唔知收費會有幾多」。

Report was originally published here:
http://news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/434/3/1/1195689/1.html

致初学者的一封信

2009-07-02T23:42:00.001+08:00

I found online the following article very helpful for Chinese metaphysics practitioners:

致初学者的一封信（关于初学者学习易学术数的一些基本说明含书籍推荐介绍）

关于初学者学习易学术数的一些基本说明，仅为个人一家之言。以下经验仅给初学者观摩，是笔者多年来与易学者特别是初学者打交道以及对一些热销书籍的总结，会经常修订更新。

一、初学者选书书目：
初学者如果只想以最简单的方式去了解，也不想花太多精力，想轻松一些的话，那么选李居明或者是苏民峰的是最好，他们的商业运作很成功，书可以让你看完后还想再看的冲动，很多人都想买全套来看,但是对有志于专业化研究的同学来说，是远远不够的。修习佛学的有些书籍可以看看李居明的，毕竟枯燥的佛经一般人不太愿意看，但是李居明的书一般人都愿意看，虽然他是东密真言宗。
如果想专业化一些，就要有坚持的耐心，据统计的经验，在任何行业用功有效时间达到一千小时，你基本可以成为这个行业的专家了。
学习之前先要有个准备，就是问自己：我要学什么？学习的目的是什么？
我不主张人人都去搞预测，毕竟玄学不是科学，不是百分百的东西，做个了解是可以的，玄学毕竟是传统文化的重要组成部分。
1、易理及梅花六爻类
不懂易理，术数水平要想真正提高，绝不可能。学习易理有助于你搞懂自己学习的目的。
张延生是一个易学实力派人物，张延生的作品（易学入门、易学应用、易象延、易与和谐、心易、气易）是研究易理者的首选，相信可惜能真正看懂的并不多。易理方面建议还是看一些上海古籍出版社和中华书局出版的古籍影印本，原汁原味。
梅花的古籍可以看《梅花易数》，现代的可以看台湾的梁湘润、王士文，大陆的黄鉴都比较畅销。
六爻的精华在古籍中很多，尤其是七大经典《易隐》、《卜筮正宗》、《增删卜易》、《易林补遗》、《易冒》、《火珠林》、《断易天机》。推荐书目：陈圆《周易预测学入门》、邵伟华《周易预测学》或者《周易预测学讲义》、李洪成《六爻预测技术入门》。日本人著的《高岛断易》是海外研究六爻和易理必读的一本好书，无论是作者还是译者水平都很高。需要读现代人的书提高水平的可以看李洪成、王虎应、曲炜、李顺祥、吕文艺等人的，都属于畅销品种。

2、四柱类
就是八字类，以现代人为主，可以看陈圆《四柱预测学入门》、李洪成《四柱预测技术入门》，李居明的《四柱算命术》是四柱类无错字的好版本，目前只有繁体版的，习惯认简体字的人读得可能有点费劲，李居明书最大的好处是可以培养兴趣。中级最好的就是朱祖夏《命理应用精解》上下册，这个是千百人所公认的，超级热销，但是纸张不怎么好。高级的象邵伟中的《四柱高级班理论》、李后启《命理精析》、曲炜的《二十一论》等，新派的可以看李涵辰的著作。古籍有《渊海子平》、《三命通会》、《穷通宝鉴》、《命理探原》，比较接近现代理论的书是《子平真诠》和《滴天髓》。其他的畅销作者有：李洪成、李顺祥、曲炜、李顺祥、吕文艺等等，可以提高水平。港台名家的书建议多读，如梁湘润、宋英成、光莲、吴怀云等。

3、风水类
在风水之前要说一句，因为风水相对比较复杂，没有基础或者不想钻研的人请看李居明与苏民峰的书，要是连九宫飞星、七星打劫、开城门这些基本概念都不懂会很麻烦的。李居明的《学风水的第一本书》，可以先看看，但是看这个之前又要懂点卦，不然八宅法这种基本的东西都用不了。
这里引用网上的一段话：典籍看刘伯温等著的《地理全书》就可以了：
《地理全书》几乎囊括了明代以前所有的风水典籍，比较全面。缺点就是字体小，印刷质量稍欠。还有一本《地理天机会元》也是集成了很多经典的古籍。
另外建议看几本书：
《阳宅实用风水讲义》。朱祖夏先生著，目前最好的一本玄空风水阳宅书籍。
《玄空飞星风水》林国雄的书，浅显易懂，还介绍了配合楼层断风水的方法。
《古易玄空学新探》胡京国先生著，风水入门的好书。
胡京国还有一本《玄空精断》是进阶书。
《沈氏玄空学》风水入门必读，除了北斗七星打劫说法不清楚外，其它皆应仔细读。
《玄空地理丛谭》钟义明先生著。一套解说玄空风水知识及释评众家玄空派长处的好书，并有玄空诀窍解说、堪验实例。非常值得一看及收藏。
另外峦头方面，钟义明先生的《地理峦头实务》是峦头方面的好书，介绍详细，图文并茂。
《三元九运－玄空地理考验注解》也是钟义明先生所写，专门解说分析三元九运的一套好书。
过路阴阳就看冯化成《过路阴阳》
金锁玉关就看钟义明的《金锁玉关》
八宅法看《八宅明镜》
其他的畅销作者，大家可以选的有：朱祖夏、钟义明、王亭之、吕文艺等等，学习风水要注意派别。

4、手面相
想看得比较有意思就看李居明的《学睇相》，提高水平要多看陈鼎龙、萧湘居士、盛书笙的书；除了现代的人之外，古籍是一个提高水平的重要方面，尤其象麻衣神相、柳庄相法、水镜相法、三世相法等等，推荐一本《图解相学秘籍全编》上下册，荟萃各种相书古籍。有许多相学精品流落在民间，民间收藏的相学许多有很实用的价值，可以帮助你多一个角度思考问题。

5、奇门遁甲
最好就是张志春、王凤麟和么学声，入门就是张志春《神奇之门》和后继系列，最好看他的全套。他的徒弟杜新会的书也一定要看；王凤麟每年都要有好几期培训班，资料比较多而复杂，他有几本经典可以看，其中有合订本，也是非常超值，注意观察。

5、六壬
《袖里乾坤》，以及其他很多六壬金口诀方面的书；

6、太乙
《太乙通解》《太乙神数》；

7、铁板神数
多看马川的；

8、紫微斗数
这个入门书太多了，王亭之《紫数斗数初级讲义》，还有其他人的《紫微斗数一学就通》等，再往高级就是看慧心斋主、紫云、潘子渔系列的，一般公认紫云代表最高水平。陈雪涛的书比较受欢迎，例如《紫微明镜》《紫微启示录》等；而陈世兴特别善于写婚姻，他的作品几乎全是谈婚姻的。

9、姓名学
一般有五格取名法，但是按笔划数的话就和易经术数无关了，所以一般会结合八字取名的比较多。畅销品种有李居明《姓名改运学》，进阶的有马瑞成的全系列、易隐燕、张泊作品；

11、解灾改运与符咒
一般性的了解，而且也是相当有趣味性的就是《移神换将》，此为荟萃与经典，其他如《犁头巫家》和《四两拨千斤》也是相当的畅销。至于符咒那就更加的神奇，但是符咒只看书是没有用的，一定要有师傅来传。台湾最近出了不少关于符咒的光盘和教程，例如玄光居士和陈龙羽都是初中高都可以看着玩玩，网络也是公开媒体，我也不好说太多，建议大家本着娱乐的精神去看待。

12、基础书（周易原文）
　　如果不读周易原文，而想彻底搞懂周易基本是不可能的，万丈高楼平地起，基础越牢，对后面的学习帮助越大。建议采用中国易经协会会长、哲学教授刘大钧著的《周易概论》，其他如上海古籍出版社、商务印书馆等较大的出版社出版的《周易》都是比较可靠的。南怀瑾老师倡导的儿童经典导读中心出版的原文《易经》，可以帮助大家认识和听懂一些难读的字，本站提供免费下载。还告诉大家一个小秘密：多读周易原文，可以帮助提高悟性，此言真实不虚，也是学习学好周易的不二法门！记住六十四卦的名字，本人推荐一套方法，不用一个小时能全部记住。欲知详情，请到本站论坛。

二、选书态度：很多初学者总是问别人：你的书是不是正版的？纸张太差我不要，或者有错别字我不要。
我们首先要明白，为什么没有正版书？主要是因为出版社一般不可能把书号用在命理书上的，虽然现在社会开放，但是易学研究主要是在大学高校以及周易研究会等民间组织中进行交流，很多大学里的选修教材都是内部交流的，老师们自已开班也是内部交流的，所以书和复印件是各占半壁江山。只有张志春老师在花山出版社出版过《神奇之门》等正版书，但是已经绝版。杜新会在江苏文艺出版社也有奇门的正版本，这些都是少之又少的。现实情况据笔者统计，邵伟华的《周易预测学》五个版本，只有《周易预测学讲义》是没有错别字的（这本就是周易预测学，内容一样），四柱预测学只有一本红版没有错别字。还有例如李后启《八字精析》是一本很好的书，有少许错别字，但是不影响阅读，看了以后绝对对功力提升有很大帮助。我店一直不断优化品种，在尽可能的情况下选用无错字的版本的。还有一种常见的问题就是，你的资料太贵了。一个东西的价格是以它的价值来衡量的，买资料要量力而行，要列个计划，最好能以易养易（如与别人交换或者自己掌握一门技术能为别人服务适当收取报酬等），形成良性循环。诚然，有人买了资料学习后，确实感觉没有学到东西，这里面有两个原因，一是确实资料本身没有价值，一是自己水平不够，看不懂或把宝当成草，而误以为没有学到东西。要知道，你如果不去学习，就永远不会有进步。学习永远是最重要的事，投资于脖子以上的部分永远是最值得的。树立良好的选书态度非常重要。

三、个人心得：
　　周易（易经）是什么？是讲时间在空间里的运行规律！世俗的方面讲可以指导人类如何更好的生存。按照周易的启示去做，你的人生一定受益无穷！万般神通皆小术，唯有空空是大道。术数只是一种方便，要善于运用。万法皆空，因果不空，菩萨畏因不畏果，建议看看《了凡四训》，对你的人生会有莫大帮助！记住：众善奉行，诸恶莫作最为紧要！关于佛学、心理学、成功学的话题，不在此讨论。

重要叮嘱：易学、佛经是迷宫，进门后一定要学会出得了门，易曰：“知得也要知丧”，当你得到了一些东西的时候，你也会失去一些东西。诚然，人生从某种意义上讲，没有绝对的好、坏、善、恶，而在于你的选择。为什么还要特别提醒呢？因在现实中接触不少易友，一学什么易或练什么功，就顾及不到其他方面，给家庭社会造成一些不好的影响。古曰：平常心是道！不要把自己标榜成与别人不一样，否则你会一事无成。要明白你只是一个凡人，不要以为自己学易了就有什么了不起。“法、侣、财、地”（简单讲就是方法、同道、财力、环境）是学好功法，其实也是学好易经的最好指导。千万不要指望学易来发大财，否则你将走上不归路。以此为职业的人，是有宿因的。薄迦梵歌曰：要把成与败、得于失等同看待。患得患失不是学易人应有的心态。“好好工作，养家糊口，业余修习，平凡一生”这是吾师给本人的开示和指导，希望易友也能从中得到启发！

你我相识于网络，是一种缘份，希望我们不仅是书友，更是朋友！最后以一句话与大家共勉：天行健，君子以自强不息；地势坤，君子以厚德载物！

买前必读注意事项：1、众多周易书籍、命理书籍市面从未出版过，仅供爱好者阅读，不可能有正式出版物，请不要为难店主；2、如果看不懂或者学习有困难是正常现象，不要责怪店主或者指责书有问题；3、店家会尽力帮买家催件和查件,但对邮局和快递公司的服务态度与时间无力控制,大家理智的分清快递和店家的责任，以促进我们更好的服务。其他事宜请参见本店口号！4、购书前请慎重考虑，因为责任是买者自负，请慎重再慎重，没有需要请不要随意购买，不要在买后向卖家提出无理要求。请不要刁难店主，积善行德是为人之本！

Taoist FAQ

2009-04-04T12:01:00.000+08:00

I have found a Taoist site with a FAQ in Chinese on common questions on Taoism. I find it very helpful:

http://www.daoinfo.org/?q=qna

Cheers
Alvin Chua
礼水君

Pi Xiu 貔貅

2009-03-26T13:11:00.000+08:00

Bi Xie, Pi Xiu 貔貅or Pei Yao (in Cantonese) has become a common commercial Feng Shui product in recent years. Many well-known masters recommend it during consultation but whether it works or not, no one knows for sure. A feng shui master once told me that the number of toes on a Bi Xie represents different functions (for health, wealth or protection), e.g. 3 toes, 4 toes or 5 toes. According to him, in ancient China, Bi Xie is never found in homes but rather at the entrance of royal cemeteries / tombs, acting as guardian spirits to the area. So unless you stay in a royal tomb…

The belief in this mystical creature started as early as the Western Han Dynasty. While it is known now to have only one horn, ancient Bi Xie are found to have two horns sometimes. It is said to devour gold and silver and possess no anus to take a dump, hence it is a wonderful wealth-sucking pet to have at home. It is also believed the creature can absorb evil and protect its owner. It is normally required to be spiritually empowered (Kai Kuang) before it can start its job in any household. But sad to say I have seen many pairs of the creature disowned at a temple in Tanjong Pagar, abandoned in the backyard like pets abandoned to SPCA by their callous owners.

Did these owners think that their Bi Xie have not been working hard for them? Or are all these talk about its wealth benefits not true? Or the master did not empower the Bi Xie correctly? Actually, when a cure needs to be spiritually empowered, it is no more under the scope of Feng Shui but belongs more to the field of spiritual and religious skills. Thus, not all Feng Shui practitioners are taught how to do it effectively.

I think I should not talk further about this mystical creature since I am not officially taught anything about it and have no first hand experience with it. But a word of caution to all, “Caveat Emptor” or buyers beware, don’t be duped into spending thousands of dollars for it (especially if it is not empowered). And don’t think that having the red dot of the cinnabar (Zhu Sha) means it is empowered. In places like Hong Kong where feng shui products are mass- produced, businessmen are known to dot their products to make people think it is empowered.

By the way, I don’t sell Bi Xie.

Regards
Alvin Chua Kim Leng

Do I need to be initiated to be a Daoist?

2009-03-22T04:58:00.001+08:00

First of all, we need to know that the term “Daoist” actually refers to two groups of people, the initiates道士and the lay believers, known as信徒in Chinese. The majority of Daoists belongs to the latter, in other words, they are devotees of certain Daoist deities. Thus, festive celebrations and worshipping are their primary activities. Visits to the temples and having a home altar is common too. To become a Daoist of this group is an unceremonious and simple process. One just has to be a devotee. On the other hand, to be a true Daoist initiate in every sense of the word, one needs to be accepted and trained by an accredited master into one of the ancient Daoist lineages and oaths must be taken. In due time, good knowledge of the main Daoist scriptures and rituals must be learned. Some talismanic sects also required the initiate to receive a Daoist Lu (register) which serves as a sign of authority granted.
“身心顺理,为道是从,故称道士”
“One who devotes the body and mind to practising the Dao is known as a Daoist”.

Regards

Filipino Shen Gong

2009-03-19T19:49:00.000+08:00

I was watching the documentary “Taboo” and it featured a unorthodox religious group of the Philippines that is a combination of their folk culture and Catholicism. This offshoot of mainstream Catholicism practices what seems to be activities and beliefs similar to certain so-called Taoist sects. These Catholics believe in the use of talismans and amulets. They also invoke the spiritual protection bestow by Jesus Christ via rituals and proceed on to hacking the disciples with a machete (aka parang) to proof the efficacy of their spiritual power. Sounds like the tang-kis and some spiritual practices of certain Taoist sects? You bet. The only difference is that instead of mantric gibberish being recited during the ritual, they actually chanted verses from the Bible. Truly amazing.

Pogo The Clown

2009-02-15T11:19:00.002+08:00

The following is an extract from an interesting book titled “Quirkology” by Mr Richard Wiseman. It is about a research done on astrology:

“One of the most unusual and striking examples of this approach was reported by a group
of American researchers in the late 1980s, in a provocatively entitled article, `Astrology on Death Row'."

The researchers first found out the birth time, date, and place of the notorious serial murderer John Gacy. Gacy was a sadistic killer who received twelve death sentences and twenty-one life terms for the torture and killing of thirty-three men and boys. By dressing up as Pogo the Clown, and performing at children's birthday parties in his spare time, Gacy may have given rise to the notion of the `evil' clown. One of the researchers visited five professional astrologers, and presented Gacy's details as his own. The researcher explained to each astrologer that he was interested in working with young people, and asked for a general personality reading and some career advice. The astrologers got it badly wrong. One encouraged the researcher to work with young people because he could `bring out their best qualities'. Another analyzed the information provided and confidently predicted that the researcher's life would be `very, very positive'. A third said that he was `kind, gentle, and considerate of others' needs'.

The work of Hans Eysenck, Geoffrey Dean, and others show that heavenly predictions often fall far short of the mark.”

But another experiment mentioned in later part of the book did show some link with people's behaviour and the time they were born. Apparently, people who deem themselves lucky are generally more optimistic and more able to notice opportunities that come their way, compared to those who considers themselves to be the unlucky bunch. So what is the factor that make the former group more optimistic and more able to notice opportunities? The answer is most of them are born in the warmer months of each year. The later group are normally born in the cold wintry months of the year.

Cheers
Alvin Chua Kim Leng

Finger length may predict financial success

2009-01-20T13:34:00.001+08:00

An interesting article. Could there be some truth to the study of Palmistry?

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID,AP Science Writer AP - Tuesday, January 13
WASHINGTON - The length of a man's ring finger may predict his success as a financial trader. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England report that men with longer ring fingers, compared to their index fingers, tended to be more successful in the frantic high-frequency trading in the London financial district.
Indeed, the impact of biology on success was about equal to years of experience at the job, the team led by physiologist John M. Coates reports in Monday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The same ring-to-index finger ratio has previously been associated with success in competitive sports such as soccer and basketball, the researchers noted.
The length ratio between those two fingers is determined during the development of the fetus and the relatively longer ring finger indicates greater exposure to the male hormone androgen, the researchers noted.
Previous studies have found that such exposure can lead to increased confidence, risk preferences, search persistence, heightened vigilance and quickened reaction times.
In a separate study last year, Coates and colleagues reported that the hormone that drives male aggression and sexual interest also seemed able to boost short term success at finance.
They studied male financial traders in London, taking saliva samples in the morning and evening. They found that those with higher levels of testosterone in the morning were more likely to make an unusually big profit that day. Testosterone, best known as the male sex hormone, affects aggression, confidence and risk-taking.
In the new study, the researchers measured the right hands of 44 male stock traders who were engaged in a type of trade that involved rapid decision-making and quick physical reactions.
Over 20 months those with longer ring fingers compared to their index fingers made 11 times more money than those with the shortest ring fingers. Over the same time the most experienced traders made about 9 times more than the least experienced ones.
Looking only at experienced traders, the long-ring-finger folks earned 5 times more than those with short ring fingers.
While the finger ratio, showing fetal exposure to male hormones, appears to signal likely success in high-actively trading that calls for risk-taking and quick reactions, it may not indicate people who would do well at other sorts of financial activities, the researchers said.
Some traders require additional skills on dealing with clients and sales workers.
And the advantage may even reverse for some, Coates team said, such as traders taking a more analytical and long-term approach to the markets.
One study, which looked at average finger ratios in university departments found that faculty from math, science and engineering exhibited longer index finger ratio, rather than ring finger, they noted.
___
On the Net:
PNAS: http://www.pnas.org

Cows Have Strange Sixth Sense

2009-01-20T07:54:00.002+08:00

By Jeremy Hsu, Staff Writer
posted: 25 August 2008 05:00 pm ET

A study of Google Earth satellite images has revealed that herds of cattle tend to face in the north-south direction of Earth's magnetic lines.

Staring at cows may not equal the thrill of spotting celebrities in public or rubbernecking at car accidents, but the researchers found nonetheless that our bovine friends display this strange sixth sense for direction.
Their field observations of red and roe deer also showed those animals facing toward magnetic north or south.

"Google Earth is perfect for this kind of research, because the animals are undisturbed by the observer," said Sabine Begall, a zoologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany and coauthor on the study detailed in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Wind and time of day did not offer better explanations for why 8,510 cattle in 308 locations around the world would mostly face north-south. Shadows suggested that many of the images were taken on cloudless, sunny days, so Begall's group also factored in direct ground observations of cattle herds.

A strong wind or sunlight on a cold day have typically proved more the "exceptions to the rule" that might cause large animals to face away from magnetic north-south.
The data on 2,974 deer came from direct ground observations and photos in the Czech Republic. Researchers also examined fresh beds left by resting deer in the snow, where the animals had sought shelter deep in the forest away from the wind.
Both cattle and deer faced a more magnetic north-south direction rather than geographic north-south, (Earth's magnetic poles do not line up perfectly with the North and South Poles).

Previous research has shown that animals such as birds, turtles and salmon migrate using a sense of magnetic direction, and small mammals such as rodents and one bat species also have a magnetic compass.
Begall and fellow researchers became interested in seeing if larger mammals possessed a similar magnetic sense, following up on coauthor Hynek Burda's work on African mole-rats.

"Our first idea was to study sleeping directions of humans (e.g. when doing camping), but there are too many constraints," Begall told LiveScience. "So, the idea arose to look for other large mammals like cattle, and Hynek was fascinated when he recognized that cattle could be found on Google Earth satellite images."
Google Earth's convenience also came with some downsides. The researchers had to estimate the date, time of day, temperature and wind direction, and could not distinguish between head and rear for many of the cows because of low image resolutions.

However, the researchers suggest that the finding of large animals' sense of magnetic direction could raise other agricultural questions, such as whether keeping cows in barns facing east-west might affect milk production.

The above article was originally published here:
http://www.livescience.com/animals/080825-magnetism-cows.html

Regards
Alvin Chua Kim Leng

2009 犯太歲的人屬牛、羊、馬、龍、狗

2008-12-15T17:47:00.002+08:00

2009年太歲己丑，生肖屬

牛-犯太歲羊-沖太歲龍-破太歲馬-害太歲狗-刑太歲

「刑」：象徵刑律、刑傷之意；抵觸相刑，亦稱伏吟。

「沖」：象徵沖擊、對抗之意；交戰相沖，亦稱反吟、歲破。

「破」：象徵損壞、破裂之意。

「害」：象徵不和、傷害、不合之意。

2009年之太歲為‘己丑’，姓名為︰潘蓋。相傳太歲主一年之禍福，犯太歲者大多有不測之災及損傷易破財，諸事欠順對財運身體都不利也易犯血災，官場的朋友易降職多小人之害，遠門不去，注意安全。

什么是太歲?

太歲是掌管一年凡間事務的天神，由六十位天界大將軍輪流值年，即中國的六十花甲。要知太歲的來歷典故必須從太歲的上司斗姆元君說來了。斗即北斗星群，姆即眾生得聖子，補裨造化，統悟[。一年春天，紫光夫人在后園九華曲池沐浴，忽然池中現出一寶座，紫光夫人登于寶座之上，得寶座靈氣修練得道，經七日七夜，紫光夫人化生金蓮九苞，蓮苞開花放射光芒，化成九座大寶樓閣，大寶樓閣混凝直射上天界，形成眾星群即斗姆生九子。斗姆九子即勾陳、北極、北斗中國三大星座，當中有六十顆星即為六十大將軍掌管人間每年事務，即為六十太歲了。由於眾星座中有不同位置，而這些位置古人亦以天干地支代表，而地支︰“子、丑、寅、卯、辰、巳、午、未、申、酉、戍、亥 ”即各星星座位置，亦即每年生肖。有刑、沖、破、害，故每年太歲與各人生肖便有機會出現刑衝破害的效應，而出現所謂的犯太歲了。

我國相傳如犯太歲之人，可用拜太歲之祈福方法來消災解難:

太歲共有六十名，而每年即由一位主管當年之神，管治民間百姓當年內發生之事變。若是開罪或沖犯，則會帶來以上之不祥效應。所以俗話說︰「太歲當頭坐，無福便有禍，無喜必有災。」我國相傳如犯太歲之人，可用拜太歲安太歲之祈福方法來消災解難。

人的出生生肖與太歲有著刑沖破害的不利關系，因恐冒犯太歲，故便有拜太歲的風俗傳統，其生肖與太歲刑沖破害，亦即天星十二宮位的關系。而十二生肖的刑沖破害亦有其不同的力量及影響，現簡介如下︰

刑︰刑即滿的意思，即生肖五行過旺，旺極而衰的現象，刑亦殘缺，傷損及轉衰之象。

沖︰沖即沖著而來的意思，有相戰的味道，是四種之中最猛烈碰撞的一種。

破︰破即有散亂及移動之象，破不及沖及刑的碰撞猛烈，是較為輕微的一種冒犯。

害︰害即與另一個生肖不能相合，命理稱為破合，即強行分開；與親，朋關係容易發生矛盾，不合諧。

沖犯太歲者一年之內會有不少麻煩，甚至會有凶災，原來以為很順利的事也老是出問題還易出意外的凶險，犯太歲的年份常常被認為是一個不吉利的年份故應特別注意。

There are alot of versions on which zodiac animals are actually in the 刑,破 and 害 relationship but based on what I have checked, the ones above should be the correct version. I have also attached the forecast of the Zodiac for 2009 on my Multiply site, courtesy of the Juxianguan website.

Instructional DVD on Min Nan Dialect

2008-11-20T16:15:00.000+08:00

I was at a Bra Basah shop selling VCD and DVD on Chinese Qigong and martial arts and I stumbled upon a DVD that teaches the Min Nan dialect, or more commonly known as Hokkien. I was tempted to buy it as it was very nicely packaged and only cost $19.90.

I strongly believe that the Singapore youth nowdays should buy and master the language.
We must perpetuate our history and be proud of our heritage.

Liuren Sect In New York

2008-10-26T12:53:00.000+08:00

The following site is of a New York-based Liuren sect Daoist:

http://wanderingtaoist.net/index.html

English Translation of the Taoist Eight Great Spiritual Mantras 八大神咒

2008-10-23T07:22:00.001+08:00

After trying for the past few days but still unable to find the English translation of the Taoist Eight Great Spiritual Mantras online, I decided to do it myself. I tried to refer to as many sources as possible but I still believe there may be mistakes.

道教八大神咒 (The Taoist Eight Spiritual Mantras)

淨心神咒 (Jin Sim Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Purifying of the Heart

太上台星。應變無停。

The Highest Terrace Stars (refers to the 3 Terrace Stars of the North Dipper 三台星), with its eternal adaptive nature

驅邪縛魅。保命護身。

Rid the evil and fight the ghostly. Protect one’s life and body.

智慧明淨。心神安寧。

Give one’s mind clarity. Bring peace to one’s heart

三魂永久。魄無喪傾。

Eternalize one’s Three Hun(s). Keep the Po(s) from negative inclinations.

急急如律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command.

淨口神咒 (Jin Kow Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Purifying of the Mouth

丹朱口神。吐穢除氛。

“Dan Zhu” the Mouth Deity. Expel the filth and remove the vapor.

舌神正倫。通命養神。

“Zheng Lun” the Tongue Deity. Prolong one’s life and nourish one’s spirit.

羅千齒神。卻邪衛真。

“Luo Qian” the Teeth Deity. Rid the evil and protect the sacred.

喉神虎賁。氣神引津.

“Hu Ben” the Throat Deity. The energy and spirit guides the fluid.

心神丹元。令我通真。

“Dan Wan” the Heart Deity. Enable me to achieve immortality.

思神煉液。道氣長存。

“Lian Yi” the Mind Deity. One’s energy and the Dao will merge and exists eternally.

急急如律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command.

淨身神咒 (Jin Sin Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Purifying of the Body

靈寶天尊。安慰身形。

The Heavenly Worthy of the Numinous Treasure. Pacify one’s bodily form.

弟子魂魄。五臟玄冥。

Thy disciple’s souls. Dark and mysterious are the five internal organs.

青龍白虎。對仗紛紜。

Green Dragon and White Tiger. Of chaotic battle.

朱雀玄武。侍衛我真。

Vermilion Bird and Mysterious Warrior. Guard my immortal nature.

急急如律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command.

安土地神咒 (An Tor Tay Sin Jiew)
Divine Incantation for Settling of the Earth God

元始安鎮。普告萬靈。

The Primordial one pacifies and secures. Announce this to the 10,000 spirits.

岳瀆真官。土地祗靈。

Immortal Officials of the 5 Mountains (五岳) and 4 Rivers (四渎). Deities of the Earth.

左社右稷。不得妄驚。

Earth Deities on the left and God of Grains (谷神) on the right. Forbid all chaos.

回向正道。內外澄清。

Return to the Orthodox Way. Be settled, both internally and externally.

各安方位。備守壇庭。

All set in their respective positions. Guard the Shrine hall.

太上有命。搜捕邪精。

Order from the Highest One. Capture all evil demons.

護法神王。保衛誦經/安寧。

Protector God-king. Protect the recitations / peace.

皈依大道。元亨利貞。

Seek refuge in the Great Dao. Originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and firm (The Four Virtues of the Qian Trigram).

淨天地神咒 (Jin Thian Tay Sin Jiew)
Divine Incantation for Purifying of Surroundings (Heaven and Earth)

天地自然。穢氣分散。

Natural are the Heaven and Earth. The negative energies are dispersed.

洞中玄虛。晃朗太元。

The Mysterious and Emptiness are in the destiny. The Bright Great Primordial.

八方威神。使我自然。

The courageous Deities of the eight directions. Manifest my spontaneous nature.

靈寶符命。普告九天。

Talismanic command of the Numinous Treasure. Report to the Nine Heavens.

乾羅達那。洞罡太玄。

Qian Luo Ta Na (Sanskrit name of a Deity General), The Ultimate Mysterious of the Pole Star’s arcana (Name of another Deity General).

斬妖縛邪。度人[殺鬼]萬千。

Execute the demons and fight the evil. Salvage tens of million people.

中山神咒。元始玉文。

Holy incantation of the central mountain. The Jade Text of the Primordial One.

持誦一遍。卻病延年。

Chant it once. It prevents diseases and prolongs one’s life.

按行五嶽。八海知聞。

Travels over the Five Mountains. Heard over the Eight Seas.

魔王束手。侍衛我軒。

Bound are the hands of the Demon King. Guard my carriage.

凶穢消散。道氣長存。

Dispersed is the malevolent filth. One’s energy and the Dao will merge and exists eternally.

急急如律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command.

金光神咒 (Kim Khong Sin Jiew)
Divine Incantation of the Golden Light

天地玄宗。萬氣本根。

The Mysterious Sect of the Heaven and Earth. The 10,000 energies of the same origin.

廣修億劫。證吾神通。

Surpass a hundred million disasters with diligent cultivation. Validate one’s miraculous abilities.

三界內外。惟道獨尊。

Inside and outside the Three Spiritual Realms. Only the Dao is of utmost respect.

體有金光。覆映吾身。

Golden aura surrounds the body. It covers myself.

視之不見。聽之不聞。

Look but cannot be seen. Listen but cannot be heard.

包羅天地。養育群生。

Encompasses the Heaven and Earth. Nourishes all living beings.

受持萬遍。身有光明。

Recite 10,000 times. The self will manifest brightness.

三界侍衛。五帝司迎。

The Three Spiritual Realms will protect. The Five Emperors will welcome.

萬神朝禮。役使雷霆。

10,000 deities will pay obeisance. Using the thunderbolts.

鬼妖喪膽。精怪忘形。

The ghosts and demons tremble in fear. The evil spirits lose their forms.

內有霹靂。雷神隱名。

The thunder claps within. The hidden name of the Thunder God.

洞慧交徹。五炁騰騰。

Knowledge of the Arcana is exchanged. The Five energies arise.

金光速現。覆護真人。

Golden Aura manifests immediately. Covers the immortal.

急急如玉皇光降律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command of the Jade Emperor’s Descending Light.

祝香神咒 (Jiok Hiong Sin Jiew)
Divine Incantation for Offering of Incense

道由心學。心假香傳。

The learning of the Dao originates from the heart. Incense carries the message of the heart.

香爇玉爐。心存帝前。

The jade urn is warmed by the incense. The heart resides before the Emperor.

真靈下盼。仙旆臨軒。

The immortal spirit watches from above. The flag of the deities arrives before the carriage.

令民關告。逕達九天。

The official reports. Reaching the Nine Heavens.

開經玄蘊咒 (Kai Kheng Hian Woon Jiew)

Mysterious Incantation for Opening of the Scriptures

雲篆太虛。浩劫之初。

Talismanic Writings of the Great Void. Exists since the beginning of the great catastrophe.

乍遐乍邇。或沉或浮。

Near at times and far during others. Sink at times and float during others.

五方徘徊。一丈之餘。

Back and forth in the Five Directions. Exceeds the length of one zhang (Chinese unit of measure)

天真皇人。按筆乃書。

Heavenly Imperial immortal. Ready to write with brush.

以演洞章。次書靈符。

Write the arcana scriptures with ritualistic practice. Followed by writing of the sacred talismans.

元始下降。真文誕敷。

The Primordial One descends. To teach the True scriptures.

昭昭其有。冥冥其無。

Clear and bright when present. Dark and shrouded when absent. (Means the teachings are not easily understood in words and requires the right understanding)

沉疴能自痊。塵勞溺可扶。

Serious illness can be healed by itself. And help for those who drown in the material world.

幽冥將有賴。由是升仙都。

Assistance will come when in the dark realms. Ascension to the Immortal Realm.

Regards

Alvin Chua Kim Leng

References used for the translation:

1. Taoist Master Chuang by Michael R. Saso

2. Daoism: A Short Introduction by James Miller

3. Daoism Handbook by Livia Kohn

4. 道教综合文化学术网 http://www.8850911.com/2007/12-22/17320773023.html

5. 道教八大神咒释义 http://www.auyou.cn/blog/diaryinfo-66566.html

八大神咒 - 注释 (The Eight Daoist Spiritual Mantras with Commentaries)

2008-10-23T06:28:00.000+08:00

八大神咒

神咒，指天神的语言，有神通法力的秘语。<皇经集注)卷五《神咒品第一章》：“以经中秘法语，能度人篆仙，制星，制魔，制水，镇五方，济法界，故日神咒。”道教认为咒乃天神所颁，得之者可以役使鬼神。早期道经<太平经》云：“天上有常神圣要语，吋下授人以言，用使神吏应气而来往也，人众得之，谓之神咒也。”道教神咒主要用于祈禳、治病等场合。并要求念诵时，身心洁净，虔诚、存心诵之而往往灵验。修炼之人诵之，有助于入静炼养。

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净心神咒

太上台星，应变无停。驱邪缚魅，保命护身‘。智慧明净，心神安宁“。三魂永久，魄无丧倾。急急如律令*。

[注释]

①净心神咒：道教法事活动中常用“八大神咒”之一。主要用于早坛功课、道场法事及学练符法咒语。念诵此咒，能起到净化身心、排除杂念干扰、安宁心神等作用。同时，亦有助于修炼功法之人做入静功夫。

②太上台星，应变无停：“太上”，本意最上。道教“三清”之一，居太清真境，名道德天尊。道教尊为教主。“台星”，即北斗星之三台星。此句意为道教最尊之神“太上”(即道)无处不存，无所不在，应变无停，观察世间万事万物的变化。

③驱邪缚魅，保命护身：紧接上句“太上台星，应变无停”，意指太上(道)随所感应，无处不在，真心修道之人其身心自然得到护佑，任何邪魅鬼魃皆不敢侵犯。

④智慧明净，心神安宁：“智慧”，即对事物的认识辨析、判断处理和发明创造的能力。“明净”，明白而洁净。此句意为做好任何事情都要心神安宁，守一专心，就能智慧开明，神通恢廓。

⑤三魂永久，魄无丧倾：“三魂”，按<云笈七签)：“人有三魂，一名胎光，二名爽灵，三名幽精。胎光主生命，爽灵主财禄，幽精主灾衰。”“魄”，据<云笈七签)云：“魄有七魄，分别为尸狗、伏矢、雀阴、吞贱、非毒、除秽、臭肺。”“三魂七魄”是道教对魂魄的总称。《参同契)：“阳神曰魂，阴神曰魄。”此句意指道教中人要掌握控制“三魂”，御制“七魄”的功法，以保养元和，御制鬼神。

⑥急急如律令：“急急”，原意是紧急、急速之意。“如律令”，如律敕之令。此句在道教法事中和炼符法时常用，意为天神颁敕，天神号令，须急急奉行，不得延误。

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净口神咒

丹朱口神，吐秽除氛。舌神正伦，通命养神‘。罗千齿神，却邪卫真”。喉神虎责，炁神引津。心神丹元，令我通真‘。思神炼液，道炁常存。急急如律令。

[注释]

①净口神咒：道教法事活动常用“八大神咒”之一。念诵此咒，意在使人口部诸神归位，消除口业，涤除浊气，以清洁之口诵念经文。同时，念诵此咒还有助于修炼者做入静功夫。

②丹朱口神，吐秽除氛：“丹朱”，即口神。“吐秽除氛”意即吐故纳新，口吐浊气，鼻引清气。方法有嘘、呵、咽、吹、呼、嘻六气法。<抱朴子内篇。微旨)：“明吐纳之道者，则曰惟行气可以延年矣。”<太平御览)云：“真人道士常吐纳以和六液。”

③舌神正伦，通命养神：“舌神正伦”，据<黄庭内景经．至道章)：“……舌神通命字正伦。”此句意指舌能司声咽津，性命得通，正其五味，而各有伦理。“通命养神”，通宿命，静养元神。以丹道而言，能通命者保精也，养神者炼性也，内含性命双修之意。

④罗千齿神，却邪卫真：按《黄庭内景经．至道章)：“……齿神锷峰字罗干。”其“罗干”能摧罗万物而食之。此句意为道教中人修炼好“齿神”，使邪魅不能侵犯，真神得到

保护。

⑤喉神虎贲，羔神引津：“喉神”即虎贲。“气神”可引津。又<黄庭内景经>“津”意指金津玉液。此句意为修炼之时要掌握和运用神、气、津。即“生津聚精”的方法和作用。

⑥心神丹元，令我通真：“心神丹元”，按<黄庭内景经．心神章)：心为五脏之元宰，属火而色赤。本句意是：心为五脏(心、肝、脾、肺、肾)之主宰，但废一不可。修道之人要掌握心内之元神，以运用身中精气，抱元守之，存无守有，凝结成丹，即能“通真”也。

⑦思神炼液，道炁常存：“思神”指存神。“炼液”指保护、修炼好金津玉液。“道气常存”即按其法不断修炼，即可以与道合真，长生久视。

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净身神咒

灵宝天尊，安慰身形。弟子魂魄，五脏玄冥‘。青龙白虎，队仗纷纭”；朱雀玄武，侍卫我真。急急如律令。

[注释J

①净身神咒：道教法事活动中常用“八大神咒”之一。念诵此咒能使人身部诸神归位，身体洁净，以感召神灵。

②灵宝天尊，安慰身形：“灵宝天尊”，即道教“三清”之一，居上清真境。“安”者，静也。“慰”者，微微慢慢养也。此句意指人万法俱忘，惟神是守，且内视而神光焕于玉阙，耳返听而妙韵响于琼房。此神宁泰定，一念不生，是谓安慰身形之法也。

③弟子魂魄，五脏玄冥：“弟子”，按《道藏辑要》为“法子”。这里均指学道的人。“魂魄”，按《淮南子》注曰：“魂者阳之神，魄者阴之神。”“五脏”，本指人身的心、肝、脾、肺、肾也。“玄”为玄妙。“冥”为默默无声的变化。这里指学道之人关键要掌握和修炼好

“五脏”，御制“魂魄”，使之不外游。

④青龙白虎，队仗纷纭：“青龙白虎”，按<礼．曲礼上)：“行，前朱鸟(雀)而后玄武，左青龙而后白虎。”又疏曰：“朱鸟，玄武，青龙白虎四方宿名也。”道教中人在修炼中以白虎谓肺属金，以青龙谓肝属木，以朱雀为心属火，以玄武谓肾属水，并依其法而炼之。

⑤朱雀玄武，侍卫我真：“朱笛玄武”即“朱鸟(雀)、玄武、青龙、白虎”四方宿名。意指道教中以“白虎谓肺属金，以青龙谓肝属木，以朱雀为心属火，以玄武谓肾属水”。掌握此方法行之，自然修成大道，得道成真。

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安土地神咒

元始安镇，普告万灵”。岳渎真官，土地衹灵”。左社右稷，不得妄惊”。回向正道，内外澄清”。各安方位，备守坛(家)庭”。太上有命，搜捕邪精”。护法神王，保卫诵经…。皈依大道，元亨利贞”。

[注释J

①安土地神咒：道教法事活动中常用“八大神咒”之一。一般指道教徒在结坛、上殿或外出做法事时诵。意在使当境岳渎土地之神各安方位，备守坛场，保卫诵经。

②元始安镇，普告万灵：“元始”，道教三清之一，号元始天尊，居玉清圣境。“安”，平静、稳定。“镇”，安定。“普告”，全面宣告。“万灵”，指天地十方万灵众神。

③岳渎真官，土地衹灵：按<度人上经大法>云：“岳者，镇也。坤厚载物而不移。五岳三岛十州仙圣之所。”“土地”，又称“土地爷”、“土地公”、“福德正神”等。先民封土为社，祭之以五谷丰登。<孝经)载：“社者，土地之神，土地阔不可尽祭，故封土为社，以报功也。”道教书中称其为“土翁神”。“土地祗灵”，指居地中之众神灵仙家。．

④左社右稷，不得妄惊：“社”，古时指祭祀土地神的地方，这里指土中之众神灵。“稷”，本为古代一种粮食作物。又古时以稷为百谷之长。因此帝王奉祀为谷神，即“社稷”，合称指国家。“妄”即乱、惊。即惊慌。

⑤回向正道。内外澄清：“澄清”，使水慢慢清亮。此句意指人的心如同水一样慢慢的安静下来，指修道养德的人心存善良，走正大光明的大道，不要走偏僻荒诞的邪路。

⑥各安方位，备守坛(家)庭：“安”，回到。此处指众神灵依次回到自己的位置。“备”，准备。“守”，守卫，把守。“坛庭”，一般指道教徒作《功课>，祈祷道场法会的场合。另诵作“家庭”吋，则只限用于信士、居士家中之时，如在戒坛上应诵作“备守律坛”。总之，不同场合使用不同。

⑦太上有命，搜捕邪精：“太上”指太上老君，道教中最尊之神。此句意指太上发布敕令，将妖魔鬼怪，一切邪精搜寻捕捉，不得让其为非作歹，危害人间，使正道得以弘扬、社稷安稳，人们安逸、世界太平。

⑧护法神王，保卫诵经：意指太上搜捕邪精后，将临坛讲经说法，普渡众生。时有下界善男信女诵经聆听。至时“护法神王”均将来临护法，保卫左右。

⑨皈依大道，元亨利贞：“元亨利贞”为乾卦之刚阳之性。<易．乾卦)曰：“元者，善之长也；亨者，嘉会也；利者，义之和也；贞者，事之干也。”君子体仁，足以长人嘉会足以合礼，利物足以和义，贞固足以干事，故子行此四德，即皈依太上无极大道，故曰元亨利贞。

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净天地神咒

天地自然，秽气分散”。洞中玄虚，晃朗太元”。八方威神，使我自然)。灵宝符命，普告九天”；乾罗答那，洞罡太玄”；斩妖缚邪，度人(杀鬼)万千”。中山神咒，元始玉文，持诵一遍，却病延年”；按行五岳，八海知闻”；魔王束首，侍卫我轩”；凶秽消散，道黑常存”。急急如律令。

[注释]

①净天地神咒：道教法事活动中常用“八大神咒”之一，主要用于道教徒上殿诵经、经坛施法时诵，意在扫除秽气，常存道炁。

②天地自然，秽气分散：“秽”，不洁净。此句意指天地大自然空间中，常有不洁净之气分散其中。对修炼之人来说，人身亦不洁净，故修炼之人要求排除身内浊气，吸收清气，又谓吐故纳新。

③洞中玄虚，晃朗太元：“洞中玄虚”，按洞阳子注：“洞者通也，上通于民，下通于地，中有神仙。”又“圣人于虚极静笃之中斗转璇玑，神通气洞，上与天通。”故曰玄虚。

“晃朗太元”意指洞中恍惚明朗深幽而不可测之，故言太玄也。

④八方威神，使我自然：“八方”，指四方四隅的总称。<史记．司马相如列传)：“六合之内八方之外，．浸之衍溢。”此处指“威神”之广阔。护法神王威力无穷。“使”，令的意思。其意为令我同天地自然浑然一体。

⑤灵宝符命，普告九天：“灵宝”，道教三清尊神之一。“符命”，指最高旨意或天尊的命令。“九天”，按<淮南子．天文训)云：“天有九野，中央及四正四隅，故曰九天。”道书<太玄经)、<太清玉册)及<吕氏春秋)均有不同说法。唐李白《望庐山瀑布)有“飞流直下三干尺，疑是银河落九天”之句。其意泛指高不可测。

⑥乾罗答那，洞罡太玄：均为道教荡秽神将。按<荡秽朝科)中，破五方厌秽吋焚香奉请“乾罗答那，洞罡太玄使者，斩妖缚邪神吏”。

⑦：斩妖缚邪，度人(杀鬼)万千：“度人”，有些地方念“杀鬼”。按道教戒律“不言杀”说，一般均念作“度人”。“万千”，即数大、多之意。此句意为斩妖缚邪，普渡众生，无量度人。

⑧中山神咒，元始玉文：“元始”是道教最尊之神三清之一，居于玉清圣境。元始讲说大梵隐语，无量之音，谓大神咒。故此处言中山神咒。天真皇人昔书其文、其咒无所不辟，无所不禳，无所不变。“元始玉文”，即谓<元始五老赤书玉篇真文天书经)，又名<太上洞玄灵宝五篇真文赤书》，简称<赤书真文>，乃元始天尊所说，出于空洞自然之中，五老掌录，秘于九天灵都之宮。实际只是五篇符咒文字。主要所述道法以及书符念咒，召神伏魔，辟邪禳灾为主要内容。

⑨持诵一遍，却病延年：此句意为指导修炼之人均要念诵<元始玉文)，以却病延年，长生久视。

⑩按行五岳，八海知闻：“五岳”，指东岳泰山，西岳华山，南岳衡山，北岳恒山，中岳嵩山。“八海”按陶弘景<水仙赋)云：“森漫八海，泓泪九河。”指四方四隅之海。此句意指“元始五文”行持于五岳，传播于“八海”，无所不存，无处不在也。．

⑩魔王束首，侍卫我轩：“魔王”，指有奇异法术害人的鬼王。“侍卫”，跟随守卫。“轩”本意指古代一种带装饰的车。此意指“元始玉文”的神功法力，真仙将受到保护。魔王鬼怪将受到制裁。

⑩凶秽消散，道黑常存：“凶秽”指凶恶不吉不洁之气。“道炁常存”，原<道藏辑要)作“道德全成”。现道教中已成习惯，普遍诵作“道炁常存”。此句是对该咒语的总结语。即遵循“天地自然”，常持诵元始玉文，其妖魔自然驱散，凶秽不存，道炁常存也。

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金光神咒

天地玄宗，万黑本根。广修亿劫，证吾神通。三界内外，惟道独尊。体有金光，覆映吾身。视之不见，听之不闻”。包罗天地，养育群生”。受持万遍，身有光明。三界侍卫，五帝司迎。万神朝礼，役使雷霆。鬼妖丧胆，精怪忘形。内有霹雳，雷神隐名。洞慧交彻，五炁腾腾。金光速现，覆护真人。急急如律令。

[注释J

①金光神咒：道教法事活动中常用“八大神咒”之一，在道教科仪中经常使用(尤为开光法会)。“金光”，指元始和其他尊神的神光。“咒”，为祈金光映覆，赐予神通。雷法中视作祈祷和策役神将的基本咒语之一，道教徒日诵功课亦常念诵。

②天地玄宗，万炁本根：“天地”，《庄子。齐物论)：“天地一指也，万物一马也。”又“以指喻指之非指．不若以非指喻指之非指”，认为“天地一指”不过是道的体现。此句大意为“天地”之根本，即“玄宗”，即“一”，即“道”。道教的“道”和“一”均为“万炁”或万事万物之根本，一切之根源，一切都是从这里(天地、玄宗、万炁)产生和开始。

③广修亿劫，证吾神通：“劫”，劫数、浩劫。此句意指神仙和人都有遭受劫难、浩劫的可能。但只有不断修持，才能战胜“亿劫”，才能真正神通。

④三界内外，惟道独尊：“三界”，按<云笈七签)云：“二十八天分为三界……第一欲界，第二色界，第三无色界。”此“三界”一般指神仙能够超出所居。凡人难跳出“三界”。又有宇宙分三界为无极界、太极界、现世界；还有以天地空间分三界，即天界、地界、水界之说。道教认为人可通过修炼，跳出三界，成为神仙。

⑤体有金光，覆映吾身：“金光”，指炼得金丹的内外景象。张伯端<悟真篇)：“近来透体金光现，不与凡人话此规。”仇兆鳌<悟真篇>曰：“金光圆满，其状似规。”此句泛指修炼中人按此法咒修持，到了一定程度吋的景象。

⑥视之不见，听之不闻：老子《道德经》曰：“视之不见名曰夷，听之不闻名曰希。”《功课经}：“视之不见，听之不闻，离种种边，名为妙道。”此句意指修炼中人炼到心静、守一，修炼功夫到了忘我程度的体现。

⑦包罗天地，养育群生：“天地”，按<易)曰：“乾为天，坤为地。”所谓“天地”，无所不包。道教泛指“道”和“一”，包罗万物。“道”是一切的开始，“天地、道”养育万物和众生。

⑧受持万遍，身有光明：“受”古通“授”，意指道教中人依照以上法咒不断地得到真仙的口传心授，和不断地行持，就会得到“身有光明”的效果。

⑨三界侍卫，五帝司迎：“三界”，指天、地、人。“五帝”，指五老上帝。其意为三界众圣具来侍卫身旁，五老上帝也在天庭(三界)外候迎。

⑩万神朝礼，役使雷霆：“万神”，指诸天众神。“役使”，众多的排列。此句意指修炼得道之人所见到(三界外)天庭上的场面。

⑩鬼妖丧胆，精怪忘形：“鬼妖”，道教中一般念诵为“邪妖”，此句意指邪妖见“万神朝礼，役使雷庭”都闻之丧胆，精灵鬼怪个个现出原形，不敢为非作歹了。

⑩内有霹雳，雷神隐名：“霹雳”，此处指金光大法的威力。此句意指“鬼妖、精怪”闻得金光大法而远遁，雷神就隐于金光中而不名；为制约鬼怪，灭其形迹。

⑩洞慧交彻，五炁腾腾：“洞慧”，即通慧、觉悟；慧指慧光。此句意言通接慧光，相交映彻，天地之五行正气，融会交彻，氤氳腾腾之光迅速现于眼前。

⑩金光速现，覆护真人：“金光”，即神光。此句意指修炼到一定程度之人，“神光”必然出现，前往护法。

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祝香神咒

道由心学，心假香传。香蒸玉炉，心存帝前‘。真灵下盼，仙旆临轩“。令臣关告，迳达九天。

[注释]

①祝香神咒：道教法事活动中常用“八大神咒”之一。此咒为道教徒在念诵<功课经>中，结坛施法及上香时所念，焚香为供养神灵常用。道教认为香烟缭绕成云篆，可以将悃诚之意传达仙境，故极为重视。上香前须祝之以使香烟传其诚心。

②道由心学，心假香传：“道”，道教最高教理。<道德经)云：“有物混成，先天地生，寂兮廖兮，独立而不改，周行而不殆，可以为天下母。吾不知其名，字之曰道。”道教认为：道是先天地万物而生的宇宙本源，作为“天地之始”。修炼者认为：通过修道，可以与道合一，长生久视。因此，此句大意指修道者是用心诚来学得，用其诚心、诚意以焚香，将悃诚之意传达仙境，这是道教徒们诚心求道的体现。

③香燕玉炉，心存帝前：此句意指修道之人通过诚心诚意和“心学”“香传”，其诚心“香传”感召了上帝真仙，得到真仙的护佑，得以成为正果。

④真灵下盼，仙旆临轩：“旆”，古代旗帜下端燕尾状的装饰物。此处指仙人队仗前导旗帜。意指修道者的真心感动上圣高真，仙驾降临，自有云拥旌幢，仙旆侍卫，圣驾降临法坛。

⑤令臣关告，迳达九天：“迳”，直接达到目的的方法。“九天”，按《淮南子．天文训>：“天有九野，中央及四正四隅，故亦曰九天。”此句为道教常用朝科中的咒文，称其为发炉作用。道教徒在诵持<早晚功课)时，均诵作“迳达九天”。但高功行持作用时，则分三次进行，一次作“迳达三天”，二次作“迳达六天”，第三次作“迳达九天”。

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

玄蕴咒

云篆太虚，浩劫之初。乍遐乍迩，或沉或浮。五方徘徊，一丈之余。天真皇人，按笔乃书。以演洞章，次书灵符。元始下降，真文诞敖。昭昭其有，冥冥其无”。

沉疴能白痊，尘劳溺可扶，幽冥将有赖。由是升仙都。

[注释J

①玄蕴咒：道教法事中常用“八大神咒”之一，又称“开经玄蕴咒”。即准备翻开道经奉诵时所念。“玄蕴”，指经中蕴藏着玄妙的义理。早期灵宝派即有此咒，其后各派具有仿作与衍变，其辞不尽相同。

②云篆太虚，浩劫之初：“云篆”，灵图符篆。指撰集云书或符篆文字。形体如云。《云笈七签>云：“篆者，撰也，撰集云书谓之云篆。”道教认为此符类符字皆系三天自然之气结成，天真仰写，方传至下界。又<三洞神符记)：“撰集云书谓之云篆，道教符篆文字形体如云，故名云篆。”“太虚”，指辽廓的太空。《庄子。知北游》：“是以不过乎昆仑，不游乎太虚。”又<太上灵宝金庭无为妙经．太虚章第一)：“道言无形合虚，中有万物，而行二仪，是谓太虚……太虚者，神运也，神命而万物生。”其意指在漫长劫运之前，元始云篆灵书，以告下界。

③乍遐乍迩，或沉或浮：“乍”，忽然。“遐迩”，远近。此句意为元始告传下界的云篆灵文在“太虚”阶层忽远忽近，或沉或浮，不断地上下传播。

④五方徘徊，一丈之余：“五方”，指东南西北中。其意言元始告传下界的云篆灵文不断地、不停地在天地间出现、不停地传送下界。

⑤天真皇人，按笔乃书：“天真皇入”，指元始天尊侍卫之尊。此句意指元始开经讲道的云篆灵文在太初吋，就记叙诸法音，由天真皇人将此云篆灵文记载并以此演说教化俗世。

⑥以演洞章，次书灵符：此句意为元始在为下界众生演说大洞真经，而后陆续传播云篆灵符，普渡众生。

⑦元始下降，真文诞敷：此句意指元始天尊亲临下降，开始为下界敷讲<灵宝无量度人上品妙经>等真文。

⑧昭昭其有，冥冥其无：“昭昭”，光明、明亮。“冥冥”，昏暗。按<荀子．劝学)：“无冥冥之志者，无昭昭之明。”此句意指元始演说之真文，其经含义深奥，玄之又玄，只可意领，不可言传。

⑨沉疴能自痊，尘劳溺可扶，幽冥将有赖。由是升仙都：“沉疴”，指重病。“尘劳”，指堕落尘世。此四句为开经偈语，其意指诚心诵念此经者，能使重病痊愈；只要悔过自新，多积功累德，不断持诵此经，即使堕落凡尘，亦如同有人扶持，在幽暗阴昏之地亦将有人搭救。真仙上圣无不护佑，使人人都可升入仙都，长生久视。

Extracted from the following site:

http://www.8850911.com/2007/12-22/17320773023.html

Regards

Alvin Chua Kim Leng

English Translation of the Taoist Eight Great Spiritual Mantras 八大神咒

2008-10-22T18:55:00.000+08:00

道教八大神咒 (The Taoist Eight Spiritual Mantras)

淨心神咒 (Jin Sim Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Purifying of the Heart

太上台星。應變無停。

The Highest Terrace Stars (refers to the 3 Terrace Stars of the North Dipper 三台星), with its eternal adaptive nature

驅邪縛魅。保命護身。

Rid the evil and fight the ghostly. Protect one’s life and body.

智慧明淨。心神安寧。

Give one’s mind clarity. Bring peace to one’s heart

三魂永久。魄無喪傾。

Eternalize one’s Three Hun(s). Keep the Po(s) from negative inclinations.

急急如律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command.

淨口神咒 (Jin Kow Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Purifying of the Mouth

丹朱口神。吐穢除氛。

“Dan Zhu” the Mouth Deity. Expel the filth and remove the vapor.

舌神正倫。通命養神。

“Zheng Lun” the Tongue Deity. Prolong one’s life and nourish one’s spirit.

羅千齒神。卻邪衛真。

“Luo Qian” the Teeth Deity. Rid the evil and protect the sacred.

喉神虎賁。氣神引津.

“Hu Ben” the Throat Deity. The energy and spirit guides the fluid.

心神丹元。令我通真。

“Dan Wan” the Heart Deity. Enable me to achieve immortality.

思神煉液。道氣長存。

“Lian Yi” , cultivates the Jade Fluids. One’s energy and the Dao will merge and exists eternally.

急急如律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command.

淨身神咒 (Jin Sin Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Purifying of the Body

靈寶天尊。安慰身形。

The Heavenly Worthy of the Numinous Treasure. Pacify one’s bodily form.

弟子魂魄。五臟玄冥。

Thy disciple’s souls. Dark and mysterious are the five internal organs.

青龍白虎。對仗紛紜。

Green Dragon and White Tiger. Of chaotic battle.

朱雀玄武。侍衛我真。

Vermilion Bird and Mysterious Warrior. Guard my immortal nature.

急急如律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command.

安土地神咒 (An Tor Tay Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Settling of the Earth God

元始安鎮。普告萬靈。

The Primordial one pacifies and secures. Announce this to the 10,000 spirits.

岳瀆真官。土地祗靈。

Immortal Officials of the 5 Mountains (五岳) and 4 Rivers (四渎). Deities of the Earth.

左社右稷。不得妄驚。

Earth Deities on the left and God of Grains (谷神) on the right. Forbid all chaos.

回向正道。內外澄清。

Return to the Orthodox Way. Be settled, both internally and externally.

各安方位。備守壇庭。

All set in their respective positions. Guard the Shrine hall.

太上有命。搜捕邪精。

Order from the Highest One. Capture all evil demons.

護法神王。保衛誦經/安寧。

Protector God-king. Protect the recitations / peace.

皈依大道。元亨利貞。

Seek refuge in the Great Dao. Originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and firm (The Four Virtues of the Qian Trigram).

淨天地神咒 (Jin Thian Tay Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Purifying of Surroundings (Heaven and Earth)

天地自然。穢氣分散。

Natural are the Heaven and Earth. The negative energies are dispersed.

洞中玄虛。晃朗太元。

The Mysterious and Emptiness are in the destiny. The Bright Great Primordial.

八方威神。使我自然。

The courageous Deities of the eight directions. Manifest my spontaneous nature.

靈寶符命。普告九天。

Talismanic command of the Numinous Treasure. Report to the Nine Heavens.

乾羅達那。洞罡太玄。

Qian Luo Ta Na (Sanskrit name of a Deity General), The Ultimate Mysterious of the Pole Star’s arcana (Name of another Deity General).

斬妖縛邪。度人[殺鬼]萬千。

Execute the demons and fight the evil. Salvage tens of million people.

中山神咒。元始玉文。

Holy incantation of the central mountain. The Jade Text of the Primordial One.

持誦一遍。卻病延年。

Chant it once. It prevents diseases and prolongs one’s life.

按行五嶽。八海知聞。

Travels over the Five Mountains. Heard over the Eight Seas.

魔王束手。侍衛我軒。

Bound are the hands of the Demon King. Guard my carriage.

凶穢消散。道氣長存。

Dispersed is the malevolent filth. One’s energy and the Dao will merge and exists eternally.

急急如律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command.

金光神咒 (Kim Khong Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation of the Golden Light

天地玄宗。萬氣本根。

The Mysterious Sect of the Heaven and Earth. The 10,000 energies of the same origin.

廣修億劫。證吾神通。

Surpass a hundred million disasters with diligent cultivation. Validate one’s miraculous abilities.

三界內外。惟道獨尊。

Inside and outside the Three Spiritual Realms. Only the Dao is of utmost respect.

體有金光。覆映吾身。

Golden aura surrounds the body. It covers myself.

視之不見。聽之不聞。

Look but cannot be seen. Listen but cannot be heard.

包羅天地。養育群生。

Encompasses the Heaven and Earth. Nourishes all living beings.

受持萬遍。身有光明。

Recite 10,000 times. The self will manifest brightness.

三界侍衛。五帝司迎。

The Three Spiritual Realms will protect. The Five Emperors will welcome.

萬神朝禮。役使雷霆。

10,000 deities will pay obeisance. Using the thunderbolts.

鬼妖喪膽。精怪忘形。

The ghosts and demons tremble in fear. The evil spirits lose their forms.

內有霹靂。雷神隱名。

The thunder claps within. The hidden name of the Thunder God.

洞慧交徹。五炁騰騰。

Knowledge of the Arcana is exchanged. The Five energies arise.

金光速現。覆護真人。

Golden Aura manifests immediately. Covers the immortal.

急急如玉皇光降律令。

Execute (the order) with haste as if an imperial command of the Jade Emperor’s Descending Light.

祝香神咒 (Jiok Hiong Sin Jiew)

Divine Incantation for Offering of Incense

道由心學。心假香傳。

The learning of the Dao originates from the heart. Incense carries the message of the heart.

香爇玉爐。心存帝前。

The jade urn is warmed by the incense. The heart resides before the Emperor.

真靈下盼。仙旆臨軒。

The immortal spirit watches from above. The flag of the deities arrives before the carriage.

令民關告。逕達九天。

The official reports. Reaching the Nine Heavens.

開經玄蘊咒 (Kai Kheng Hian Woon Jiew)

Mysterious Incantation for Opening of the Scriptures

雲篆太虛。浩劫之初。

Talismanic Writings of the Great Void. Exists since the beginning of the great catastrophe.

乍遐乍邇。或沉或浮。

Near at times and far during others. Sink at times and float during others.

五方徘徊。一丈之餘。

Back and forth in the Five Directions. Exceeds the length of one zhang (Chinese unit of measure)

天真皇人。按筆乃書。

Heavenly Imperial immortal. Ready to write with brush.

以演洞章。次書靈符。

Write the arcana scriptures with ritualistic practice. Followed by writing of the sacred talismans.

元始下降。真文誕敷。

The Primordial One descends. To teach the True scriptures.

昭昭其有。冥冥其無。

Clear and bright when present. Dark and shrouded when absent. (Means the teachings are not easily understood in words and requires the right understanding)

沉疴能自痊。塵勞溺可扶。

Serious illness can be healed by itself. And help for those who drown in the material world.

幽冥將有賴。由是升仙都。

Assistance will come when in the dark realms. Ascension to the Immortal Realm.

Regards

Alvin Chua Kim Leng

References used for the translation:

1. Taoist Master Chuang by Michael R. Saso

2. Daoism: A Short Introduction by James Miller

3. Daoism Handbook by Livia Kohn

4. 道教综合文化学术网 http://www.8850911.com/2007/12-22/17320773023.html

5. 道教八大神咒释义 http://www.auyou.cn/blog/diaryinfo-66566.html

六字诀 Six Syllables Exercise

2008-10-11T09:42:00.004+08:00

The following is an ancient Daoist exercise to balance the energies of the internal organs. In its oldest form, the practice comprises of reciting the sounds only but physical movements were added in later. This practice was made famous in the West by Mantak Chia, although the movements he uses are different from what is taught here.

梁代时的养生秘笈「六字诀」，是透过导引呼吸来锻炼我们的内脏，达致健身效果。「六字诀」是需要配合六个发音的健身操，六个发音则分别影响着相对的内脏：心、肝、脾、肺、肾及三焦。整套动作对呼吸、大脑以及内脏有好处，特别适合学生和都市人。动作比较缓慢，但必须配合呼吸。

第一式－－嘘 xu
　双手放腰间，向左转腰，把右手伸出至一半时读出嘘音，然后慢慢收回，再转到右边。左右轮流交替完成为之一次，并重复六次。由左转右前要收腹深呼吸。这动作有助疏肝利胆。

第二式－－呵 he (some practitioners pronounce it as ke, which works also)
　双手重叠从大脾上升至心口再向下压，下压时需要读出呵音。这动作帮助降心火。

第三式－－呼 hu
　接着「呵」的动作，双手配合呼气徐徐向上升，呼气时读出呼音，动作简单但要重复练习。有助调理脾胃。

第四式－－隋 si (pronounce as 四)
　两手向上托起，颈部尽量昂后，然后慢慢回到中间，双膝一松，双手推出时读出隋音。昂头时动作记紧要慢。动作有助颈部淋巴畅通、扩胸及增加肺活量，对肺部亦有帮助，更且生津止渴的功效。

第五式－－吹chui
　手放腹前，然后向两边推开，移至腰后肾的位置，再用力向下推。向下推时要同时读出吹音。这动作有补肾功效。

第六式－－嘻 xi
　双手手背相靠垂直放中间，然后向上面两边打开，双脚必须同时伸直。双手再由上方向下按，并同时读出嘻音。这动作可调理三焦。

You can visit the following site to watch the video: www.rthk.org.hk/elearning/morningexercises
You can read up more on the Six Healing Sounds here: http://baharna.com/chant/six_healing.htm

Regards
Alvin Chua

Memorising the Eight Trigrams (Bagua)

2008-10-10T19:32:00.000+08:00

In the days I was learning from my first Daoist teacher, we memorise the Eight trigrams using rhyming formula (歌决) to do so. So here is the formula in the order of the Early Heaven Bagua:

乾三连 (translation: Qian, the three joined lines)

兑上缺 (translation: Dui, with the top incomplete line)

离中虚 (translation: Li, with the empty middle)

震仰盂 (translation: Zhen, the upright urn)

巽下断(translation: Xun, the bottom broken line)

坎中满(translation: Kan, the full middle)

艮覆碗(translation: Gen, the inverted bowl)

坤六断(translation: Kun, the six broken pieces)

The formula is actually the images that the Trigrams resembles.

Regards

Alvin Chua Kim Leng

Long Shan Men 180th Anniversary Celebration Event 05 – Taoist Cultural Tour & Gathering Night

2008-10-10T13:27:00.003+08:00

It was a pleasant experience to join the tour and I am surprised to see a lot of our UK Daoist friends. The following photo was taken at our first stop, courtesy of Sifu Jave. I am the last guy on the right. While I maybe familiar with certain Daoist teachings, the myriad Deities I saw during the tour are totally new to me. There are so many of them and remembering each one's unique characteristics is indeed not an easy task.

有谁知道易学的“炁”和“气”的读音？

2008-09-10T23:04:00.000+08:00

A important online article for Qigong enthusiasts and Daoist cultivators:

有谁知道易学的“炁”和“气”的读音？

一、易学里的“炁”和“气”字不同。

在现在的字典里，“炁”和“气”字的读音、意思和用法是没有区别的，炁字已经成为废字。但是在古代，在易学里，此二字是有区别的。下面以易学科普名著《西游记》为例说明。在《西游记》一书的诗和文里都有炁和气字，可见此二字的意思和用法是不同的，因此其读音应该也是不同的。那么炁字在古代读什么音呢？还请有识者告知。

气字：气字用得比较多，几乎每回都有用到。例如，文见：“子时得阳气。天气下降，地气上升。按政书二十四气。也省得受老天之气。”（一回），“只是有些道气儿。摩脐过气。只自家将鼻孔中出入之气调定”（二回）；诗见：“不生不灭三三行，全气全神万万慈。”（一回），“瑞气千条喷紫雾。踏雾登云气力长。神兵怒气云惨惨”（四回）。余不多举。

炁字：炁字用得较少，大约只有以下几处。文见：“五炁真君、五斗星君、三官四圣、九曜真君”（七回），“罗侯计都炁孛四余。那南方三炁火德星君整衣出门迎进。三炁用心者”（五十一回）；诗见：“都来总是精炁神”（二回），“南方三炁逞英雄，回禄大神施法力”（十六回），“乃三炁之威，能变百端之火”（五十一回）。

说明：易学里有“精炁神”（后人都写作“精气神”）三物，即炁学的炁粒、炁流、炁体三炁物质。精为实物，神和气为虚物，也叫做气，泛指六气，就是五行气和元气，五行气就是炁，元气就是神。当气指行气时，与炁字相通用，而炁字专指行气。这就是此二字的意义和用法区别所在。现在我们把“气”物质——虚物命名为炁体、jies，规定炁读ji不读qi，同易学和现在的气字的意义、读音和用法都是不同的。炁体就是炁这种物质，也就是六气物质。

二、易学的“气”和西学的“气”不同。

易学的气物质指的是“经络穴位”里的物质——虚物——炁体，西学的气物质指的是实物——气体分子。两者的关系就是：在气体里，西学的气指的就是气体分子，我们说氧气就是指氧气分子；而易学的气指的是气体里除了气体分子以外的空间里的物质——虚物炁体。

所以为了区别起见，我们把易学的气中的行气叫做行气、炁、炁流，元气叫做元气、神、炁体，气物质叫做虚物、炁体，而西学里的气体还是叫做气体，氧气还是叫做氧气。这样就不会弄混淆了。

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Long Shan Men 180th Anniversary Celebration Event 05 – Taoist Cultural Tour & Gathering Night

有谁知道易学的“炁”和“气”的读音？

2009 犯太歲的人屬牛、羊、馬、龍、狗