During my past visits to Manila, feng shui was discussed constantly in conversations, on television, newspapers and magazines. I didn’t realize its influence until a major Manila newspaper published a pictorial on feng shui master Paul Lau’s birthday celebration. A Filipino friend told me that this was a major social event in Manila. And after Lau’s death, the five-star hotel immediately sought a replacement – Joseph Chau, official geomancer for Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental. In a later event, the sponsor proudly announced: “Performed for the first time in the Philippines by feng shui master Joseph Chau, the ‘Tai Suey’ blessing is a sacred ritual practiced in China which promises to bring forth prosperity and safety”

What is feng shui? Does it work?

Feng shui literally means “wind and water” in Chinese. During a trip to China, banker-agriculturist Vicente Puyat told me, “Wind provides for the pollination of the crops while irrigation supplies water.” These two elements are vital to an agricultural economy. In China’s history, a bountiful harvest meant prosperity while a failed crop spelt famine, chaos, or even revolution.

In a more destructive manner, “wind and water” could transform into typhoon, flood, and other calamities. Annually, great flood still inundates China’s plains bringing death and damages. In a more personal way, “wind” (or “chi” loosely translated as air) and water sustain our lives.

Feng shui started as a science in studying the elements of nature and its environmental effects on human. Subsequently, it simply became the art of Chinese geomancy or divination by means of geographic features. In short, feng shui is believed to help people attract health, fortune and prosperity through his environments.

While recorded aspects of feng shui started in Sung dynasty, almost a century before Christ, it is said to be over 4,000 years old. Some scholars believe that it is a compilation of knowledge observed through the ages. This accumulated experience and wisdom correlated with the earth’s directions and the seasons of the year using the traditional Chinese compass and other calculations. During ancient times when illiteracy prevailed, feng shui was then mystified and its practitioners venerated.

Unoffocial Capital of Feng-Shui
After China’s communist revolution, the “unofficial capital” of the feng shui moved to Hong Kong. Even without any official announcement, everyone in the former British colony knew that no major building was erected without consulting the feng shui masters. Foreign businessmen passively patronized feng shui in selecting offices, designing layouts, and choosing auspicious opening dates. Rumors credited feng shui expert in calculating the precise positions of the twin bronze lions guarding the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Building. In Hong Kong, “bad” feng shui meant bad business as people shunned establishments with reputed ill feng shui.

“It is not a religion nor something spiritual,” said Lillian Too, a Harvard MBA and an outstanding expert who wrote five best sellers on Feng shui. Many considered the non-mystical aspects of feng shui as a practical approach to blend man’s environment in harmony with nature for a more relaxed and less stressful atmosphere.  From the thousand years of encounter with natural disasters, the Chinese learned and then incorporated their experiences into the art. For example, feng shui shuns valley as an ideal location. Those familiar with flash flood cascading down the valley would recognize this wisdom. Similarly, people are advised not to sleep under house beams. This knowledge may have come from earthquakes’ survivors through the ages where victims were crushed by falling beams. In restoring harmony between the elements of fire and water, what can be more practical than placing a water-filled earthen jar near the kitchen’s fireplaces.

In a predominantly Christian country like the Philippines, has the Catholic Church study this issue and offer guidelines to its faithful? Is the practice of this art, getting more popular every day, contradictory to the Catholic teachings? An answer would help in determining the future of feng shui in the country.