Article: "The Myth Behind FengShui Lineage" by Joey Yap

The Myth Behind Lineage ... Feng Shui

[FENG SHUI WITH JOEY YAP : TheSTAR Sun 26 Feb 2006]

WITH a booming demand for classical feng shui services and knowledge all over the world, the business of feng shui is becoming more and more competitive. Naturally, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the main source of much of today’s knowledge in classical feng shui, is where the battle to attract students and clients is most intense.

Subtle marketing is a thing of the past – these days, it is a no-holds barred approach to getting clients and pupils. The latest strategy unleashed in the marketplace, to attract clients and students, is the lineage card.

Stuff of kung fu movies The concept of a lineage was popularised not so much by feng shui masters but by Chinese kung fu movies. It’s a familiar scene: the dying master usually calls forth his most loyal or talented pupil and in a shabby hut, mossy cave or dark dank valley, hands over a blue-cover book or withered scroll containing “the great secret” of techniques, or teachings. After a few muttered cryptic lines that are key to deciphering “the great secret”, the old master dies.

All these movies are set about 400 years in the past, when being a student meant you were a disciple who would follow your sifu around for half your life and do lots of chores for him with the hope of being taught on the job. Today, the concept of “indoor disciples” is rare. Feng shui education, like any other form of education, is about paying fees and attending lectures!

And those blue-cover books containing “the great secret” are freely available at the corner Chinese bookstore. As for the cryptic lines that are the key to deciphering “the great secret”, most reputable masters who teach and practise are quite happy to “reveal all” to paying students.

Feng Shui genealogy

Feng shui does have its own lineages. Some are extensive and can be traced back quite accurately to the Qing, even Ming Dynasties. So, it is always more impressive to belong to a reputable feng shui lineage, especially since this is perceived to add creditability and pedigree to the master’s knowledge and skills.

What constitutes a lineage? If a feng shui practitioner really is of a particular lineage, he/she should be able to trace his/her roots of knowledge back to the original Ming or Qing Dynasty. Simply being able to name one or two teachers is not what is traditionally considered as having an authentic feng shui lineage. Lineage holders are also usually tied to certain feng shui classics. For example, students of the Wu Chang school of feng shui possess references to the original classical texts written by Great Grand Masters – Shen Zhu Reng and the lineage founder Zhang Zhong Shan.

Some feng shui practitioners today claim 40 to 50 years of experience constitutes a lineage. A proper system of lineage goes back a few hundred years and not only do the lineage carriers document all their cases, they also make it a point to document what works and what doesn’t in practising their system. In the present environment where anyone may claim to be a lineage holder, it is important to verify these claims.

Attending a class or a course with a feng shui school does not make you a lineage holder either. In today’s environment of study and teaching, it is more likely that you paid a fair fee to undertake a feng shui course with a feng shui practitioner or master. Like any university or college you may have attended, you are a student of that school. You do not gain a lineage by attending a particular class; you merely receive certification or accreditation for having taken the course. A clear distinction must be made between the lineage concept and that of studying with a particular school or feng shui master.

Does lineage translate to superior skills?

As Deng Xiao Peng once said, it doesn’t matter if the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.

Lineage today is partly a romanticised concept, but mostly, it’s a marketing tool that is often used a bit too loosely to gain some commercial advantage. Though it may be reassuring to know that a feng shui practitioner is from a certain reputable lineage, it is often very difficult for a lay person to establish if the lineage is real or not. This is why using lineage as a basis for determining the pedigree, qualifications and indeed, expertise and experience of the feng shui master or consultant, is dangerous.

While official titles, such as a Datukship, can be easily verified, feng shui lineages cannot be confirmed by a Google search or making a phone call to an official department. You have to be tenacious, very persistent and know where to look before you can verify a lineage.

Furthermore, clients or prospective students are not likely to suspect or question the origins of a lineage or even the lineage itself, if the practitioner states having decades of experience by virtue of his age and if the practitioner looks the part of an old sifu – you know, white hair, Chinese collar and full of “I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice” exclamations of wisdom.

It can also be extremely convincing when a practitioner claims to be the sole recipient of a potent secret technique or formula handed down through the generations that no one else has but him, contained in, you guessed it, an old dog-eared papyrus paper blue-cover book!

It is best not to accept at face value a feng shui practitioner’s claim to be of a certain lineage – ask him or her, politely and respectfully, the roots of his or her lineage. Who are their teachers? Who taught their teachers? Do they have their lineage tree? If you intend to pay for pedigree, then you should make sure that you are getting a pedigree. Researching and establishing a master’s pedigree is important if you intend to learn from the person based on his or her claim of lineage, or if you are paying a premium for their services purely and solely on this basis.

Assuming that your feng shui consultant or master is an authentic lineage holder, is he better or superior to consultants who are not lineage holders? Lineage should be regarded in the same way as a person’s university qualifications. Someone with a degree from Harvard University may not necessarily be any better on the job than a person from a non-Ivy League institution. The school simply is a testament to the quality of knowledge they have received. It does not affirm the person’s ability to make use of that knowledge on the job. Similarly, lineage testifies to the quality of the knowledge, but not the quality of the consultant.

If you are hiring a consultant, it is more relevant to ascertain what systems of feng shui he/she practises and how well he/she knows those systems. In practice, feng shui consultants cannot afford to be pigeonholed by lineage or techniques. Feng shui consultants provide a service: they trouble-shoot for clients, solve their problems and help them achieve their goals. To rely on one method alone to achieve this is simply not practical or feasible any more.

A good practitioner is one who can integrate different systems, different schools and different practices in his work without conflict. The decisive factor is whether or not the feng shui skills of the master work, whether his feng shui knowledge is sound, authentic (based on classical texts), practical, useful, effective and beneficial to the clients. Lineage means nothing if the practitioner himself is not good enough.

Clan mentality – a barrier to knowledge

LINEAGE can also be a barrier to knowledge or an obstacle to learning. The devotion and single-minded focus on only the texts of that one particular lineage can sometimes lead to a dogmatic approach and ignorance of the effective techniques and theories of other schools of feng shui.

For example, in the olden days there was much debate over whether the San He or the San Yuan school of feng shui produced more measurable results. This resulted in both schools missing the obvious point – why not apply the theories from each other’s school and achieve even more exceptional results?

Devotion to lineage and fixation with the supremacy of their own theories lead to a lack of development in looking for methods to combine the theories effectively.

In today’s learning environment, a lineage approach can prove to be a limitation in truly gaining effective knowledge in feng shui. Yes, it may be reassuring to learn from an authentic lineage holder in that it is a testament to the quality of the knowledge you receive.

From a knowledge point of view, however, it can be limiting and restrictive. How can there be growth and development in any science, if the dogmatic approach is maintained?

Indeed, how can we know if one theory or approach is superior to another if we know nothing about the opposing theory?

The concept of lineage may not be applicable any more in today’s teaching and learning atmosphere.

The more effective practitioners and teachers are those who can integrate multiple schools or systems of feng shui, bazi and other Chinese metaphysical studies into their practice.

Like all things, a true professional has to approach feng shui in a pragmatic, practical manner. There is a place for tradition and for things like lineage but it is not the be all and end all when it comes to feng shui.

For more information about Life Gua, visit www.joeyyap.com where you can make use of the Life Gua Calculator there.

Joey Yap is the founder, CEO and master trainer of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics. Call 2284-8080 or visit www.masteryacademy.com

ps. original story at:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/2/26/focus/13489927&sec=focus