MJ04 - 38 Blessings - Buddhist feng-shui (05 of 39)

Fifth session of a 39-episode series introducing the Theravada stairway of values and practices that lead sequentially towards enlightenment, based on the Mangala Sutta. This episode discusses the fourth step on the path of choosing and transforming our environment to make it amenable to spiritual improvement.

Transcript

Last time you saw me, We looked at blessing number three, Expressing respect to those worthy of respect. With the Dhamma talk today, We will be continuing our series on enlightened living with blessing number four, Buddhist Feng Shui. It's not often that you come across a system of spiritual wisdom that has environmental considerations as part of its worldview. A possible exception is the Chinese system of Feng Shui, Which probably has its roots in Buddhism anyway. In developmental psychology, By contrast, The central discussion has always been about the relative influence of the genetic component and the formative experience, The so-called nature versus nurture debate. For science, Of course, It is mostly considerations of the development of physical features like camouflage or body size, Which might have an influence on the survival of the fittest. But for spiritual wisdom, We are more interested in the relative importance of nature and nurture on our spiritual maturity. The fourth blessing on conducive location is the first blessing of the second grouping of blessings, Which deals with turning towards wholesomeness or good habits. If we have practiced the first three blessings successfully, We will already have turned our back on bad habits. But this set of three blessings, That is the second grouping, Which contains the first blessing number four dealing with nurture influences such as that of our environment and the people around us. The second blessing number five deals with nature influences such as the good dispositions that we bring with us into the world. And the sixth deals with having a clear aim or purpose in one's life. All three together are necessary if we want to move towards spiritual maturity. This is why in Buddhism, It's acknowledged that the environment must be good if people are to become good. If the environment lacks virtue, It will hinder people's spiritual growth, Just like a bonsai tree which might be hundreds of years old, But never reaches more than a few inches in height because its roots are constricted. Although it doesn't die, But it never grows tall. The features of any environment can be more or less conducive to general or spiritual activities. To look first at or general considerations about location, A conducive location is one which facilitates success in what we set out to do. If we are trying to catch fish, Then it might be a place on the coast closest to the fish breeding grounds. If we are in business, Then it might be a place close to a lively marketplace. But what if we are monks? Monks need a place with special characteristics, A place that is both peaceful and quiet, But at the same time not too far from one's congregation of supporters. For soldiers, A conducive location would be a strategic one. In conclusion, Each and every profession and activity has its own appropriate location or conducive location for facilitating success. The word location can as easily be applied on the level of the microcosm, In other words, The setting for a particular activity, As it can on the level of the macrocosm. When you are sitting at a dining table, Sitting at one end of the table might be more or less conducive than sitting at the other. The location that most concerns a person or their activities is their immediate environment or neighborhood, But the more distant features of their climate or their country also have a part to play. So the sort of location to be examined in this blessing is the location conducive to refining the mind, Or put another way, The location that facilitates the subtlety by which we can understand Buddhist teachings. In such a conducive location, Even though a person may initially lack wisdom, They are provided with the means to fill the gaps in their spiritual knowledge. On the contrary, In an unconducive location, Even though they might be capable and have a high IQ, Without support there is no way for them to achieve their full potential. Even if someone gets a doctorate, But they are marooned on a desert island, All their knowledge will soon go to waste. You might be the world's greatest mechanic, But if you are forced to live in a forest with a primitive tribe, All your knowledge will soon go to waste. The factors that mark a conducive location also apply to appropriate areas to live. The Buddha highlighted four factors which make a location conducive, Which comprise conducive location, Conducive food, Conducive neighbors or personnel, And conducive Dhamma teachings. In many economically prosperous countries, Life can be materially convenient. Often the infrastructure is well developed. Employment is easy to find and it is easy for residents to save up their wealth. On the surface, Such a country might look attractive to live in, But you might fail to notice that under the veneer of material prosperity, Spiritual poverty may be rife. In such a country, The opportunity and the means to develop spiritual maturity might be quite hard to find. The chance to accrue merit might be almost non-existent. Residents in such countries think only of work, From the time they get up in the morning to the time they go to sleep at night. The thoughts of generosity, Self-discipline or meditation might be the last thing on their minds. Even those who have some spiritual calling may find no one who can offer them useful advice. To live in such a country may be a life wasted from the point of view of spiritual development. It would be better to make some sacrifices of material convenience in choosing the place you want to live in, In order to be closer to an environment of spiritual abundance, Which would be a more conducive environment for one's spiritual progress. It is impossible to generalize when giving examples of components of conducive location because they mean different things at different levels of description. Nonetheless, Let's look at each geographic level in turn, In terms of conducive location, Conducive food, Conducive personnel and conducive dharma. At the national level, Conducive location might mean a conducive climate that is neither too hot nor too cold. It might mean that the landscape is not too rugged or liable to flooding, But at the same time with convenient connections with the rest of the world. At a more local level, A conducive location means convenience in earning a decent living, Good communications, Proper social infrastructure and a plentiful supply of clean drinking water. On the neighborhood level, The things which make the environment conducive are a proper water and electricity supply, A good road system to avoid traffic jams, Good communications and no liability of flooding. On the level of the household, The things that count for making the environment conducive are a properly planned house with sufficient space, Good ventilation, Enough shade giving trees, Availability of parks and no disturbance from noise. Applying the same principles to a temple, Conducive temple grounds need to be sufficiently spacious for the number of temple goers, With enough shade to allow the congregation to meditate in comfort and without disturbance from the hustle and bustle of urban life. So now we turn from conducive location to consider conducive food. On the national level, Conducive food means a country being self-sufficient in the food it consumes, Not having to rely on neighboring countries for its food supply or drinking water. On the local level, Conducive food might mean the proximity of a market for foodstuffs. It might also mean being able to grow home produce. In any case, Anyone who lives in an area liable to flooding should try to be self-sufficient by keeping a cottage garden with basic vegetables and herbs. For some villages, When the floods come, If the government doesn't airlift food supplies within two or three days, The whole village will starve. These would be the villages where people can't be bothered to grow their own vegetables. Similarly, Places that only plant cash crops like maize lose everything as soon as the floods arrive. So just having a few vegetables like onions in the garden can allow people to get by for a whole month while emergency services try to reach them. Communibility of the food at the neighborhood level might mean the proximity of the house to a fresh food market. A good food supply on the household level would mean having a good cook in the house, The human heart of any successful kitchen. Even if our partner neglects the children, Is useless at receiving guests, And is clueless about the household finances, But if they know how to make a tasty meal, This can be their redeeming quality. Anybody who thinks they can survive on convenience foods and takeaways should think about all the flavor enhancers they put in commercial products. This is why everyone should learn to make homemade food. If you don't know how to cook at least one good thing well, Then go out and take an evening class in basic cooking. I suppose you could say that the greater British Bake Off is trying to create worthy heroes in this respect. Being able to cook becomes especially important when you have to take care of someone who is sick or lonely or anxious, Who has lost their appetite. When you are able to make an appetizing meal, It really makes a difference to them. I'm not saying that we ought to be obsessed with food as sometimes is the case for some Thai people, But since none of us are like a crocodile, Seals or dinosaurs that can snack on rocks, And I mean that seriously because they have a special name for such rocks, They're called gastroliths, Having a diet that is conducive to us is a plus point to our environment. So let's turn from the subject of food to look instead at the quality of people in our location. The various characteristics of a location, Whether good or bad, Are only minor compared with the characteristics of the people who live there. Even if the general characteristics of a location are abysmal, And the place is inhabited by virtuous people, Then the drawbacks of the location can be overcome. On the other hand, In a good location with housing and employment prospects, If the inhabitants are dishonest, However beautiful the buildings, It can be no better than a den of thieves. If the inhabitants are peaceful and well-mannered, Like monks, Then the buildings are a refuge, As good as the temple. At the national level, Conducive personnel means a population who uphold right livelihood. It means a population that lacks gangs, Terrorists or extortionists who threaten the solidarity of the country. The local level, If the population are overly materialistic, Society will not be a very happy one. The neighborhood level, In addition to those who earn an honest living, There must be those who make a direct contribution to the well-being of those around them. Qualified doctors are necessary in any society. Without them, Every minor ailment will be life-threatening. Even if economics are good, Without affordable health care, A society can never be considered to have conducive personnel. Also necessary for a conducive society are patrons and benefactors. Patrons and benefactors arise in a society where there is trading. The Buddha arose at a time in history when India was shifting from a subsistence agrarian society to a mercantile one. Those upgrading to a mercantile society reaped the benefit of having surplus capital to share around. If you don't believe me, Compare this to a society where everyone lives from hand to mouth and you will realize how hard it would be for a society with no economic slack to become conducive to the study of Dharma. In the time of the Buddha, If a king decided to establish a new city, Even if he had plenty of builders and planners, Without a benefactor or patron for the new project, The king wouldn't dare to perform the groundbreaking. In the modern day parlance, Such people might be known as investors. In this connection, There is an account in the Dhammapada commentary about when King Pasanti built the new city of Saketu. That king had to enlist the help of the Buddha to persuade another king, Bimbisara, To lend him a major investor to help establish the new city. King Bimbisara allowed a man called Dhananjaya to be the patron to the new city, And before long the patron got all the finances of the city properly organized and Saket became one of the most prosperous city-states in India at that time. This goes to show that a conducive location doesn't just consist of buildings, But it needs the presence of conducive neighbors willing to invest in their fellows. The reason that having a patron was so important, Apart from being a capitalist who would stimulate trade and growth, Is that they would act as an economist to help with financial planning so that the new city would not spend beyond its means. In addition to doctors and investors, A conducive location would also need wise ones in its community. Many of the reasons for the importance of the wise have already been covered in Blessing Number 2. In brief, Though, The wise have a special discretion which allows them to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong, What's appropriate and what's inappropriate, What is meritorious and what is unwholesome. Even if a person is illiterate but they can tell the difference between right and wrong, Then they can still be considered a wise one. Therefore, If you are choosing a place to live, Avoid choosing a place where no wise ones are forthcoming, Because in such a place it would not be conducive to the study of the Dharma. Lastly, Apart from doctors, Investors and the wise, A conducive place would ideally have a righteous ruler who is established in the ten virtues of a monarch. Without going into detail, It can be said that a qualifying monarch must be just and moral. I don't mean to say that a monarchy is required to make a conducive place to live. A conducive place could equally be a republic led by a virtuous president. Conducive personnel at the level of the household means the grown-ups in any household must be virtuous. Parents should refrain from alcohol and gambling, For example. Both should conform with right livelihood. Meanwhile, Their children should be earnest in their studies and should be compliant with their parents' advice. In this way, The household will be united as the smallest unit of a much larger conducive society. Lastly, Apart from conducive location, Conducive food and conducive personnel, A place is made conducive by the culture or principles which governs the lifestyle of the people who live in that place. This is known as conducive dhamma. At the national level, Conducive dhamma in a society means the governing principles of law and order by which the society abides. Conducive dhamma is lacking from countries where gangs run amok, For example. To a deeper level, Conducive dhamma equates with national culture and traditions that celebrate and is grateful for virtues. Although the law protects society from physical and verbal acts of unwholesomeness, Those laws cannot directly upgrade the quality of people's minds. A positive ethos derives instead from the culture or traditions of that place. A child's respect for parents and teachers is an example of ethos that leads to betterment of the mind. For as long as such traditions are still perpetuated and passed down from one generation to the next in any particular society, Then that society will remain a conducive place to live. By contrast, You should avoid going to live in a barbaric society when people have no respect for each other's dignity, Where, For example, In primitive societies, Leadership potential is measured in terms of excelling in cruel deeds. At a yet deeper level, Conducive dhamma in society means a good educational system which allows its citizens to make a thorough study of both worldly and spiritual matters, Where both schools and temples, From the educational infrastructure of society and all citizens, Are equipped with sufficient rationale not to be gullible. Deeper still, Buddhist teachings should be well rooted in that country. The Buddhist saint Padmasambhava said in the Tibetan Book of the Dead that when people are entranced by the pointless activities in life and are confused about their purpose in life, Then they will leave this world empty-handed. The main reason they leave this world empty-handed is because they cannot distinguish between good and bad deeds. They just do whatever pleases them. They might consider their life's work to be no more than survival of the species. It has to be said that even though some people are born on the doorstep of Buddhism, They still leave the world empty-handed. So what chance do other people stand who have never encountered Buddhism, And the Buddhism methodology is for cultivating benefit for this lifetime and the next, Where standing financially on your own two feet would be considered benefit in the present lifetime and accumulating merit in the mind to guide one on to a better spiritual destiny after death would be considered benefit for the next lifetime. Without knowledge of the methodologies of Buddhism, All a person can do is use up the merits accrued from previous lifetimes. So to come back to the meaning of conducive Dhamma on different levels, At the national level it would mean having just laws and customs as the national identity. Conducive Dhamma teachings on the neighborhood level for children anyway would mean having a good school nearby. If our children have the chance to study at a decent school, They will have a head start in life. Conducive Dhamma for grown-ups on the neighborhood level means having a good temple near at hand. And the very least, If there is a temple nearby our house, There will be monks who pass on their arms round and we will have the opportunity to make the merit of generosity every morning. If you want to listen to a Dhamma talk, Then we won't have to travel too far. The level of the household conducive Dhamma means an atmosphere of enthusiasm for Dhamma learning and teaching in the home, Whether it be the Dhamma discussion at mealtimes or parents setting an example to their children of Dhamma practice. So we have time for a quick Dhamma story to illustrate the power of one's spiritual destiny of living in a conducive location. The story comes from a 14th century chronicle called the Saddhammasangaha Vakuli-vattu by a monk from Ayodhya named Dhammakitti. He tells us that in the time of a previous Buddha, There was a monk who had retired to a cave in order to train himself in meditation. The monk would rise early each morning and chant the Abhidhamma, Which is the chanting we normally use for funerals in the present day. The monk shared the cave with about 500 bats. During the day the bats would return to the cave, But at night they would fly elsewhere to feed. Accordingly, The bats would hear the chanting of the Abhidhamma every day. Even though the bats had no way of knowing the meaning of the chanting, They became familiar with the sound and became inspired with faith. When it came to time for the bats to pass away, They died with faith in their hearts and were all reborn as angels. Passing away from their existence as angels, They were reborn as human beings in the time of the present Buddha. All 500 became ordained as monks and hearing the chanting of the Abhidhamma only once, Unlike usual people who might remain indifferent to the chanting even if they hear it many times, Well, Those ex-bats could remember the words of the Abhidhamma which were still impressed in their minds from the previous lifetime, And recollecting the words that the Abhidhamma were soon able to become enlightened as Arahants. So the message of the story is that living in a conducive location is not only advantageous for people, But even humble animals can experience the benefits. So returning to the subject matter of Buddhist Feng Shui for today, Let's see if having studied the four main principles of a location that make it conducive to spiritual transformation, We have at the same time discovered a recipe for success in choosing a location of a new house. In the olden days, No one would dare to build a new house without first seeking the advice of a teaching monk, Or at the very least from a fortune teller. The oracle in question would always advise them on what to look for in the lie of the land, For example, To have a mountain behind it and a water source in front. In fact, The most successful oracles are not interested in the lie of the land at all, But were interested in how many of the four principles of conducive location were present in the proposed site of the new house. If you want to have a crash course in predicting the Feng Shui of a prospective new house, You might start by drawing up a grid with a column for each of the four factors of conducive location. Once you've drawn up the grid, Supposing you're planning to move into a new place and you have to decide between several locations, Then award points to each of the different locations according to the four factors, Location, Food, Personnel, And dharma. Give each factor points out of 25. When you add up the total points for each different location, You'll be able to get a percentage conduciveness rating for each of the locations. To earn points for conducive location, A place would need to have access, Running water, Electricity, A mobile network, And broadband. If there's already a house on the site, The more spaces the better. The quality of construction work will also guide you as to awarding the appropriate number of points. To earn points for conducive food supply, The location would need to be close to the market or a store selling food and supplies. To earn points for conducive personnel, The location would need to have neighbours who are respectable, Upstanding, And of right view, Such as, Let's say, Doctors or teachers. At the very least, Those good neighbours would give us peaceful surroundings. In times of need, They will be able to help us. Finally, To earn points for conducive dharma, You would need to look for good schools for the children and good temples for adults, With monks passing by a location on arm's round. The first worked example is that of Healywood, Which is liable to earth tremors, Has plenty of job opportunities, Has a low crime rate, Nearby markets, Good free medical care, And monks passing on arm's round. We'd give it 18 out of 25 for conducive location, 18 out of 25 for conducive food, 18 out of 25 for conducive personnel, And 25 out of 25 for conducive dharma. This would add up to 79% as a score for the Feng Shui, Conducive to spiritual development for Healywood. To look at another worked example, We turn this time to Manhattan, Which is infested with malarial mosquitoes, But has abundant food. It has no red light district nearby, But has schools and temples in the locality. It has a low crime rate. So giving it marks for conduciveness, We'd give it 5 out of 25 for conducive location, 22 out of 25 for conducive food, 21 out of 25 for conducive people, And 19 out of 25 for conducive dharma. This would add up to 67% as a score for Feng Shui, Conducive to spiritual transformation for Manhattan. So when you add up the total points for each site, You should choose the locations with the maximum points for the site of your new house. So next time you move house, There's no need to consult a fortune teller or even a monk, Because you're now armed with an understanding of the factors that make a site conducive for your spiritual studies during the habitation. So you can choose the site for a new house without anyone else's help. This is certainly a good example of dhamma, Which is immediately applicable to everyday life. Of course, Feng Shui is not all about selecting a conducive home. We have to work with what we already have to upgrade its conduciveness for spiritual transformation for everyone who lives there. In this connection, There are at least four ways which you can improve the Feng Shui of your home as a location conducive to good habits for yourself or for your family. Firstly, You need to give thought to your work-life balance so that you can spend enough time with your children to be able to instill them with goodness. Some people say that they are overburdened with work. However, If the reason for this is that you need it to afford to send your children to a private school, Then think again. If you are left with no quality time for your children and they end up with an addiction as a result, You'll be spending all your money on rehab and summer camps for troubled teens instead. If on the contrary, You can rearrange your time to give full attention to your children's upbringing, Then your foray into parenthood will be rewarded many times over. Secondly, It's recommended with the tagline that the family that eats together stays together that there ought to be at least one meal time per day when the whole family sits down together. It is something that we will return to more in blessing number 12. However, In short, As a parent, You need to instill your child with virtue and the whole family need to get to see each other across a dining table at least once a day in order to discuss Dharma, Instruct one another and comment on the habits which each should be improving upon. In order to exemplify good habits you would like to see in your household, Being together at meal times will provide this opportunity. Thirdly, Especially in terms of the formation of good habits, You need to accept that money can't buy everything. Bringing up a child means more than just seeing that there is food on their plate. Lastly, It's recommended the whole family does its daily chanting and meditation together. More recently, The whole idea of transforming our house to be more conducive has been examined in more detail by our teachers in Thailand. And the way they have concluded that we upgrade our homes as a place to cultivate the noble eightfold path can be remembered as a five by five approach. There are five universal goodness habits to be cultivated and five categories of spaces in our home and our work lives where they need to be cultivated. The five universal goodness habits which will be familiar to you by now are cleanliness, Tidiness, Politeness, Punctuality and attention span. The five categories of spaces to practice universal goodness are our bedroom, Bathroom, Dining room, Including the kitchen, Living room, Of course, Dressing room and our place of work. For example, When we use our bedroom, We should be punctual by having the habit of waking up on time each day. In conclusion, A conducive location has four factors conducive location, Conducive food supply, Conducive personnel and conducive tamma. If you put these four characteristics in order of importance, You will find that conducive tamma is the most important, Followed by conducive personnel, Followed by conducive food supply, With the conducive location being actually the least important of the four. Even a location and food supply may not be ideal, But if the inhabitants are conducive, Then they can soon improve the quality of the location and the food. However, The thing that makes the inhabitants conducive is having conducive tamma in their hearts and minds. This is the reason why conducive tamma is the most important attribute of the four. As with the previous blessings, There are two different levels of description of conducive location. Up till now, We've talked exclusively about conducive location being around us in our surroundings. In such a case, The conduciveness of location will be determined by the four factors that we've already mentioned. Another possibility, However, Which we have not yet considered, Is that conducive location can also lie within. In fact, Whether our interior condition is conducive or otherwise to the dharma, Has even more influence on the quality of our well-being than our surroundings. What we mean by conducive location on the inside is a healthy body and mind, A body and mind that are in no way weakened or infected by any sort of disease. Even people born with all the advantages may take their health for granted and get mixed up with addictions. If instead they were able to uphold the precepts, They would be able to preserve and upgrade the quality of their internal conducive location. This is why it's often said that if you take care of your precepts, Then they will take care of you. So now that you know the four factors of conducive location, If you are still a child, You should settle for a location that is going to be conducive for your own education. If you are an adult, Then you should try to make your location into a conducive location wherever you go. As an adult, It's not good enough simply to go looking for conducive locations. You should be working actively to improve the quality of the environment wherever you go. So, I'd like to finish off with a story from the scriptures which is taken again from the commentary to the Dharmapada. It's a story that comes from a time long before the time of the present Buddha, Where the only Buddhas available were those who, Although enlightened, Were unable to teach for the benefit of the many folk. One of these so-called Pacheco Buddhas regularly came on alms round to the house of a herdsman. Having collected alms, The Pacheco Buddha would return to the forest to take his meal. He had to make the journey every day. So to save him repeated journeys, The herdsman invited the Pacheco Buddha to spend the rainy season near his own house and pledged to provide the midday meal every day. So he kept his promise and brought his lunch every day for the Pacheco Buddha accompanied by his dog. Any day when the herdsman was not free to make the offering himself, He would send his well-trained dog to carry a tiffin set of food to offer to the Pacheco Buddha in his place. As the dog grew more familiar with the Pacheco Buddha, It took a liking to him because the department and manner of the Pacheco Buddha was so gentle. If the dog was at home and failed to bring firewood for his master, Then he would get punished. By contrast, The Pacheco Buddha always treated him gently. The dog even liked to listen to the sound of the Pacheco Buddha doing his chanting. There was no risk of being beaten and the Pacheco Buddha would even save a portion of the food to give to the dog. The dog became more and more familiar with the gentle manner of the Pacheco Buddha and at the end of the rainy season, The Pacheco Buddha bid the herdsman goodbye and returned to the forest. The Pacheco Buddha made his journey by floating through the air and the dog watched the Pacheco Buddha go with such regret that it howled mournfully. It was a sad farewell for the dog who had the Pacheco Buddha still very much on his mind. In fact, The dog was so sad that it dropped dead with a broken heart. However, As a result of the faith of this dog in the Pacheco Buddha and from howling at the departure of the Pacheco Buddha, The dog was reborn immediately as an angel called Gosaka in the second level of heaven, Whose duty it was to be the spokesman for the rest of the angels. In the time of the present Buddha, Gosaka was born in the human realm as Gosaka the merchant and was one of the greatest patrons of Buddhism. So it can be seen that the result of living in a conducive location and taking the chance to support a Pacheco Buddha led him from the lowly rebirth as a dog to rebirth first as an angel and then as an important patron of Buddhism. So for this session, I have introduced the blessing number four on Buddhist Feng Shui to you. For my next session, I'll move on to the fifth blessing on the topic of having accumulated merits in our past, Which explains the important influence of past habits on our success in the present lifetime. Hopefully, As a result of today's session, You will be equipped to recognize and ameliorate the conducive locations in your life, Both inside and outside. So for today, This is me, Pratt Nicholas, Signing off for now. So long, Folks, And stay safe.