The author's informant said that, according to his sources, about 50 per cent of Chinese buyers in Canada are concerned about fung shui, although they may not engage a master. They may bring along a knowledgeable friend to advise or the buyer will request pertinent information from the agent.
Author Sarah Rossbach, who lives in the United States, was a fung shui student of Beijing-born Lin Yun. He founded the Tibetan Tantric Buddhist Temple in Berkeley, California. Rossbach is now a fung shui consultant. Yet she admits many people prefer to be billed for 'design services' rather than for 'geomancy'. The title, 'environmental consultant', too, is often used (Konclus, 1991:6).
The author's Chinese godson, who lives in the United States, says that there is more interest in fung shui in large cities like New York and Los Angeles. In such places a few Westerners employ fung shui at official openings of shops and stores.
Among Caucasians, the aim in the West is usually for fung shui to provide 'tranquility' and Westerners make adjustments to buildings and their interiors so that 'good order' prevails. Everyone, inwardly, needs to live in balance with their environment and the universe. Fung shui appeals to many because it is a form of cosmology within the grasp of common man. As one lady responded to the author: 'Yes I'm a Scot, a Celt. I believe in that sort of thing.'
Conclusions
Now is the time to try to pull some of the themes discussed in this paper together, even if, with much fung shui doctrine, what some people call 'jungle sensitiveness' can be seen to prevail. Many principles cannot be measured with a tape measure or weighed with a balance.
Although forms of geomancy are not uncommon in countries around the world, Chinese fung shui is more complex than most geomantic doctrines. While much may not be amenable to scientific explanation, as Bard writes, Chinese fung shui is certainly not the superstition of an unsophisticated people (Bard, 1988:104). The aim is, basically, to harmonise elemental forces and create environments, in the home, workplace or in the afterlife, free of discord. A great deal is based on the
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