"QMDJ-XKDG"? Putting Dinosaurs and Homosapiens together

Note:  The message below was written in August 2015 for my "Professional Imperial QMDJ" discussion group. I wrote this article after being bombarded with questions about this so-called "QMDJ-XKDG" by my curious students for years.  I have updated it with some new notes here.

Ancient QMDJ books

Some marketers have marketed a "Qi-Men-Dun-Jia Xuan-Kong-Da-Gua"  (奇门遁甲玄空大卦 QMDJ-XKDG) course a few years ago. You (my students) have asked many questions about this course.

In Chinese metaphysics, there is a fetish of "na-jia" or trying to fit everything into the bagua.  Xuan-Kong-Da-Gua or XKDG itself is an example-- artificially fitting 64 hexagrams into the bagua or 8-trigrams by repeating 4 jia-zi (binomials).  XKDG is still not accepted by some Feng Shui schools.

There is also a tendency in Chinese metaphysics circle to stuff 64 hexagrams into existing systems and repackage it as "XXXX-XKDG".   These marketers often claim that this is no new stuff but a recent "rediscovery" of long-lost ancient manuscript or technique.

Early compass with 8 sectors

During mid-Qing dynasty (around 1700-1800), the government had relaxed the restrictions on the spreading of QMDJ to help countering the increasingly aggressive western power and internal rebellions.  Scholars and amateurs at that time had gone nuts and written many "armchair" books on QMDJ.  "Armchair" means out of imagination or simply using formula mechanically to generate more QMDJ theories.  Some may work and most do not or simply have no empirical testing to backup the "new" theories.

As far as I know, there is no such thing as "QMDJ-XKDG".  Modern marketers have coined the term "QMDJ-XKDG" because this later day version of QMDJ has somehow "squeezed" 64 hexagrams into the system.  The original author(s) had called this version of QMDJ as "Golden Mirror of Nation-building and Capital setting for 10 Thousands Years Reign" (Aren't we lucky that Hitler had not gotten a copy?).  I have read the book about this "nation/ capital building" QMDJ. (For around NT$ 300 or US$ 10, you can get the Chinese book on this topic in Taiwan).

Timeline between Dinosaurs and Humans

QMDJ was developed around 200 AD using only 9 palaces or sectors (the rudimentary compass at that time could not do measurement down to individual degree). XKDG requires accuracy down to 360/384 or 0.938 degree (even compass during the1800's could not be this accurate).  Mixing QMDJ with XKDG together is as funny as putting dinosaurs with humans together like the "One Million Years BC" movie.  QMDJ and XKDG were over 1500 years apart.  

Sample Capital-building chart

The original author of this version of QMDJ had claimed it is for "capital building" and provincial/ city level "huge projects".  It is not designed for individual house, building or even housing estates though one may use it as "reference".   If we assume it works as claimed-- there are not too many capitals around or huge projects for Feng Shui students to build.  This means only these so-called  "QMDJ-XKDG" teachers make money from selling the course.The students will probably find little or no market for "QMDJ-XKDG" other than selling the course again to others.   It is even worse if the darn thing does not work.

Anyway, the "capital-building chart 建都盤" looks impressive if not intimidating for the uninitiated.  It is just iterations of some formulas into individual palace.

Imperial Qing dynasty was no longer exist in China since 1911.  It should be here today if "QMDJ-XKDG" was employed.  And we know from historical texts and Qing Imperial Tombs that Qing emperors were very into Feng Shui and QMDJ.  The Qing military commander Nian Gengyao (年羹尧) was known for using QMDJ in quelling rebellions.

Commander Nian Gengyao

The essence of the question is:  Can QMDJ be scaled up and applied to regional or national level when it was originally designed for small scale or single location application?  

QMDJ itself is a very complicated system with over 50 data points and numerous dimensions.  XKDG is not as complicated as QMDJ, but it is not simple either.  Imagine the astronomical number of combinations generated when someone tries to tie these two system together!

Mixing unrelated systems and methods together is like building a QMDJ Frankenstein.  The more variables one adds to a system, the more complicated it becomes, the narrower for its application (like in this case, capital building and huge projects) and the higher probability of something goes wrong.  Isn't this too much for an individual Feng Shui practitioner to handle?

Just because a book was written a few hundred years ago does not necessarily make its contents valid.  Consumers need to do their crap-detection and hype-filtering before paying for courses based on these "ancient books" or "rediscovery of ancient techniques".

My 40 years of experience in Chinese metaphysics tells me if someone hypes about a recent "discovery" of an ancient text, technique or family heirloom manuscript in QMDJ, Feng Shui or any topic, the chance of this being crap is pretty high.  If the newly rediscovered "technique" is so amazing and powerful, it should have been utilized extensively like aspirin or sliced bread.  Why it is forgotten or disappeared into the garbage heaps of history long time ago?

You may find QMDJ-ZWDS, XKDG-ZWDS, QMDJ-XKDG-ZWDS, Mega QMDJ-XKDG-ZWDS-4P-Flying-Star courses.... soon in some marketer websites near you.

Ken Lai 

“Advanced Visual Form Feng Shui” w/23 hr. HD video
“Visual Form Feng Shui” w/13 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. w/ Bazi- Basic/ Advanced w/18 hr. HD video each
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 1: Forecasting and Decision Support” w/23 hr. HD video
“Feng Shui Toolbox: Sha-qi, Health/Wealth and Career” w/ 7 hr. HD video
“Period 7/8 FS Toolkit w/ Advanced Flying Star techniques” w/ 6 hr. HD video
“Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
“Advanced/ Practical Imperial Qi-men-Dun-Jia 4G” w/ 12 or 16 hr. video
“Professional Imperial QMDJ 4G” w/ 21 hr. video
“EZ QMDJ series: Astrology, Date/Task Selection, Annual Luck/FS”w/ 3 hr. HD
“EZ QMDJ Advanced Feng Shui” with 4 hr. HD video
“Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui/Blessing” w/ 24 hr video
“Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth” w/ 3 hr. video
“4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp” with 12 hr. video

http://www.kenlaifengshui.com
http://kenlaifengshui.blogspot.com

"Lineage Rocks" vs "Lineage Sucks"-- Part II

I had no intention of writing a Part II. But someone makes a big fuss out of "lineage sucks". So here is Part II...

In Part I, I did not choose a position on whether "lineage rocks" or "lineage sucks".

In real life, most of us belong to both camps at one time or another-- when we learn from more than one teacher, we are on the "lineage sucks" side of the lineage-rocks/ lineage-sucks continuum. When we stick with only one or two teachers, we lean towards the "lineage rocks" side.

I did state that it is hazardous (to your wallet) to "shop" a school based on its lineage claims because it is difficult to prove or disprove the claims.

I have also pointed out the Modius Operandi (M.O., modes of operation) of lineage claims from mainland China.

Like everywhere else, there are real lineages and "not-so-real" lineages in China. However, the "not-so-real" lineage claims from mainland China are easier to detect than the ones from Hong Kong, Taiwan and southeast Asia because of their "unique" approaches in building up a lineage. Here are some red flags or patterns:

-- title-piling: they are likely to pile PhD, PhD advisor, PhD Post-doc, Professor, Yi-Jing Society Chairman... titles on the same line (you may laugh your head off if you know the how these titles are ranked). These titles are often from non-existent foreign universities or paper-mill OR counterfeit certificates of famous Chinese universities. If the "master" is a real PhD, he is better off chasing the IPO gold-rush in China now than working as a Feng Shui master with low social status.

-- elevating an old man as grandmaster of the lineage: If you do some Math, even an 80 years old man was only 22 when the Chinese Communists took over China in 1949! Where did he learn and practice his Feng Shui skills, not to mention that he might be killed during the Cultural Revolution of the '60s?

-- claiming their Feng Shui will work 100% (even God cannot promise that!)

-- using famous old tombs and temples to prove their Feng shui work

-- claiming only selected few will be accepted as their "in-house students" (but with certain amount, like US$5000, you are automatically chosen without interviewing and seeing you in advance).

Someone is unhappy about my pointing out of this M.O.. He thinks I wrote "lineage sucks" to make myself look better.

This someone has no reason to be unhappy IF his/ her lineage does not match the descriptions above.

I have also received private emails thanking me for this info.

I think consumers will make better decision if given more information.

So, is there any compromise between this lineage-rocks/ lineage-sucks continuum?

If you were an extreme "lineage sucks" person, you will have problem learning the innermost secrets of real lineages. Most masters are no idiots. They will not show you the real thing when they know you are a "bar-hopping" student with little or no loyalty.

If you were an extreme "lineage rocks" person, your vision will be limited by one or two perspectives or schools.

One common alternative is "lineage-hopping" for a while to sample different schools. Then stick with one or two teachers that you have affinity to.

Yes, I know. It is getting darn expensive.

A few young masters of the "lineage sucks" camp use the "Tony Robbins template" to promote their schools. Tony Robbins is the motivational king (speaker) in USA.

These young masters simply substitute Tony's motivation or NLP stuff with "Feng Shui" for power, relationship and wealth..... Some even imitate Tony's mannerisms, gestures, vocabularies, website design and even the name of Tony's "Mastery University".

With Tony's template, you don't need to be a genius to act like one.

http://www.tonyrobbins.com/UpwEvents/Default.aspx

Fortunately or unfortunately, these young masters do not copy the fire-walking trick in their syllabus.

When one subscribes to "lineage sucks", one is less likely to extol his teachers or old masters. He may keep all the glory and goodwill to himself. He may tell people that they can also "be all they can be", just like him (the genius) by taking his courses and buying his books.

"Think and act BIG" is the mantra. Tony Robbins' M.O. fits this philosophy perfectly.

Amazingly the "Tony Robbin template" seems to work for some young masters. I hope Tony does not read this message or it may "awaken the Feng Shui giant within" him and push his own version of Feng Shui (he probably will call it "associative environmental conditioning").

Tony has already "invaded" the health and nutrition territories with his motivational talks. Feng Shui may well be the next target.

It does not matter whether lineage rocks or sucks--- as long as it works. It still sucks if the lineage is real but the contents do not work. However, it seems difficult to get the "real thing" without joining a real lineage.

"Real thing", most of the time, refers to the "execution" of a high level FS technique, like where to do your luopan measurement and how to operationalize the "mountains", "dragons", "water".....

Many "lineage-graded" secrets are amazingly simple, but they are the critical links or "buttons" for the whole model or system to work. These "secrets" normally cost big bucks (US$20,000 or more) to buy or nothing (if you have good relationship with your master). One cannot expect to learn these secrets in a US$2- 3000 class.

So, do you need these "secrets"? Not really, unless you want to push the "wealth" envelop to the max. For most practitioners, what you learn from reputable teachers out there should be suffice for common situations.

Now you should be able to decide if "lineage rocks" or "lineage sucks" or simply put, "Is lineage relevant?"

It all boils down to your pocket book-- if you just want to be a "general practitioner", then lineage is not that important. You can learn from a variety of teachers or schools. If you want to be a "specialist", then lineage becomes important (and expensive!).

Joining a "real" lineage is just the beginning of a long journey. There is no guarantee that you will get the "real thing". You may also be susceptible to internal lineage politics and the "in-house discipleship" bait that turns you into a slave of the master. But if you are in good luck or have good karma with the lineage, you may get the "real thing" goodies.

I deliberately avoid the question of age or experience here. I guess you can figure it out yourself.

Like any professions, there are good FS masters and not-so-good FS masters--- you need to find the good one yourself.


Ken Lai

"Practical Imperial QMDJ" with 9 hr. video
"4-Pillars Bootcamp" with 8 hr. video now available
"Daoist Talisman for FS and Blessing" w/ 13 hr video
"Practical Door FS for wealth" w/ 3 hr. video
http://www.kenlaifengshui.com

Will I get my millionaire mentor?

We see the words "millionaire" and "mentor" a lot lately. So I did a "google" search on "millionaire mentorship program". I'm amazed by the varieties of "flavors" out there. But most are associated with real estate investment and charge from US$1500- 15,000 for the program. I stumbled into this site which rates popular real estate "gurus" and their seminars/courses. http://www.johntreed.com/rateseminars.html

You may want to check out the article "The real estate B.S. artist detection checklist". If we change the words "real estate" into "Chinese Metaphysics," at least half of the list are just applicable.

I think the most interesting article on this site is the analysis on Robert T. Kiyosaki’ s book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". Like everyone else, I want to know the real identity of Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad".

OK, how do we find out if we have mentor luck? In BaZi (4P), Tian-yi Nobleman represents mentor luck or helpful people. Here is the formula to find out:

If the heavenly stem of your day pillar is:

Jia, your day/month/hour pillar's earthly branches has/ have chou/ wei;

Chou/ wei is your Tian-yi.

Yi, zi/shen

Bing, hai/you

Ding, hai/you

Wu, chou/wei

Ji, zi/shen

Geng, chou/wei

Xin, wu/yin

Ren, mao/si

Gui, mao/si

Tian-yi Nobleman that is in the day pillar is more powerful in terms of predictive power.

However, women with more than 2 Tian-yi Nobleman could be prostitute OR very sociable.

People with Tian-yi Nobleman are sociable, have good mentor luck and likely become rich outside their hometown.

What if I got no Tian-yi Nobleman in my 4P? Does it mean I won't get my millionaire mentor?

Don't panic, you will get your chance. For example, if you were a Bing person, hai/ you are your Tian-yi Nobleman. When Hai (pig) or You (Rooster) year comes, you may have better mentor luck.

Ken Lai

Video Correspondence Courses: (click for details)   
“Applied Bazi: Sickness Forecasting and Management” w/33 hr. HD video 
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 1: Forecasting and Decision Support” w/32 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 2: Basic Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 3 w/ Advanced Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
“Feng Shui Toolbox: Sha-qi, Health/Wealth and Career” w/ 7 hr. HD video
“Period 7/8 FS Toolkit w/ Advanced Flying Star techniques” w/ 6 hr. HD video
“Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
“Practical Imperial Qi-Men-Dun-Jia 4G” w/ 12 hr. video
“Professional Imperial QMDJ 4G” w/ 21 hr. video
“EZ QMDJ series: Astrology, Date/Task Selection, Annual Luck/ FS”w/ 3 hr. HD
“EZ QMDJ Advanced Feng Shui” with 4 hr. HD video
“Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui/Blessing” w/ 24 hr video
“Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth” w/ 3 hr. video
“4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp+ 2017 edition” with 18 hr. video
“Advanced Visual Form Feng Shui” w/23 hr. HD video
“Visual Form Feng Shui” w/13 hr. HD video

http://www.kenlaifengshui.com

Of Master and Brooms

The following was written on Jan 26, 2004

Let's have some laughs!

A Feng Shui pal forwarded me the following fax:

Title: Feng Shui Broom that sweeps in the fortune

These brooms are specially designed by Master XXXX, a regional renowned Feng Shui master from XXXXXXXX. Although well known to many rich and powerful people in the region, Master XXXX has not forgotten those who are still searching for their elusive fortune. In his desire to help all those in need, he has designed two unique Feng Shui brooms for use in the company (heavy-duty) and at home (light-duty). Please email us for a full specification of the colored e- brochure.

Only limited editions of each broom will be sold to usher in the lunar year. Be the owner of these very auspicious pair of broom that is specially designed to sweep in the fortune. So order early. A pair cost only $__.00

==========================================

This is another application of the "Master" title-- hawking brooms.

If the darn thing can really sweep in fortune, any idiot will order the "heavy-duty" one! Why does this Master monkey around with the "light-duty" one?

It is easy to tell the "Master xxxx' involved is a fake one since in Chinese culture, brooms are always used to sweep garbage and dust OUT of the house, not collecting stuff.

This is another "Feng Shui Anything" marketing ploy.

One day Master XXXX may come up with the idea of "Feng Shui Toilet paper"-- the more you use it, the more fortune rolls in. Yup, there will be a "heavy-duty" version, so you may recycle it.

PS: If you really want to buy these brooms, I can forward you the email address of this company.

This is not a joke.


Ken Lai
http://www.kenlaifengshui.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10429370@N05/

To grow a money tree

Note: The following was written on Jun 22, 2004

If I tell a non-Feng Shui person to "plant" $1000 on the ground and grow a money tree that will give him one million dollars in a few months, he will call me a nut for sure.

Imagine what he will say if I tell him my Feng Shui class will make him a billionaire or millionaire.

Any Feng Shui tricks that claim to make a billionaire/ millionaire out of ANY person without looking at his/ her 4-pillars are highly probably fakes. Not every destiny can handle big wealth, esp. for people with weak day-masters.

Still not believe? You can check how did the descendants of great Feng Shui masters in Chinese history fare in terms of wealth and fame. Most of them vanished without a trace in history.

How about the emperors of China, who had the services of imperial Feng Shui masters? They were beaten up by the foreign powers and overthrown by their own people in 1911.

Shouldn't the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan be more prosperous than the US folks, after all, they utilize Feng Shui more than any other countries in the world?

Feng Shui is NOT the determining factor in one's destiny or a country's destiny. It serves as a catalyst/ enhancer or buffer/ reducer of fortune or misfortune.

The primary goal of Feng Shui is to live in-sync with nature and not making money. Making unsubstantiated claims will degrade Feng Shui into the ranks of street-level fortune-tellers or jokes for comedians.

Ken Lai

Video Correspondence Courses: (click for details)   
“Applied Bazi: Sickness Forecasting and Management” w/33 hr. HD video 
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 1: Forecasting and Decision Support” w/32 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 2: Basic Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 3 w/ Advanced Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
“Feng Shui Toolbox: Sha-qi, Health/Wealth and Career” w/ 7 hr. HD video
“Period 7/8 FS Toolkit w/ Advanced Flying Star techniques” w/ 6 hr. HD video
“Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
“Practical Imperial Qi-Men-Dun-Jia 4G” w/ 12 hr. video
“Professional Imperial QMDJ 4G” w/ 21 hr. video
“EZ QMDJ series: Astrology, Date/Task Selection, Annual Luck/ FS”w/ 3 hr. HD
“EZ QMDJ Advanced Feng Shui” with 4 hr. HD video
“Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui/Blessing” w/ 24 hr video
“Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth” w/ 3 hr. video
“4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp+ 2017 edition” with 18 hr. video
“Advanced Visual Form Feng Shui” w/23 hr. HD video
“Visual Form Feng Shui” w/13 hr. HD video

http://www.kenlaifengshui.com

Viagra, Feng Shui Viagra and Joyagra

Note: The following was written on July 3, 2003

Yup, I know this title gets you excited. But hold your horse first.

Pfizer, the patent owner of Viagra, sues a little company, Joytime Herbal Tea Co. of Minneapolis, MN. Joytime sells an herbal tea called "Joyagra". Pfizer claims Joytime has violated its trademark and sue for damages.

What the hell does this lawsuit has to do with Feng Shui then? As you may know, some Feng Shui classes advertise "Feng Shui Viagra" trick will be taught there. So Pfizer can potentially sue these organizers for damages.

Well, if your "horn dog" fails to stand up, why don't you go to your doctor and beg for some free Viagra samples? It is a lot quicker and cheaper than shelling out a few hundred bucks to learn Feng Shui Viagra in a seminar.

Pretty soon I won't doubt we will have "Feng Shui cloning", "Feng Shui heart transplant", "Feng Shui breast augmentation", "Feng Shui hair-growing",..... Sound ridiculous? Yes, it is. A simple way to handle all these Feng Shui craps would be building a Feng Shui Temple and let's ask Feng Shui God for whatever we want, from bigger penis/ boobs to better paid jobs (make sure the job is close to where I live too, I don't want to drive too long to work). We no longer need health insurance or freaking hospitals, plastic surgeons, hair-transplant clinics......

The basic premise of Feng Shui is to live in harmony with nature, but now some of us portray it as a magic bullet for almost any problems, including lust and greed.

Is it Time for some introspection?


Ken Lai

Video Correspondence Courses: (click for details)   
“Applied Bazi: Sickness Forecasting and Management” w/33 hr. HD video 
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 1: Forecasting and Decision Support” w/32 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 2: Basic Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 3 w/ Advanced Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
“Feng Shui Toolbox: Sha-qi, Health/Wealth and Career” w/ 7 hr. HD video
“Period 7/8 FS Toolkit w/ Advanced Flying Star techniques” w/ 6 hr. HD video
“Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
“Practical Imperial Qi-Men-Dun-Jia 4G” w/ 12 hr. video
“Professional Imperial QMDJ 4G” w/ 21 hr. video
“EZ QMDJ series: Astrology, Date/Task Selection, Annual Luck/ FS”w/ 3 hr. HD
“EZ QMDJ Advanced Feng Shui” with 4 hr. HD video
“Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui/Blessing” w/ 24 hr video
“Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth” w/ 3 hr. video
“4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp+ 2017 edition” with 18 hr. video
“Advanced Visual Form Feng Shui” w/23 hr. HD video
“Visual Form Feng Shui” w/13 hr. HD video

http://www.kenlaifengshui.com