UCAN: Limit 'feng shui' to the practical, Catholics cautioned

SAN JUAN, Philippines (UCAN) - Advertising officer Teresa Fernandez keeps a picture of Jesus Christ on her desk, surrounded by figurines of a jade boar, a green dragon, two small oranges and eight coins.

The 48-year-old Catholic practices feng shui (literally, "wind water"), the Chinese art of harmonious and balanced placement of objects. "The boar is for good luck this year, the Year of the Pig," which begins on Feb. 18, the Lunar New Year, the advertising officer explained, adding that the dragon and the round objects are also supposed to bring good luck. "Eight is also a lucky number," she told UCA News in her office in San Juan town, east of Manila. Fernandez keeps eight of the same type of coins in every bag she carries, and makes sure furniture follows "feng shui" guidelines. The ends of beds should not be in line with the door, mirrors should not directly face beds, stairs should never face the front door and clutter should be avoided. "These steps ensure that positive energy flows freely," she said. Her real-estate business clients, especially Filipinos of Chinese ancestry, follow these guidelines, she said. Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran (unity for progress), a 20-year-old nongovernmental organization (NGO) promoting integration of Chinese-Filipinos into Philippine society, estimates that of 1 million ethnic Chinese in the Philippines, about 90 percent were born in the country, some as third-generation or fourth-generation descendants of Chinese immigrants. Even now, in advance of the Lunar New Year, also called the Chinese New Year, there are feng shui festivals in malls around Manila. And judging from the number of malls with feng shui shops, Jesuit Father Aristotle Dy describes the practice as "certainly very popular." The national secretary of the Chinese-Filipino Catholic Apostolate in the Philippines estimates "around four of every 10 Filipinos practice some form of feng shui." The 2006 Catholic Directory of the Philippines lists 54 parishes, institutes and chaplaincies under the apostolate. Another Filipino Catholic feng shui practitioner, homemaker Lorinda Clores, makes sure that the front steps of her house are always clean so that positive energy and good luck can enter. "There's no harm in being practical," the 60-year-old mother of four told UCA News, noting that cleanliness at home is "very practical." With a clean house, she said, one is likely to "feel good inside as opposed to feeling irritable" in a dirty place. Father Dy explains "there is nothing wrong" with following feng shui's "scientific principle of harmony," noting that he, too, follows what he considers to be "a practical science." However, he discourages people from placing their faith in feng shui. In his analysis, feng shui is popular among some Filipinos for the same reasons that folk Catholicism is popular. "Our people believe in practices that bring good luck or blessings, and they likewise believe in practices that ward off evil," the priest observed, citing the Philippine custom of setting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve to get rid of the previous year's misfortunes, wearing religious accessories, and wiping statues to draw healing and blessings from them. While some people are into feng shui just "for fun," he said, "I feel bad for people who place all their hope in feng shui or any such practices." People who have faith in a personal God who loves them and will not abandon them, even as they endure pain and suffering, will not need feng shui or similar practices, he continued. For example, "among older Chinese, there is the practice of choosing a 'good' day for marriage or moving into a new house, but with faith in God, any day is good because each new day comes from God." For the Chinese-Filipino priest, the more ideal, productive approach to feng shui would be concern for the environment. That, to him, is the essence of feng shui. "We need to study the environment, how it affects us, how we affect it, and come to some sense of balance and harmony with nature."

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Republished by Catholic Online with permission of the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News), the world's largest Asian church news agency (www.ucanews.com).