18:46 MAS FLT 070 Kuala Lumpur -> Tokyo-Japan :: 2 JUN 95

Robert Goh (NST, May 25) disagrees with Lilian Too's strong advocacy of Feng Shui. This is his privilege, but he goes on to completely write off the Chinese science of geomancy. He says, "Chinese geomancy is based on [a] very shaky foundation laid in China's ancient past—an age of ignorance as seen in the light of present scientific knowledge". I think it's necessary to offer rebuttal to Goh's very serious misunderstanding.

Because scientists have become the high priests of our society, most of us tend to accept scientific opinion as fact. If scientists say that certain phenomena do not exist, then we think that must be true, even if it means denying our own personal experiences. Since the 17th century physics has been the exemplary "exact" science and has served as the model for all other sciences. At the beginning of this century, a new development took place. The study of the world of atoms forced physicists into several conceptual revolutions that clearly reveal the limitations of their worldly views.

Relativity theory and atomic physics shattered all the principal aspects of the mechanical world view—the elementary solid particles (now shown to consist almost entirely of empty space), the notion of absolute space and absolute time, the strictly causal nature of physical phenomena, and the ideal of an objective description of nature. When physicists extended the range of their investigations into the realms of atomic and subatomic phenomena, they were confronted with the limitations of their ideas and had to radically change some of their concepts of reality. But it was rewarded by deeper insights into the nature of matter and of the human mind.

The universe is now no longer seen as a machine made up of a multitude of separate objects, but appears as a harmonious indivisible whole-a network of dynamic relationships that include the human observer and his consciousness in an essential way. Modern physics, the manifestation of extreme specialisation of the rational human mind, now has made contact with Eastern mystic philosophy- the essence of religion and the manifestation of extreme specialisation of the intuitive mind.

One of the main lessons that physicists had to learn in this century was that all the concepts and theories used to describe nature are limited. Scientific theories can never provide a complete and definite description of reality. They will always be approximations of the true nature of things. Even scientists do not deal with the truth-they can only deal with limited and approximate descriptions of reality.

Both the quantum theory and relativity theory, the two foundations of 20th century physics, force physicists to now see the world very much in the way a Hindu, Buddhist, or Taoist sees it. The effect on the physicists' view of reality is truly shattering. They make the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism most striking.

Their experience can serve as a useful lesson for other scientists, philosophers, and even theologians, many of whom have now reached the limits of the Cartesian world view in their fields. Like the physicists, they will have to accept the fact that we must modify or even abandon our concepts of reality when we expand the realm of our experience or our field of study.

More than anything else, Feng Shui was based on the philosophy of the text of the I Ching. This ancient Chinese memorial originated some 4,500 years ago. Scholars say it contains the metaphysical knowledge that human beings need to gain mastery of life. However, important deeper parts are indecipherable and lost to our present knowledge.

One aspect of the I Ching that appeals to modern physicists is the relation between spirit and matter. The Chinese believe spirit and matter are two aspects of the same thing. To them spirit is inherent in matter. Albert Einstein's field theory agrees with this. Psychologist Carl Jung studied the text for years and discovered it contained profound truths. Nobel physicist Niels Bohr recognised parallels with modern atomic science. Other top scientists found that the 64 hexagrams in the I Ching correspond exactly to the 64 DNA condons of the genetic code of all life on earth.

Tan Wee Kiat Kuala Lumpur

Patrick. -- Responses Sought --

Searching and fixing of good location for the burial of passed away ancestors; surveying and arranging of good position for settling down business and lodging places, in which would gain prosperity and luck in the very near future

Business card of Lung King Chuen Chinese Geomancer