Purple Lotus Publisher > Journal > Volumn NO. 11

Outside the Bow and Inside the Bow

Translated from pp.45-49 of (A Detailed Explanation of Household Geomancy), written by Master Sheng-yen Lu, 1987

Translated by Janny Chow

Outside the bow. When we raise a bow and mount an arrow on the string of the bow, the area pointed at by the arrowhead is considered outside the bow.

Inside the bow. When we raise a bow and mount an arrow on the string of the bow, the segment of the arrow that is located within the bow is considered ?nside the bow.

In simple terms, a bow is an arc. The area enclosed by an arc is called inside the bow. The area outside an arc is called outside the bow.

For example, we draw a circle and place a house inside this circle. The house would be inside the bow, no matter which direction it faces. On the contrary, houses outside the circle are all located in an outside the bow position.

In terms of topography, watercourses, roads, and buildings can give rise to ?utside the bow situations.

An outside the bow situation created by a watercourse happens when a meandering river flowing in front of one's house forms a curve, and the house is located outside the curve.

An outside the bow situation created by a road occurs when a meandering road in front of one's house forms a curve, and the house is located outside the curve.

An outside the bow situation created by another building is a situation that happens to houses located in the vicinity of large circular shaped stadiums, as they are all located outside a curve.

In household feng shui, houses enclosed by a topographical or structural curve are located inside the bow. An inside the bow position is one that is being nurtured by affection and will see great prosperity.

In contrast, houses located on the outside of a curve created by a landform or structure are in the path of forces bouncing off the curve. Such outside the bow houses lack the essence of affection and will see decline.

In general, three phenomena can be created by a landform or structure: inside the bow, outside the bow, and straight. What is a straight situation? When the watercourse or road that passes in front of one's house is straight, and there is no curved building in front of one's house, then it is in a straight position.

A true feng shui practitioner will select inside the bow sites to build homes and avoid constructing houses in areas that are outside the bow. This is because outside the bow sites are like targets being aimed at by arrows and are under the assault of malign forces from all directions. In terms of earth energy, such sites are directly confronted by cha chi or noxious chi from all sides. When one is under the invisible ill influences of cha chi, one will definitely encounter great disasters or major accidents.

I, Living Buddha Lian-sheng, have noticed that many contemporary luxurious homes have been built in outside the bow positions, places being pointed directly at by arrowheads. I could not help but sigh because some of these luxurious buildings were masterpieces designed by feng shui professionals. Such kinds of feng shui professionals are indeed ignorant and incompetent, and therefore make one shudder!

There was one rich man who had his home built in an outside the bow location. He was originally a powerful businessman but, after moving into his new home, he immediately became involved in a car accident in which he was seriously injured. Afterwards, his business suffered a great setback and the number of orders for his company took a nose dive. The disastrous outside the bow position also caused his employees to embezzle money from him. It was quite a sad state of affairs, and soon after, the large, luxurious mansion became vacant.

I find that many contemporary feng shui practitioners like to pay particular attention to the direction a house faces. They favor houses with front doors facing southeast, south, or east. Houses facing southwest, northeast, and west are undesirable, while those facing northwest and north are average. Thus many feng shui practitioners concentrate on juggling the direction faced by the front door.

The correlation between the orientation of a house and the magnetic birth orientation of an individual is of course important, but whether a house is located with its front door facing the outside of a bow or the inside of a bow is even more important.

I would like to stress:

Inside the bow - Great Auspiciousness.

Outside the bow - Great Misfortune.

If one has already purchased a site that is outside the bow on which to build a home, or if one has already built a home on a site that is outside the bow, how can this be remedied? A true feng shui master will offer the following two resolutions:

1) Copying the same curvature. For example, a large building located outside a ring can adopt a curved design to its structure. A design conforming to the same curvature as the topographical curve is the best method to prevent the ill influences of an outside the bow situation. Adopting the same curvature on the building structure will render the cha chi ineffective.

2) Equal retaliation. For example, design the building in the vicinity of a circle in a curve form that has the same but opposite curvature as the circle. The malign forces directed toward one by the curve of the circle will be rebounded by a similar curve inherent in one's house design. The forces generated by the two outside the bow positions will cancel each other out.

I deeply feel that there is an intimate relationship between an inside the bow position and the presence of essence of affection, as well as between an outside the bow position and the absence of essence of affection. This is a relationship that involves the principle of earth energy and its movements. Based on my personal experiences, studying the various elements of topography and landscape, one can judge if a house is auspicious or not. The levels to be considered are very complicated but, when each level is analyzed, one can determine if a house is within the bow, outside the bow, or straight. If one studies carefully the phenomenon of inside the bow, outside the bow, and straight, one will discover that there is indeed a great and mysterious correlation among heaven, earth, and hell.