(2) Preferences and Taboos of the Five Elements - 1

Now, the auspicious and inauspicious associations we'll continue with are those related to the Five Elements. This scope is much broader. When it comes to the Ten Heavenly Stems, the favorable elements, and the overall structure, it's all about fortune - telling. In fortune - telling, the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and the Ten Gods are based on the Five Elements, but the Five Elements aren't solely for fortune - telling. The Five Elements encompass numbers, colors, and even all things in the universe. So, there's a saying: "Beyond the Three Realms and not within the Five Elements." Therefore, when it comes to the auspicious and inauspicious associations of the Five Elements, fortune - telling is just a part of it. For example, when we talk about water, in the Zi Ping system, it's just Ren, Gui, Zi, and Hai representing water, and there isn't much to elaborate on. But when it comes to the auspicious and inauspicious associations of the Five Elements, it's different. In the theory of the Five Elements, 1 and 6 represent yang water. You can think about when people worship gods now. How many cups of water are placed in front? They are all odd numbers. This is an example of the auspicious and inauspicious associations of the Five Elements. Odd numbers represent yang, but yang doesn't necessarily mean odd numbers. There are various numbers that can be related and substituted. So, when talking about the auspicious and inauspicious associations of the Five Elements, the scope needs to be broadened. Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding should be discussed in relation to the Five Elements.

The era when the Heavenly Stems (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, etc.) were unified with the Five Elements was the era of the Yellow Emperor. Before the Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and the Yellow Emperor, there were no Heavenly Stems like Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding; only numbers were recorded. Then the concept of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness is related to the Book of Changes. Everyone knows the Zhouyi among the Book of Changes, but fortune - telling is a broader concept. The Book of Changes in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were different. One is called the Gui Cang Yi, which focuses on patterns. For example, there are too many patterns in the world that we can't understand now, and they all belong to the Gui Cang Yi. The second is the Lian Shan Yi, which focuses on numbers.

Zi Ping doesn't really emphasize numbers, but there are numbers in the study of fate. Have you all heard of auspicious numbers? There are so - called auspicious numbers for license plates of cars and phone numbers. To put it more colloquially, there are also auspicious numbers for things like the Mark Six lottery. These numbers also have preferences and taboos regarding the Five Elements. Another aspect is that medicine, divination, and fortune - telling share the same origin. After Emperor Huangdi, the priests in the past were in charge of worshiping gods, treating diseases, and fortune - telling. The combination of medicine, divination, and fortune - telling is related to the preferences and taboos of the Five Elements. The preferences and taboos of the Five Elements involve Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, etc., but it's not necessary to use these terms. For example, when we spend money in Taiwan, the New Taiwan Dollar is used in the market. If you take US dollars to the market, it's not very convenient to use. If we travel abroad in a group, we pay with Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong and US dollars in the United States. However, we need to calculate how much the exchange rate is in New Taiwan Dollars.

This is the replacement by the five elements, and the replacement by coins.

Wen Tianxiang once said, "Heaven and Earth have the Righteous Qi, which is diversely bestowed in various forms." The Righteous Qi represents the Heavenly Way - Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Everything contains these five elements. Now, when it comes to discussing the preferences and taboos of the Five Elements, I'll only refer to a book that is applicable to everyone. This book is *The Great Treatise on the Five Elements* written by Xiao Ji of the Sui Dynasty. He was the elder brother of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty. This book was not written for fortune - telling but for the study of the Five Elements. Now, let's narrow down the scope to something related to fortune - telling principles.

Ordinary fortune-telling only tells the answers without explaining the theories. For learned people, the answers in fortune-telling don't matter. They care about the theories. For example, Zeng Guofan and Ji Xiaolan both believed in fate. They didn't care how long they could hold official positions but respected the principles behind it. Now, let me give you one example for everyone to listen to. It's something that no one can't understand, even kids can understand it. Just pick up a knife and cut off the radish head! But what is said in "Wu Xing Da Yi" is different. Why can't wood overcome metal? Why can metal overcome wood? It means that the concentrated can defeat the scattered! Concentration! Something precise can defeat something scattered. Five people united can defeat fifty people, which can be applied in military strategies. The Five Elements are not just for fortune-telling! The idea that metal overcomes wood means the concentrated defeats the scattered. This statement is too abstract. Let me put it in a more popular way.

For example, for those with the Day Master of Metal in Bazi (Chinese astrological system), Metal conquering Wood represents wealth. What kind of money is it? It's about "the essence controlling the scattered". An iPhone is not something that just anyone can use, but the public follows it. When Metal conquers Wood, it's about "the essence controlling the scattered". It presents a thing that can govern many, many aspects. As stated in *The Great Treatise on the Five Elements*, it's about "the essence controlling the scattered". Then, if we apply this to the relationship between husband and wife, when Metal conquering Wood represents the wife, how should he discipline his wife? He only focuses on the essence. It's the same when it comes to managing money. He only asks the accountant how much money he still has and doesn't inquire about other things. Regarding family members, his wife, and major matters, he just needs to know about them. This is called "the essence controlling the scattered", and this is the preference and aversion in the Five - Element theory.

It's different when wood restrains earth. How can wood restrain earth? It's just a tree. Its roots grip the earth. Now, let me compare it to human affairs. When wood restrains earth, earth represents the wife and wealth for the wood day master. For a person with the wood day master, the earth is his wife. He keeps tabs on her. Where did she go this afternoon? Where will she go tomorrow? How far can he keep tabs on her? Just think about how far a tree's roots can reach. I don't think it can exceed fifty zhang. He only pays attention to trivial matters and ignores the big ones. So, when wood restrains earth, it means he tries to hold onto you. The same goes for money. They are like regular customers. He only holds onto a few familiar people. He can't do anything outside his own line of business. So, for a person with the wood day master to make money, it's just like this. If you ask him to recruit customers for an insurance company, he'll be at a complete loss because his five - element nature isn't suitable for it. Therefore, when wood restrains earth for wealth, it only holds on to the surface and never lets go. They are together every day, but the hold isn't deep.

Then let's put it another way: Earth restrains Water, which represents wealth. Of course, it's different. Each of the five elements has its own unique nature. Every couple and every kind of business is different and is all controlled by the five elements. If you pour a basin of water onto the mud, can you still see the water? No. Why does the water disappear so quickly? Because Earth is inclusive. Once it encompasses, everything is fine. This is how Earth restrains Water. In our common parlance, just ignore him. Let him grumble a bit and say a few words, and then it'll be over. Some people are not like this. The more you talk to them, the more they talk. Being inclusive can reduce many things, and being calm can also disperse many things. As for Wood restraining Earth, it's like punching the clock! Conduct spot checks at any time. These are all the different aspects of life. Earth restrains Water because it can be inclusive and reduce the impact. Just pretend you don't hear what others say and don't take their scolding to heart.

The second level involves checking whether all the five elements within the hidden Heavenly Stems are present. As long as they are there, the quantity can be discussed later. In this Bazi (Four Pillars of Destiny), all the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are complete. If one element is missing, then we should give priority to the relationships among relatives. For example, a female's Bazi is most feared to be lacking in the Proper Officer or the Seven Killers, which means she may not have a husband. A male's Bazi is feared to be lacking in wealth, indicating that he won't be able to keep money throughout his life. For those with a more noble destiny, we need to consider whether there are the favorable and unfavorable elements for the Day Master and the elements for regulating the climate. This is not absolutely necessary for a person's life. Not everyone will succeed, and there's no need to talk about ideals. Since this Bazi has all the five elements, we won't consider this aspect.

The third level is to see if there are clashes, punishments, combinations, and conjunctions. Clashes and punishments are as important as combinations and conjunctions. For example, if three people come to cause you trouble, it's of course not ideal. But if three friends invite you to dinner together, it's also a troublesome thing. Which restaurant should you go to? So neither should be excessive. Looking at this Bazi (Four Pillars of Destiny), there are no clashes. Combinations and conjunctions also include the "arched" ones. For instance, on a Ren-Chen day and at a Ren-Yin hour, there is a triple conjunction of Yin, Mao, and Chen. Although there is no visible Mao in the middle, it is actually there in the form of being "arched". Since the triple conjunction of Yin, Mao, and Chen is formed, it becomes a pattern. Water generates wood, which is the pattern of the Hurting Officer. So this is a Hurting Officer pattern. In this Bazi, there is Geng, the Partial Seal, in the Heavenly Stems, but not in the Earthly Branches. Then, with Geng-Wu and Geng-Chen, an Si is "arched". Si contains Wu, Bing, and Geng. Since there is Geng in the "arched" Si, the pattern of the Partial Seal is also formed. Therefore, in this Bazi, there are no clashes but there are combinations. Through the combinations, two patterns are formed. The former is the Partial Seal pattern, and the latter is the Hurting Officer pattern.

Before discussing good and bad fortune, divide this birth chart into two parts: before the age of thirty, it is the partial seal; after the age of thirty, it is the resource destroyer. Which one is more important? It's not about the order of appearance. The dividing line is at thirty. According to common sense, one can't achieve much before the age of thirty. It just means that the efforts in the first part are in vain. After the age of thirty until old age is the focus of his life. This shows the two stages, which are the stages of life.

When water restrains fire, it represents wealth. However, water doesn't necessarily extinguish fire. Water and fire are relative to each other, and it depends on the quantity of each. This rule is the most commonly used one in our human world. If you have more money or more people on your side, I'll follow you. This is the most common principle. But having more money doesn't necessarily mean making money, and having more people doesn't necessarily guarantee victory. So, this situation of water restraining fire means the many defeat the few, and the more win over the less. This is the nature of the Five Elements.

Fire conquers metal, which represents wealth. This is the limit. When metal is smelted by fire to a certain temperature, the metal is finished. Many of you who are in official positions approve documents! After approving 150 documents, they simply don't have the energy to read them carefully and just approve them randomly. It's useless when it exceeds people's load limit.

Therefore, in military strategy, the principle of mutual generation and mutual restraint is applied. 50,000 troops can defeat 100,000. A very calm person can defeat a very troubled person. This is the principle of the five - element mutual restraint. It can be used in military strategy or in general fortune - telling for individuals. However, when ordinary people do fortune - telling, they usually talk about things like wife, wealth, children, official rank, and longevity, which are very common topics. The profound principles of fortune - telling are applied to these most common aspects of wife, wealth, children, official rank, and longevity. A sage like Xu Ziping didn't really care about whether we would get promoted and make a fortune next year. Instead, it was through the things that each person cared about that he was able to pass down those rules. His intentions were truly well - meaning.

Well, up to this point, it still belongs to the preferences and taboos of the Five Elements in fortune - telling. Let's broaden our scope to the *Great Treatise on the Five Elements*. Because the Ziping system only uses Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and doesn't use other things. At most, it uses two more things: Jia and Yi represent Wood, Wood represents the East, Wood represents Spring, and at most, it adds a color - green. These four things are often used interchangeably in fortune - telling. For example, when it is said that Fire overcomes Metal which represents wealth, instead of comparing it to money, it can be compared to feelings, girlfriends, or romantic partners. What if a blind date fails? But generally, fortune - tellers don't care about such things. However, if you talk about the broader concept of the Five Elements, it's different. For a person with Metal as the Day Master, Wood is indeed wealth, but Wood doesn't necessarily refer only to Jia and Yi! The East represents Wood, and the color green also represents Wood. Then people may ask what to do. This kind of question is involved, but basically, fortune - tellers don't care about such things. For example, there is a real - life case of a woman with Earth as her Day Master. Her boyfriend is in Japan and there has been no news from him for three months. She came to ask me. On the surface, the question is when she will get news from her boyfriend and whether the news will stop completely. That's the main theme of her question. But halfway through the question, what should be done?

Just expanding from the Five Elements and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches in fortune - telling to colors. Wood restrains earth, and in the context of a woman's husband, in terms of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, Jia and Yi represent her husband. From the perspective of the Ten Gods, the Direct Officer and the Seven Kills represent her husband. Conversely, expanding further, the East represents your husband. Sometimes we tell people: Your destiny lies in the East, which is based on this principle. If we say your future partner is in the United States, it is also deduced by bringing in the directions of the Five Elements. The corresponding color is green. Well, of course, this kind of talk is a bit of consolation. Then I advised her again. Do you have a group photo with him? If so, place it in the East. Don't think about committing suicide! If she believes in gods, she can pray to the Bodhisattva for blessing. Besides incense and candles, what else? There are also fruits. And the colors of the basins are different. If you consider the preferences and taboos by bringing in the Grand Five - Elements for the partner mentioned just now, of course, use a green teacup, green fruits, etc. It also includes time! Offer incense at the time corresponding to Yin and Mao (the hours related to the Wood of the East).

When I say this, including Lianshan Yi and Guicang Yi, and the Grand Five - Elements theory, it's not entirely about fortune - telling. Once you broaden the concept of yin and yang and the Five - Elements, it becomes very extensive. The likes and dislikes of the Ten Heavenly Stems and the likes and dislikes of the configurations only concern an individual. When it comes to the Grand Five - Elements, it gets replaced. How is it replaced? For example, if you owe me 100,000 yuan and you don't have that much money, what can you do? You can move your things! Luxury watches and cars become collateral. However, not everyone is willing to use collateral. This is what is called the principle of using the extraordinary and the ordinary to gain victory.

Many people want to have a child. For a woman with the Day Master of Wood, Wood generates Fire, and the child represents Fire. In terms of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, it refers to Bing and Ding, Si and Wu. If we substitute the major Five - Elements, it will be different. The first one is the South. Usually, we suggest that she buy two pieces of children's clothing and place them in the South. This pertains to the major Five - Elements. Now, I'll give an example. Before directly talking about *The Great Treatise on the Five Elements*, let me start with an introduction. How can we obtain the relevant information beyond Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding?

Is it the most reasonable to talk about time and space? If we go further, there are many other things. So, you can see that in Esoteric Buddhism, the offerings are fixed. There are regulations regarding which finger to use and which wine cup to choose.

In India, the Five Elements are called the "Five Great Elements". On this planet, they emphasize the concept of mutual restraint rather than mutual generation. In the world, there is only contention and no concession. People in this life fight tooth and nail for glory and wealth, without giving way to each other. So, the five fingers. In Buddhism, they are called the "Five Great Elements", while we call them the Five Elements. Then, the order is like this. Starting from the little finger - Earth restrains Water, Water restrains Fire, Fire restrains Metal, Metal restrains Wood. Just by making a simple gesture, the Five Elements are represented. In Buddhism, the mudras are related to the Five Elements. However, mudras don't focus on the good or bad luck in the human world. They have a broader meaning, including the practice of spiritual cultivation! And they can also be applied to small aspects as well.

For example, if you hold it like this, or hold it like that, it's completely different. Or you can hold it with a small wine glass placed on top.

Don't think this was taken casually. It's not. There are regulations here because it's related to religion, so we won't explain the content. Well, regarding the likes and dislikes of the Five Elements that I'm talking about today, with this short introduction, I'll directly connect the Heavenly Stems (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, etc.) in fortune - telling with wife, wealth, children, and official emolument to colors and directions. This can be commonly applied in the Ziping School. However, if we expand the scope, Ziping won't work, and we need to use "The Great Treatise on the Five Elements". "The Great Treatise on the Five Elements" is not a fortune - telling book. Of course, fortune - telling is based on it. What we talked about before, such as the strength and weakness and the Twelve Stages of Growth and Prosperity, were determined by Xiao Ji. Xiao Ji lived in the Sui Dynasty, and even the Five - Element theory in traditional medicine follows his ideas. Because once we expand the scope of the Five Elements, it's not just about good and bad luck. It includes traditional medicine, spiritual cultivation, meditation, and feng shui. So, what about other specific things? I'll talk about them next time, using "The Great Treatise on the Five Elements". You can buy this book. It's not a fortune - telling book but a philosophical one. Xiao Ji was an official and the national master of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. He was very knowledgeable. Today, when I talk about the Yin - Yang and the Five Elements, I'm initially connecting the Yin - Yang and the Five Elements in the Ziping School to those in "The Great Treatise on the Five Elements". Next time, I'll focus on "The Great Treatise on the Five Elements" and take "The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon" as a secondary reference. By expanding the scope, many flexible methods can be derived.

Now, let's continue to talk about the preferences and taboos of the Five Elements. In fortune - telling, it is based on the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are in turn based on the Five Elements, and the Five Elements are based on the Yin - Yang theory. Generally speaking, the common fortune - telling focuses on one's wife, wealth, children, official career, and longevity. When people encounter unpleasant things, they talk about current affairs, such as being unable to get back the debts, suffering losses in business, and so on.

However, in a broad sense, the good and bad fortunes in life do not lie in urgent matters, but in the entire life process. When it comes to the life process, then we have to talk about the Five Elements. What's the difference between the Five Elements and the good and bad fortunes associated with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches? From the perspective of a religious person, I'll make a distinction between them. Buddhism often mentions that Bodhisattvas will bless people. What kind of blessings are they? It's not just about blessing you to get rich. Of course, getting rich is also included. The good and bad fortunes, disasters and blessings that religious people talk about are also the most core issues in fortune - telling. Well, in the theory of the Five Elements, it's called the Four Great Auspiciousness. Auspiciousness! In fortune - telling, it refers to having a wife, wealth, children, official salary, and longevity. Only when these aspects of having a wife, wealth, children, official salary, and longevity are based on the Four Great Auspiciousness can they be established.

So, what are the Four Auspicious Things? Generally speaking, when we see someone who doesn't believe in fortune-telling but believes in the Buddha. In Christianity, people say "May God bless you." But what does this blessing mean? It refers to the Four Auspicious Things. The first auspicious thing is "Calming Disasters." It means to stop all kinds of disasters. The theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, as well as fortune-telling, pertain to all of humanity. In the era of Emperor Huangdi, the emperors themselves didn't have many personal misfortunes. What did they fear? They feared droughts lasting for three years and the Yellow River breaking its banks. So, they needed to calm disasters. For ordinary people, it means that all the unfavorable things should stop immediately, no matter how big or small they are. Calming disasters is the first of the Four Auspicious Things. The second auspicious thing is "Increasing Blessings." Now, let's elaborate on calming disasters and increasing blessings. We separate different aspects such as money matters and lawsuits. When we talk about the Four Auspicious Things together, what does "increasing blessings" mean? For example, in novels, we often read about favorable weather, a prosperous country with peaceful people, and a bumper harvest. For ordinary people nowadays, it means not losing one's job, having a good job with a higher salary. That's what increasing blessings means. The third auspicious thing is "Longevity." It not only means being free from illness but also hoping to live a longer life. This is a basic wish of people. The fourth auspicious thing is "Affection and Respect." This mainly concerns family affairs. Even if a person is very wealthy but has a terrible relationship with their spouse, it can't be considered auspicious. So, the various kinds of peace that people pray for in religions, including Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism, refer to these four things.