What is an Authentic Master?

I have always found it strange how often I bump into this phrase – authentic master.

In books, in magazines and on websites, this phrase is always quoted. Sometimes it is an indirect reference that the originator, writer or speaker is real and the others referred to are not. It would go something like this, “..most authentic masters would wear…” or it could be like this, “…make sure that the master is from an authentic lineage…”. Ad nauseum.

I find it a common trait among many contemporary “masters” of feng shui to claim that they are real or authentic. What does ’authentic’ really mean?

Some claim to have undergone a course or three and by virtue of that, they are authentic. Others claim so based on the fact that they have been taught by such and such a person and thus they are real. On the other hand, there are those who say that they are from some traditional lineage and thus are authentic.

We all know that the feng shui label is now a common English term and its meaning has changed from the old term used just a few decades ago. There is good and bad to it. The good is that there is greater awareness that our space can contribute to a better life. The negative is that the essence of feng shui is lost or debased.

I personally define authentic as that which is based on understanding of feng shui through assimilation of the origin of feng shui philosophy, the basis for the theories, its development and deviances, its application, cultural context and psychology and distillation of the insights of the old masters.

This authenticity can only be achieved through study of the old texts and writings combined with grasp of current knowledge.

In actuality, no one (at least those I know) can fully claim to be a master of anything, let alone an authentic one.

Tagged as: authentic master