As I was watching the news last night on CTV, I heard about a Ghost story in Vancouver. This morning I was surprised when I read unconstructive comments about it in a blog. Not because they are incorrect rather how different culture looks at the life matter with a different view. Therefore I decided to provide a better understanding of the issue.
What happened is that UBC is planning to build a hospice next to an exclusive condominium. There were several residents who expressed their fear concerning death at the hospice and the negative influence of the spirit.
Before more hard feelings occur, let us have a look at where is the fear coming from.
In great parts of East Asia, balance with your environment has a very important role. Based on the science of Feng Shui Energy (Chi) exists in two forms, Yin and Yang. Hospitals, cemeteries and funeral houses provide a lot of Yin energy which is considered not ideal for a residential area.
In the blog, many people commented that Chinese people do not have any respect for elderly people.
I can assure you that this is not the case. I would even go a step further and highlight that elderly people in Asian culture stay in the family much longer and receive high respect than they do in most other cultures. Final resting places, for example, in Hong Kong play extremely important roles for families as your ancestors represent wisdom and support for the whole family. It is not unusual that these places are located in a beautiful spots that living might envy.
On the other side, we live in an aging society and the elderly should not be displaced just because some people are afraid of ghosts.
Today, Vancouver can not deny the influence of Asian investors on the prosperity of the city and property market, so do we really want to ignore them?
Solving this issue is maybe easier than people expect.
Residents who are concerned about this issue can use Feng Shui remedies and cures to distract the negativity energy.
UBC can assist, on the other side, designing the landscaping and building in order to reduce the negative impacts on the neighbours.
A constructive and collaborative approach will lead to a much better result for all.
