The Tao of Shinsei, the Way of Shinsei, became the basis of the religion known as Shinseism. The Phoenix Clan was considered its keeper. [1] These teachings were recorded in full by Shiba during Shinsei's audience with the first Emperor, Hantei. [2] The Tao was studied and debated by the Brotherhood of Shinsei, [3] and regarded as the most read single religious text in Rokugan. [4]
Content[]
The Tao began with an explanation of the cycle of the Five Elements, as a sort of preface. It went on to describe how individuals' conduct could improve both them and their society. The text ended with an explanation of how karma and reincarnation affected the transmigratory soul. [5] He taught that, just as ki came from the Void and returned to it, the human soul did not linger in the underworld for eternity, but existed in a cycle of death and rebirth. Only through Enlightenment could one escape this cycle and all the suffering it entailed. [6]
Reincarnation[]
The Tao of Shinsei painted a picture of an orderly universe, one governed by knowable laws and created for specific purposes. To every mortal soul born, the Court of Tengoku assigned a purpose, a destiny that was known as the soul's dharma. If the soul accomplished that task in life, then they received their just reward: a peaceful existence in Yomi, the Realm of Blessed Ancestors or reincarnation into a higher station in life. If the soul did not complete their dharma, they were reincarnated to try again or were assigned a less challenging dharma and reborn as a lesser form. A being who lived odiously might be sentenced to spend time in a realm of punishment to work off their bad karma before returning to the cycle of reincarnation. This process occurred in an orderly manner for a long time. [7]
Relic[]
The original copy of the Tao was kept in the hidden Phoenix city of Gisei Toshi. [8] The original copy had been duplicated for study in every major library in Rokugan, bringing hope and compassion to the lives of all the denizens of the Empire. Members of the Kolat believed it validated their ruthless quest to topple the Celestial Order. [9]
Notable Quotes[]
- “Winds blow, nations change, fortunes rise and fall, but the simple folk will always be asked to shoulder the weight.” [10]
- “Appreciation of beauty is the beginning of wisdom.” [11]
- “Rain falls upon Emperor and peasant alike.” [12]
- “Knowing your advantages does you no good if your enemy is able to keep you from employing them.” [13]
- “Can you coax the mind from wandering and keep to the original oneness?” [14]
- “The Master understands that the universe is out of his control. Because he accepts himself, the whole worl accepts him.” [15]
- “Daily caretaking leads to a life of peace.” [16]
- “You cannot balance the elements when you are without balance.” [17]
- “The truth of the world can be found sitting at the riverside. The river never begins, the river never ends. All of life is like the river, lessons never begin and lessons never end.” [18]
- “With our minds we make the world.” [19]
- “To serve the Tao is to serve the Empire. The one cannot be parted from the other, no more than the sea can be parted from the land.” [20]
- “A master is one who leaves their mark upon the world through their endeavors. In such undertakings, four great influences may affect the outcome: Proficiency, Preparedness, Destiny, and Luck. Despite humanity's beliefs, the greatest of these is Luck.” [21]
- “Those who fear to act have already failed. Lose your fear, and gain the world.” [22]
- “Children are but a reflection of their parents.” [23]
- “As soon as a person leaves their house, they have seven enemies.” [24]
- “All lust is grief, and born of too great an attachment to this world, even as the shadow follows the shape. We grasp at it like monkeys trying to snatch at the moon's reflection on the surface of water.” [25]
- “A person who sees enemies everywhere is always blind to their truest enemy, for that enemy is behind their eyes.” [26]
- “One masters war by embracing peace.” [27]
- “We only relate to pain that is our own.” [28]
- “Only a mind open to the world can perceive it.” [29]
- “Men know how the world ought to work, then see the way it really does, and ask, why are these things different?” [30]
- “Only one who relinquishes fear is truly free.” [31]
- “In emptiness, despair lurks.” [32]
- “If all elements are of the Void, then what is their opposite?” [33]
- “We tell the tale of heroes to remind ourselves that we also can be great.” [34]
- “Every day of their life, a person has only one judge of consequence: themself.” [34]
- “Everyone's life is an epic tale.” [34]
- “You may kill a truly brave person, but you cannot defeat them.” [34]
- “Humility is the greatest teacher of all.” [34]
- “Seek Enlightenment, but expect to never find it.” [34]
- “Your most implacable enemy is found behind your own eyes.” [34]
- “There are as many truths about a thing as there are people who see it.” [34]
- “Heroes do not make themselves great. Greatness is thrust upon them.” [35]
External Links[]
- Taoist Adept (Seekers of Wisdom)
References
- ↑ The Great Clans
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 11
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 14
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings: Roleplaying Game (Beta), p. 96
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 166
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 168
- ↑ Celestial Realms, p. 7
- ↑ Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 179
- ↑ Fields of Victory, p. 20
- ↑ In the Garden of Lies (Part 1), by Marie Brennan
- ↑ Meditations on the Tao (Core Set flavor)
- ↑ Flying Chariot, Standing, by Gareth-Michael Skarka
- ↑ Waning Hostilities (Fate Has No Secrets flavor)
- ↑ Fire Tensai Initiate Disciples of the Void flavor)
- ↑ Wholeness of the Worl Disciples of the Void flavor)
- ↑ Bonsai Garden (Tainted Lands flavor)
- ↑ Teaching of the Elements (Tainted Lands flavor)
- ↑ Roving Michibiku (Elements Unbound flavor)
- ↑ Imperial Gifts, by Robert Denton III
- ↑ Those Who Serve (FFG Web)
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 104
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 112
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 123
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 129
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 134
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 135
- ↑ Purity of Spirit (For the Empire flavor)
- ↑ Courts of Stone, p. 72
- ↑ Taoist Adept (Seekers of Wisdom flavor)
- ↑ How the World Ought to Work, by D.G. Laderoute
- ↑ Overlooked Community (Twisted Loyalties flavor)
- ↑ Deserted Shrine (Coils of Power flavor)
- ↑ Elemental Inversion (Under Fu Leng's Shadow flavor)
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 34.5 34.6 34.7 Path of Waves, p. 163
- ↑ The Kolat Master and the Shadow Samurai (FFG Web page)
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