Shinmaki Order

Please note: This article is about the Shinmaki Shinseist sect of the Brotherhood of Shinsei. For other uses of the term, please see Shingon (disambiguation).
The Shinmaki Shinseist was one of the six largest sects of the Brotherhood of Shinsei. Way of Shinsei, p. 33
== Shingon sect ==
The sect emerged in 234 in the 10th Great Convocation, after a monk named Basso claimed to have come upon lost writings of Shinsei that were written immediately before the first Day of Thunder, the Diamond Sutra. The text appears to be mainly a reinterpretation of the Lotus Sutra and some believed Basso wrote it himself. He believed and taught that the Shinsei Sutra and the Tao of Shinsei were "elementary" teachings of Shinsei's, and placed all emphasis instead on the Diamond Sutra. The leadership of the Brotherhood accepted Basso's followers as the Shingon sect, the first sect to be given official recognition and acceptance. Way of the Phoenix, pp. 118-119
== Teachings ==
Except for the members of the sect, few know what the sect teached. Many believed Shingon to be an outgrowth of the unorthodox beliefs of the Dragon Clan, but even Dragon scholars did not seem to know the full extent of the sect's teachings. All that could be said for certain was that the sect teached advanced meditation techniques designed to free the mind from all illusion. Way of the Phoenix, p. 120
== Tradition ==
Shinmaki Shinseists put a great focus on the esoteric teachings of Shinsei. They believed that enlightenment could only be found in that which was difficult to understand, or else everyone would be enlightened. Shinmaki Shinseists focused on the Diamond Sutra, a variant of the Tao. They ate no meant and placed a great focus upon rituals regarding the worship of ancestors and the Fortunes. Way of Shinsei, pp. 19, 34
No one knew how the sect determined a person's eligibility to enter. One person might be accepted immediately, and another might have to undergo a rigorous testing process, or another might simply be turned away. Those who were accepted underwent a secret initiation ritual. Way of Shinsei, p. 37
Shinmaki monasteries were small and out of the way, their members were egalitarian, and a master used to teache one student at a time. Every year the entire sect congregated in the mountains at the sect's headquarters for some unknown reason. Way of Shinsei, p. 38
Every year on the third moon during the Month of the Monkey, the entire sect met at a monastery founded by Basso. Secrets of the Empire, p. 165
== Demeanor ==
The Shinmaki monks were even more liable to violate the social norms of Rokugan than other monks of the Brotherhood of Shinsei. They tended to speak with complete honesty, and regard Rokugan's social conventions and traditional politeness as little more than distractions from what was important. Emerald Empire; Fourth Edition, p. 206 A controversial practice attributed to the Order was to meditate in the presence of corpses, to recognize the foulness of their own bodies. Book of Void, p. 106
== Known Technique ==
* The Diamond Sutra
== See also ==
* Shinmaki Order/Meta
== External Links ==
* Shinmaki Monastery (An Oni's Fury)
Category:Schools of the Brotherhood of Shinsei