Machaianism

Machaianism is a faith followed almost exclusively in the western end of the known world, founded in the mountains near Sechm. Their teachings hold that a spiritual force -- some easterners call it god, while the wise are more tentative with such a label -- exists not externally, but in humanity itself. Individually, no man has managed a miracle -- but the collective force of a community, or of a nation: that might create one. There are, of course, numerous other teachings -- a certain spirituality, peacefulness, the prevalence of individual wandering teachers and mendicants giving guidance to the common people, and so on. The religion has spread throughout the west, including to the Haina, the Trahana, and the Dulama Empire.
Machaianism has been likened to animism, and indeed retains many of the characteristics of that belief system. The eponymous "Machai" is a spiritual force that binds most beings together, though only the conscious direction of humans can actively seek it. Typically, meditation and (especially in the former Dulama regions) self-sacrifice can help one harness this force, though there are obviously only a few things manageable by a single monk.
The faith retains a certain cynicism and extreme suspicion of a hierarchical clergy. The largest organized sector of the faith exists in the Trahana Empire, which patronized the construction of monasteries for centuries. Other than these monks, most instructors in the faith exist as transient gurus, never bound to one place or a ruler. Even within the Trahana Empire, the monasteries hold little sway over the ordinary religious practices of the general population, preferring to ponder deep thoughts on the nature of the universe and the Machai in seclusion. Many Machai temples are constructed as places of learning and quiet contemplation, a way to escape the turmoil of the outside world; some aim instead to be a sort of trial in and of themselves, a way to focus the mind so as better to connect with the Machai (for example, the Room of Ten Thousand Bites in the Trahana Empire). Entire temple complexes have been constructed underground, with the intent of avoiding the suffocating heat typical across the western world, while others have been built on mountain peaks, exposed to the raw power of the elements.
Machaianist thought and philosophy recoils from divinities, as is typical of many of the belief systems originating in the west. In this can be seen considerable influence -- or cross-pollination -- from the traditional Dulama practices, where gods are seen as impediments to human civilization rather than helpers, though unlike the Dulama faith Machaianism does not explicitly view gods and theism negatively.
Category:Religions
Category:Dulama
Category:West