HUOMING TEMPLE
The Huoming Temple is the largest and oldest religious organisation in the Jade Empire of Ingen. It is considered the pre-eminent temple of Jade Shinto in the Empire and has been operating uninterrupted for millennia. Its current Jushoko is Morioka Sakura.
HISTORYJade Shinto itself began to coalesce as an organised in the early 1st Millennium MT. In the year 7 after the foundation of the First Jade Empire, the Jade Emperor Shussan encouraged the foundation of the Huoming Temple, a religious order based in the Huoming Temple of Rapuchefu in Seiiki, encouraging the spread of Jade Shinto and tying it to the secular Imperial government.
By the time of the fall of the First Dynasty, the Huoming Temple had become an important political actor in Ingenious society. Its monks, nuns and priests tended to the spiritual needs of the nation, and its senior members continued to conduct rituals and rites of national importance throughout the warring states and Shogunate periods. Following the Restoration in 2434 AT, the Huoming Temple was the site of the investiture of Jade Empress Takara. The Huoming Temple was instrumental in early research into the effects of the Far Anomaly and the function of magic in the Jade Empire. ORGANISATIONMembers of the Huoming Temple will, after an indeterminate time of training and lay membership, swear their vows and join one of the Five Precepts. These are the Precept of Tradition, responsible for all public and private ceremonies and rituals, the Precept of Mercy, responsible for healing and ministration, the Precept of Wisdom, responsible for academia and research, the Precept of Grace, responsible for artistic devotions, and the Precept of the Crane, the warrior-monks of the Huoming Temple who provide security to its precincts and members.
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A Huoming Temple can range in size from a handful of members to a sprawling complex with dozens, or even hundreds, of inhabitants. Open to the general public, they often have transitory populations and lay members who do not spend the majority of their time at the temple. Each Temple is led by a Mentor, who can belong to any one of the Five Precepts, although typically Temples will specialise in a Precept and their leadership will often fall to members of that Precept.
Most members of the Temple are priests and priestesses, who may reside in the Temple or in a private domicile and are free to form familial attachments. Monks and nuns are more dedicated members of the Temple, who swear a series of additional vows with a variety of restrictions depending on the school and tradition they choose to embrace, such as vows of silence or celibacy.
There is no official heirarchy across the Huoming Temple, with all Mentors being theoretically equal, but seniority is informally considered to be an important factor as is the size of the Temple to which a member belongs. The leader of the Temple is the Jushoko, which translates roughly to 'Abbot' or 'Abbess', and they reside in the Huoming Temple of Rapuchefu where they, along with senior members of the Temple including the five Sage Mentors of the Five Precepts, administer the activities of the Temple across the Jade Empire. Each Sage Mentor is responsible for the administration and development of their specific Precept, and advocates for its members.
Most members of the Temple are priests and priestesses, who may reside in the Temple or in a private domicile and are free to form familial attachments. Monks and nuns are more dedicated members of the Temple, who swear a series of additional vows with a variety of restrictions depending on the school and tradition they choose to embrace, such as vows of silence or celibacy.
There is no official heirarchy across the Huoming Temple, with all Mentors being theoretically equal, but seniority is informally considered to be an important factor as is the size of the Temple to which a member belongs. The leader of the Temple is the Jushoko, which translates roughly to 'Abbot' or 'Abbess', and they reside in the Huoming Temple of Rapuchefu where they, along with senior members of the Temple including the five Sage Mentors of the Five Precepts, administer the activities of the Temple across the Jade Empire. Each Sage Mentor is responsible for the administration and development of their specific Precept, and advocates for its members.
LITURGY
Much like the wider Jade Shinto belief system, there is no strict liturgical canon as with other religions. However, there are multiple texts, treatise and philosophical scripts that are approved and referenced by the Huoming Temple. Notable texts include The Twelve Rings Of Life And Death by the classical era scholar Tamuramaro, the anthology work Thoughts Of A Dying Dragon, and Observations On A Virtuous Life, a series of writings by the First Jade Emperor Shussan.
The Twelve Rings is an early treatise on the relationship between the real world and the spiritual, and contains information on religious rituals designed to break the barrier between the liminal and the tangible and propitiate spirits, ancestor ghosts and demons. Thoughts Of A Dying Dragon, an anthology whose original authorship is not entirely certain, is primarily a series of parables, thought experiments and conundrums designed to demonstrate the importance of virtues such as the the Eightfold Fence, the River of Peaceful Conveyance and the Three Favoured Faces. Shussan's Observations On A Virtuous Life is a semi-political text, written with a clear agenda to define and codify Jade Shinto teachings into a format that could be easily replicable and proselytised, making it a viable tool of state for the Jade Empire as it sought to expand its borders and zone of political influence.
The Twelve Rings is an early treatise on the relationship between the real world and the spiritual, and contains information on religious rituals designed to break the barrier between the liminal and the tangible and propitiate spirits, ancestor ghosts and demons. Thoughts Of A Dying Dragon, an anthology whose original authorship is not entirely certain, is primarily a series of parables, thought experiments and conundrums designed to demonstrate the importance of virtues such as the the Eightfold Fence, the River of Peaceful Conveyance and the Three Favoured Faces. Shussan's Observations On A Virtuous Life is a semi-political text, written with a clear agenda to define and codify Jade Shinto teachings into a format that could be easily replicable and proselytised, making it a viable tool of state for the Jade Empire as it sought to expand its borders and zone of political influence.