AKASHIC BROTHERHOOD PARADIGM

By Tetsu

Author's Notes

As much as possible, I have used Western terms to describe Eastern concepts. When this is not possible, I have tried to include both Japanese and Chinese terminology. These concepts are found in most Eastern societies, and I apologize for my lack of familiarity with the terminology of the other major Eastern cultures. The Mage books, by the way, are heavily biased towards Japanese terminology (as am I), despite the fact that the Japanese did not develop many of these concepts until far after the mainland peoples did (in fact, many of the concepts were imported). Even Do is a Japanese term meaning "The Way." If the Akashic Brotherhood really is as old as they seem, a reasonable explanation for their use of terminology must be the more recent refinements (1500 AD to present) to martial arts that the Japanese have introduced. This would imply an evolution of the Paradigm to its present form.

The Paradigm

The Way: There are things, and there is a Way to all things. There is a way to paint and a Way to paint; there is a way to shoot an arrow and a Way to shoot an arrow. There is a way to move and a Way to move; your training in Do teaches you part of the Way of moving, as well as the Way of fighting. Do is much more than this, but you must understand the existence of the Way before you can proceed on the Path.

The Way of doing a thing is to do it correctly, so that mind, body, and spirit are one and focused on the achievement of the goal. Masters live their chosen Way at all times, whether it is the Way of painting, shooting and arrow, or Do.

Magick

The Way of Do - Focus: This Way is not magick, though many will call it that. A student of Do is a gifted martial artist with a natural or developed ability to achieve a Way of Being of high order. Mind, body, and spirit are in harmony with each other and the universe, and when this is so, a person is capable of great achievement: to leap great distances, to anticipate others as if reading their thoughts, to sunder unbreakable objects, and many other feats. Nothing is impossible to the Way as long as you accept it can be done and Focus on achieving the goal.

The Way of Sorcery - Magick: There are many other people, on this world and others, who can achieve great acts but do not follow our Way. These others practice Sorcery and Magick. Their Ways are different and many. Do not close your mind to the many possibilities.

Spheres

Correspondence - Distance: The greatest secret of succeeding in combat is the control of distance and space. If you fight barehanded, stay beyond the distance of your opponent's longest weapon, the leg. If you fight with weapons, stay beyond their length. If you fight with guns, stay beyond their range. If you fight with armies, the control of paths and territories is essential. Do not the games of Go and Chess teach us this, to force the opponent to commit to territory they cannot adequately defend or control? People of great ability have such a great mastery and control of Distance that they can seem to traverse it in an instant.

Entropy - Weakness: Nothing on this world is perfect, including yourself. You must strive to purge yourself of all weakness. When you do so, you will achieve Enlightenment. Others will try to take advantage of the Weakness of a thing.

Karma, Joss - Fate, in this world, cannot be counted upon, but it can be influenced.

Forces, Matter - The Elements: The Ancients believed the world to be made of five elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Void. You can harness the power of the Elements in your life as you walk the Path. Know the sun and the moon. Study the Way of the storm. Meditate by the ocean, and listen to the power of the waves. You can harness this power with good Focus.

Life - Body: All living things have a body, the plants, the animals, the trees, and the people. When you understand the body of a thing you understand its life -- how it can move and how it cannot move, how it can be hurt and how it can be healed.

Mind: This is the seat of the conscious and unconscious. It is the source of Focus and of Will. You must rigorously train your mind to Focus better. If you understand the minds of others, you can glimpse their Way. Profound understanding leads to profound ability; this is why you must study and train always.

Prime - Ki, Chi: There is a flow to all things, a cycle of living and dying, of breathing in and out, of yin and yang, in and yo. Binding this cycle and flowing through it is Ki. Ki is energy, and it is much more. You must learn to sense the flow of Ki within yourself, and through it the world. This is essential to learning Do and to mastering the Elements. By learning to master Ki you will be able to harness the powers in you and the powers of the universe.

Spirit: The study of Spirit is the study of emotion and inner essence. As you learn about yourself through the trials of Do, you will become aware of your own potential, and the potential of the universe. There are spirit realms beyond our world inhabited by our ancestors, kami, demons, and more. To learn of the spirit worlds is a difficult undertaking, for there is much to learn. Spirits can be helpful or vindictive, good or evil or something in between. You will encounter them in your travels; the more you know of them, the better you will be able to come away from your encounters with wisdom and not injury. The world of the spirits is reflected within you. Meditate upon this now.

Time: Our concept of Time is not the same as the Westerners see it. To them Time is a measurable thing, to be broken down into units and more smaller units to regulate their lives. This way has no meaning, and is futile. Time is infinite and forever. How can you divide the infinite? Time is like a flowing river: it always passes by, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. You must learn to see the river, the whole river in its entirety. When you can grasp all of time you can control how you think of it. You can slow it down so that you can act faster. You can glimpse the past, and the possibilities of the future. The master of Time can even move beyond it.

Arete - The Path

Each member of the Akashic Brotherhood has set himself upon a path of knowledge and self discovery. On this path each will learn much about himself, others, and the world. Progress on the path is measured by the amount of harmony between mind, body and spirit. At the end of the path lies Enlightenment.

Skill in Do is not the Path, it is only a part, a tool used by masters to teach certain skills to the Disciples. Physical prowess is easily learned and mastered with practice. Much harder to bring into harmony are the sicknesses of the mind and the power of the spirit. Masters of Do are generally equally matched physically; it is the more subtle development of Willpower, guile (Wits), and Intelligence that will determine the outcome of any contest.

Quintessence - Ki, Chi

The force that flows through and binds the universe can be channeled with the proper Focus. This is why you must learn to sense Ki within yourself and in the world. In the world you will find places where the flow is very strong, and even the springs from which this flow comes. These are places of great importance in the world. You should take time to meditate in places such as these. This will greatly help you to Focus.

Paradox - Incorrect action

If an action is taken with improper Focus, there is the possibility of error. To make an error is a Weakness, and Weakness opens up oneself to the consequences of their incorrect action. Sometimes an opponent will take advantage of the opportunity. Perhaps the universe will attempt to deny your success and you will accumulate Bad Karma. Ultimately, it is your failure that will allow others to harm you. Do not fail!

Ascension - Enlightenment

This is the goal of your studies, the total harmony of body, mind, and spirit. When you have achieved Enlightenment, you will have mastered the Way. You will truly understand who and what you are, and your place in the scheme of things. It is said that the Masters are capable of great feats. It is also said that the Masters have achieved a great sense of peace, of harmony with all things. This is the goal of Do, and of the Way.