Blog:Buddhism and Empire

On Omentis there are four major impacts and the planet during its history. One is the Mrāŋ an the spread of Mrāŋ Buddhism, the other is the lack of adoption of it by the northern people of Chika, really only a minor impact relatively, the pseudo-imperialism of Southerm Randis and the advancement of the people of Siilo.

=Chika=

The Mrāŋ
Buddhism originally came from a group of people who called their language 'alăi and called themselves "mrāŋ". The Mrāŋ are a group of people who came together in the East Asian areas of Earth to create a form of Buddhism they believed fulfilled their anti-hierarchical ideas as well as fit in with real-life, interactual situations as well as allowing for the achievement of enlightenment while at the same time creating a unified Buddhism language in which all texts could be translated and read. They used Sanskrit and Tibetan, along with elements from a further researched Proto-Sino-Tibetan as the basis for the language. Words for people, language, unity and so on, things that linked people with each other in real-life were taken from Proto-Sino-Tibetan while metaphysical words were taken from Sanskrit fit into a Tibetan phonology while the rest of the vocabulary was overridingly Tibetan.

Mrāŋ Buddhism
Through the clan-phraty system combined with the general nature and cultural beliefs of the vast majority of the planet's people, the vast majority of people were interconnected. Due to this interconnectedness it was easy for metaphysical ideas to spread around and, as they very rarely affected the other real-world ideas held by the people, thy wer easily accepted by a clan over a period of time.

Over time and through marriage, their way of life spread through the clan-phratry system over most of Chika and Laana and eventually over the oceans to the other continents who had long distance trade links with Laana and Chika, mostly by means of small islands which traded between themselves with the outlying islands trading with the continents.

Northern Chika
The Mrāŋ form of Buddhism seemed perfectly suited for the majority of the planet, minus Siilo and a few enclaves of people in the northern areas of the planet who sought to come to the planet to preserve a way of life, not to adopt a new one, the reason why it never spread to Randis and the northern peoples of Chika.

It held the ideas of anti-hierarchy but also of peace and living a middle way, a view held by the majority of the planet's peoples. It did, however, have different views regarding the eating of meat as well as hunting, blood-culture and war. The Mrāŋ did not eat meat, but instead used animals only as transport and labour in agricultural work. This was easily adapted by the majority of people who saw the great numbers of the Mrāŋ as an advantage in self-reliance but also in increasing connections across great areas. The phratry areas began to be filled with larger trading settlements for merchants but they also took on agricultural hinterlands. The clan-phratry system began to break down and a freer system of movement become available in which a husband and wife could choose where to live. The focus on arranged marriages ended and people began to marry for love, working as they saw fir where they pleased. Blood culture ended in all circumstances but weddings in which a couple showed a commitment to work in unison thorugh the sharing of blood and they worked on achieving enlightenment by knowing each other and knowing themselves through each other.

The view on warfare was changed. Intead of being anti-war, a position held by almost all of the people of Omentis, the threat seen by the Mrāŋ from Randisan traders caused them to develop a form of self-defence against them, very similar to that of Shaolin monks on Earth. The self-defence methods were taught primarily as a way of training the mind and body in a way which would allow the achievement of enlightenment first but allow for the preservation of life and of freddom second. Weapons were developed from agriculture and carpentry tools as well as other items, allowing each item available to have a second, defensive, purpose. Training was a communal event, taking place every day and for every person.

=Randis=

They were very rarely in contact with anyone and the southern people of Randis showed from early on, no desire to stop agricultural expansion at the point the Sangi people had done and instead eventually created a pseudo-empire, more along the lines of a more unified people without a clan-phratry system.

Pseudo-Imperialism
The pseudo-imperial views of the people of Randis were based on the idea of a quite strict class system similar to that of Imperial Japan. At the head of the Empire were two emperors, one for the Finns and one for the Sami. Within the dual-empire was the two imperial families, who over time essentially merged through inter-marriage between them but rarely belw them. Uner the imperial families were the noble houses, the people who has long ago managed to rise above other local peoples and taken control of their lands. Below these were the military houses, usually offshots of the noble houses, descended often from the second son of a nobleman. Below these were the religious houses, the heads of religious ceremonies but also servants of the state, creating an imperial cult. Overall there were many layers within the Randis Dual-Empire with a complex system of imperial, noble, military, religious, lower-noble and peasant classes all inter-related and working towards the creation of order within the empire. The structure can be drawn as such:

Emperor |                                        Imperial Family |                                         Noble Houses ______________________________|______________________________________                 |                             |                                     |         Lower-Noble Houses               Military Houses                    Religious Houses ______|_________________        ______|______                ___________|__________            |            |         |         |           |                |                    |       Artisans>>>Merchants>>>Land Owners<<<Warriors   Embassadors++++++Travelling Monks<<<Monasticals |                            Free Farmers |                                Serfs |                                Slave

Movement up the scale was only allowed for women and as such a woman could never become Emperor because she could never marry above the Emperors. Slaves could be owned by anyone, but could only become serfs, not free farmers. A serf was tied to the land and the land-owner, much like they had been tied to their owners in other classes. A serf, though, could become a free farmer if he were given the land by the land owner or had bought it from the land owner. A free farmer could become a land owner if he could by the land of a serf from another land owner. Warriors could become land-owners, as could merchants, but it was not possible to go the other way. A warrior became a land-owner at the age of 40, but his children were still considered warrior class, not land-owner class. A merchant could become a land-owner if he had emassed enough wealth to become one. Artisans could become merchants if they were able to travel away from their craft-centre. Merchants, Artisans and Land-Owners were all considered Lesser Nobles, a subgroup of the Lower Nobles who were not of Noble descent. The Lower Noble Houses were originally the unoccupied sons of the Noble Houses, those who had not gone on into the military or religious establishments but who did not have enough influence and wealth to be a true Noble House.

The Military Houses were descended from the second sons of the Noble Houses and divided into three sections. The Militray House Proper, who recieved a military education but were still nobility, warriors, the descendants of second sons who went on to fight and the embassadors, the descendents of final sons who went on to recieve a basic military education as well as a religous one bing considered too weak to fight.

The Religous Houses are similar to the Military Houses in being divided into three sections. The Religious House Proper, essentially the religious elite who provide continuity in the belief in the imperial cult, the travelling monks, middle sons of the religious elite who had the education to spread the idea of the imperial cult and the monasticals, the final sons of the elite who received a lower level of religious education and maintained a more local religious influence. With enough training a monastical could become a travelling monk and a travelling monk could become an embassador and vice-versa.

The Noble Houses were those who seeded the other three lower houses and controlled large areas of land, wealth and people. They lived essentially off the taxes of the others and the service of those below them. A Noble House was created when ordained by the two Emperors, distinguishing themselves from the lower houses who were ordained only by one. A Noble House could not fall but only cease to exist through the death of its final male member. Lower Noble Houses were usually the descendents of members of Noble Houses and lineage could be traced allowed for one of them to replace the Noble House which died.

The Imperial Family is a small but powerful group, providing positions to the Noble Houses while also gaining service from them through the idea that through them they may one day have a member of their family become one of the two Emperors. This meant that the Noble Houses fought amongst themselves to provide a wife for the Emperors first son. The Emperor himself was never to be seen and was considered divine by the people. The Noble Houses and even the Imperial Family, those closest to him, believed this to be true.

The Houses
The "family tree" of the social structure of the Radis Empire would be this:

Emperor-Empress __________|_____                  |              |           Imperial Heir   Imperials Sons _________|_______                       |               |                Imperial Houses    High Nobles _______________________________|_______________________________________________________________________        |                     |                                        |                                      | Noble House Proper   Lower Noble Houses                          Military Houses                       Religious Houses _____|____                   _______________|____________                     _______|______                        |        |                    |                |         |                     |            |    Lower Noble House Proper   Land-Owners   Military House Proper   Warriors   Embassadors   Travelling Monks   Monastics

The Emperor's first son and his first sons and so on would make up the Imperial Heirs while his other sons would go on to make up the Imperial Houses while his daughters would provide the continuation of the Noble Houses. The Noble Houses would have originally provided the basis for the three Lesser Noble Houses with the second son going into the military and the third becoming a member of the religous elite. The first son of a Noble House would become a High Noble also. It was the lower sons of the High Nobles who originally led to the Lower Noble Houses who's second and other sons became the land-owners. The first sons of the Military House went on the continue the Military House while the second fed the warrior class and the third the embassador class with the same process occuring in the Religious House with the Travelling Monks and Monastics.

These Houses later went on to grow, with all descendents belonging to the class of their ancestors, at least in the lines related, apparently, to the first two of the two Emperors. The Noble Houses are the descendents of the first sons of the Imperial Sons who fell outside the Imperial Houses, the Military Houses are made up of the descendents of the first sons of the second sons of the High Nobles and the Religious Houses the first sons of the third sons of the Noble Houses, etc.

The Houses can be listed as such (using only the Finnish names):

Imperial Heir
1. Keisarillinen Perijä

2. Keisarilliset Perijät

The Four Imperial Houses of the Finnish (Neljä Keisarilliset Huoneet Suomelaisen)
1. Keisarillinen Huone Karhun (The Imperial House of the Bear)

2. Keisarillinen Huone Kotkan (House of the Eagle)

3. Keisarillinen Huone Suden (The Imperial House of the Grey Wolf)

4. Keisarillinen Huone Hukan (The Imperial House of the Wolf)

The Three Imperial Houses of the Saami (Kolme Keisarilliset Huoneet Saamelaisen)
1. Keisarillinen Huone Hirven (The Imperial House of the Elk)

2. Keisarillinen Huone Ilveksen (The Imperial House of the Lynx)

3. Keisarillinen Huone Joutsenen (The Imperial House of the Swan)

Keisarillinen Huone Kotkan and Keisarillinen Huone Suden both have similar meanings because the were descended from twin sons of the Finn Emperor.

The Thirty-Four Noble Houses (Kolmekymmentäneljä Ylevät Huoneet)
The Noble Houses are divided into groups based on which of the Imperial Houses they descend from.

The Four Noble Houses of the Bear (Neljä Ylevät Huoneet Karhun)
1. Ylevä Huone Suuren Karhun (The Noble House of the Great Bear)

2. Ylevä Huone Valkean Karhun (The Noble House of the White Bear)

3. Ylevä Huone Taivaallisen Karhun (The Noble House of the Heavenly Bear)

4. Ylevä Huone Mustan Karhun (The Noble House of the Black Bear)

The Three Noble Houses of the Eagle (Kolme Ylevät Huoneet Kotkan)
1. Ylevä Huone Kultaisen Kotkan (The Noble House of the Golden Eagle)

2. Ylevä Huone Purjalenton Kotkan (The Noble House of the Soaring Eagle)

3. Ylevä Huone Lentävän Kotkan (The Noble House of the Flying Eagle)

The Six Noble Houses of the Grey Wolf (Kuusi Ylevät Huoneet Suden)
1. Ylevä Huone Mustan Suden (The House of the Black Wolf)

2. Ylevä Huone Valkean Suden (The House of the White Wolf)

3. Ylevä Huone Punaisem Suden (The House of the Red Wolf)

4. Ylevä Huone Harmaan Suden (The House of the Grey Wolf)

5. Ylevä Huone Sinisen Suden (The House of the Blue Wolf)

6. Ylevä Huone Hopeisen Suden (The House of the Silver Wolf)

The Five Noble Houses of the Wolf (Viisi Ylevät Huoneet Hukan)
1. Ylevä Huone Mustan Hukan (The House of the Black Wolf)

2. Ylevä Huone Valkean Hukan (The House of the White Wolf)

3. Ylevä Huone Harmaan Hukan (The House of the Grey Wolf)

4. Ylevä Huone Sinisen Hukan (The House of the Blue Wolf)

5. Ylevä Huone Hopeisen Hukan (The House of the Silver Wolf)

Notice how the names of 5 of the Noble Houses of the Grey Wolf are identical in English to those of the Noble Houses of the Wolf.

The Five Houses of the Elk (Viisi Ylevät Huoreet Hirven)
1. Ylevä Huone

2. Ylevä Huone

3. Ylevä Huone

4. Ylevä Huone

5. Ylevä Huone

The Six Houses of the Lynx (Kuusi Ylevät Huoreet Ilveksen)
1. Ylevä Huone

2. Ylevä Huone

3. Ylevä Huone

4. Ylevä Huone

5. Ylevä Huone

6. Ylevä Huone

The Five Houses of the Swan (Viisi Ylevät Huoreet Joutsenen)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

The Lower Noble Houses (Ylhäiset Huoneet)
=Siilo=