![]() ![]() ![]() Priests of the Way were often lone wanderers who journeyed in search of knowledge through an understanding of nature. There were a number of great sages of the Way. Priests of the Way were, by and large, often aloof in contemplation of their mysteries and potent with magic. This duality caused no problems for the faith. Indeed, wu jen, mages, and sorcerers were more likely to hold the highest positions in the faith, and the greatest wu jen of Kara-Turan history were also Chung Hsiang Tao. In their habits, they were more similar to wizards than clerics, monks, or scholars. Owing to the philosophy of the faith and its command of natural forces, priests of the Way were just as likely to wield arcane magic as wu jen as they were to command divine magic as shukenja (known in Shou Lung as dang-ki or dang-kai ). Similarly, some called the Way itself "Chung Tao". Some outsiders called followers of the Way simply "tao", such as in "tao of the Way". Priests of the Way were called Chung Hsiang Tao. Those of the Light Way were called White Chung Tao and those of the Dark Way were called Black Chung Tao, or simply "Black Ones". Those who followed the Way were called "Guides of the Way", or, in the Shou language, Chung Tao or Ch'eng Tao. They viewed Monkey as a trickster and troublemaker, but one who bested the evil spirits of the celestial world. Nevertheless, priests of the Way in T'u Lung considered the spirits of nature to be "Nature Gods". One who was untrained or clumsy could make dangerous changes or tears to this cloth that unleashed demons and evil spirits, while a "superior man" could restore harmony to the sheet. The spellcaster Fargh Choi of T'u Lung, a follower of the Way, taught that the universe was like a sheet of cloth, and that if one pulled on a thread, it would have an effect somewhere else, even in the celestial realms. Uncovering the deeper mysteries of the Way allowed its followers to gain a kind of sorcerous control over the material world and its forces. Followers believed that the nature of the Way was actually unknowable, and that true faith was found in the world, not in books. Īlthough described as an elaborate religious philosophy, the Way was less of a religion and more of a philosophy of metaphysics. It also depended on the principles of action and non-action. The concept of Yin and Yang, the concept of the interconnection of opposing forces and that two opposing forces were partially composed of the other, was central to the Way, and was the symbol of the faith. Followers of the Light Way argued that there were no superior beings, only enlightened beings, and thought that preserving the natural balance of the world and events was the proper Way. ![]() Followers of the Dark Way asserted that a superior being was obligated to shape the universe for their own purposes, while directing unenlightened people to a higher purpose. Theoretically, this meant the Way should be a wholly neutral faith, yet in practice it was split into two opposing sects: the Dark Way and the Light Way, who conflicted over the best way to use the power to shape these forces. A follower of the Way endeavored to understand the best way to use and manipulate these forces. They maintained that there was no good or evil and no chaos or law as in western philosophy, that these were only labels applied by outsiders to fundamental forces of the universe. ![]() Adherents of the Way held that all things in the universe were influenced by all other things, and in turn influenced all others. ![]()
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