Buhkhoism

Buhkhoism [W.I.P.]
The Belief in the Raging Sun and the Rising Moon

''"In the beginning there was said to be nothing but the All-Mother, Bghed Teangosa, and there was nothing else but the dark and the light. It is said these two forces were the children of the All-Mother, and they were said to constantly fight. So in order to end the fighting the All-Mother split her body into equal parts and bore the planes of existence, the Nether, realm of the Light; the End, realm of the Dark; and the Overworld, a realm which was to be shared between the two forces, opening a new peace between the two cosmic forces." - The First Buhkho Codex, Book of Beginnings. (Written in the Year 1,556 Y.B.A.)''

That is said to be the beginning of the world, however that is not the beginning of Buhkhoism, Buhkhoism can trace it's ancestral roots from the Sun Cult peoples, a belief system which is held near to the center of Buhkhoism and shaped the religion into what it is today. Buhkhoism believes that life is an eternal cycle, that death is a mere small gap between new life, Buhkhoists believe to live life one most find balance in it all. This is where Buhkhoists split from the Sun Cult, where the believe the only true force of will in the universe to be the Sun God, Buhkhoists believe there to be two forms of will which ultimately can be broken down into many smaller forces a.k.a. Gods. The Two Forces of the Universe are that of the Light and that of Darkness, these two forces make up the universe in many different ways, for instance they fill the nighttime sky, or the day and night cycle, or even the above and bellow ground levels of the overworld. Here in Buhkhoism we are faced with a challenge in life, do we devote our life in worship of the Light or the Dark? The answer is that we must choose a balance between the two. Devoting one's time to one force will lead to eternal sacrifice, worshipping neither will lead to eternal curse, so to walk the middle ground one must devote time to both, while also forging one's own path amongst the cosmos.

The Cycle of Life
As previously stated death is merely a small gap between the Cycle of Life as Buhkhoists call it, life is split betwixt four different manners; there is Life, Reincarnation, Ascension, and Resurrection. In life one must follow the principles of Buhkho and strive to achieve enlightenment in order to escape the cycle of Life, however if one does die without reaching Enlightenment they are reincarnated, this usually results in living over your life in a new body with the same consciousness, this is decidedly why we respawn. The final step in the road of life is Ascension, this can mean one of three things and is regularly debated by the Buhkho community, you either A. Ascend to Godhood, B. Go to some form of Heaven, or C. Die and completely escape the Cycle of Life. Lastly there is one other form of life less talked about which is Resurrection, considered an unholy punishment upon mankind for their evil and dead set desires, Resurrection is when the gods rebirth a human without consciousness, they are set upon man to punish them for their sin.

How to Treat One Another
Under the teachings of Buhkho it was said that there are many sins which mankind can use to end up on the wrong side of the Cycle of Life, once done your soul is marked by a heavy mark which follows you through your next lives. These sins include greed, corruption, purposeless animal slaughter, lust, being faithless, and last and the worst sin being that of manslaughter. Buhkho, as did many sages before, preached that to harm another one of your species is the worst sin one can commit, man being of smarter intelligence than all other species was to be dignified, moralistic, and sympathetic, however due to the corruption of the cosmic forces man grew ambitious and filled with desires. This led to their corruption of sin, and would plague humanity for it's entire existence, and while Buhkho and many others understood that war had become one with humanity the old ones taught that war must be kept only as a device if offered by a god-chosen-king, war was not for expansion nor petty domination, war should only be enacted in the defense of the realm and holy lands. That being said only a divine servant of the gods may approve of an act of war, whether this be a monk, the ruler, or saintly figure.

The Founding:
Wfind a way to end the Cycle of Life, to take upon this world and forge our own paths, and to devote our lives to both the Void and to the Light. Buhkho wrote that if we are to live life without fearing service to the gods than we must take the precaution of worshipping both, to not anger them, and to give monthly sacrifices to the gods. Prayers should be said every morning to your family's pantheon and to both the Light and Void. Each family has usually a small pantheon at home, this can be forged via ancestral bonds such as your grandfather worshiping the Gods of Earth while your grandmother worshiped the Goddess of the Sea, or they can be arranged when two families are endowed by marriage. ho Was Buhkho

Buhkho was believed to be the founder of Buhkhoism, decidedly the reason for the religion being named after him, while he is not the first to worship the Sun or Moon, nor even the first to declare both the Sun and Moon equal gods, he was the first to record his religious visions and is recorded as one of the only true messengers of the Gods. Buhkho was born in the year 1,500 Y.B.A. (Years Before Awakening) to two of the final islander kingdoms, his people had been running to near extinction for hundreds of years, however in the heart of battle the Sun and Moon gods possessed the bodies of the two kingdoms' rulers. Together they signed a peace which would long outlast them and their dynasties. This was when the Light and the Void finally settled in peace, the holy marrying of the two kingdoms merged into a stronghold of man and acted as a shiny beacon for the rest of the world to follow. And in this time of peace Buhkho was born, born of human and godly blood, this child was destined to reign as a god amongst man. However as Buhkho grew up he decided to abdicate the throne for a simpler life, and so he journey out into the world as a sage. Buhkho learned the truth about the world on his long journey, discovering not only were there many gods, but many gods who did not fit with the pantheons of his ancestral teachings. So he recorded the words which he heard and communicated among them, and he began to learn just how important it was that he could commune the words of the gods with the common people. Buhkho then returned after a twenty year journey, retook the throne, and declared himself God King of the Archipelago.

While God King of the Archipelago is a title still used by the reigning monarch of the empire, the empire of Buhkho and his day have been lost to time, as when he died he was allowed to pass on having reached the end of the cycle. However the legacy left by Buhkho the First was one that has never been outshined, even by today. He and his spiritual advisors and monks wrote the first completed Codex and Guide to Ruler Divinity/Holy Mandate, as well as unifying lands which would become future generations prime target for political power, known now as the Holy Lands. He built public works which benefitted every citizen of the empire, temples, fortresses, libraries, monasteries, and more. However within a few hundred year it all collapsed, leaving the Buhkoist faith in shattered pieces.

The Main Pantheon
The Main Pantheon is the inner circle of gods, some of them are adaptation from ancient religions such as the Sun/Light Gods or the Void/Moon Gods, however the Main Pantheon is the hearth of Buhkhoism, all other gods that come after are split between the Light and Dark, these are the creators and founders of this world.

- The All-Mother/Bghed Teangosa

- The Light

- The Dark/Void

- The Sun

- The Moon

The Awakened Pantheon
The Awakening is a post-Buhkho period event in which many other gods were simply created or released from imprisonment from the Light and Dark, these gods follow the symmetry patterns of identifying with one force or the other, none of these gods can be found on either side, however live today in relative harmony.

Adopted Gods
These gods are adopted or simply stolen from other religions, these gods don't have to be set within the guidelines of the Main or Awakened Pantheons, but they are still celebrated and worshiped by Buhkhoists.

Heroes and Demi-Gods
These are the children of gods or simple humans who rose to the level of godhood in the public eye of the people, these heroes are not always good, nor evil, but they do serve as a religious symbol to something usually much larger, they are celebrated as saints or warriors who died or lived on in the name of Buhkho.