#Way of Emptiness RP — The Words of Compassion and Void

Contents

Compassion does not close its eyes. Void gazes too long, until it empties its eyes.

#Introductory Fragment — The Extinguished Goma Altar

Even after the fire of the goma went out, the monk Shoen did not leave his place. Within the ashes the failed names remained. Those he could not save tonight, those the sutra passages did not reach, those who had already become yoma.

His disciple Makoto asked carefully, "Master, does a failed prayer also become karma?"

Shoen did not answer, but gathered the ashes. His fingertips were stained black. Makoto, afraid of that silence, took a step back. "Must we do the same thing tomorrow as well?"

"And so tomorrow I light the fire again," Shoen said.

"And if it fails once more?"

Shoen looked at the extinguished goma altar. "Hold that question long, and nihilism comes. Yet cast the question away, and compassion vanishes too. We call the names and light the fire again so as not to leave failure as ash."

He placed the last of the ashes into a small pouch. In tomorrow's goma, the names that failed today would burn together.

#The Basic Questions of a Way-of-Emptiness Character

A Way-of-Emptiness character sees suffering. But merely to see suffering is not enough.

Question	Example Answer
Whose suffering do I see first?	The common people, comrades, the dead, yoma, enemies, myself
How far do I try to save?	To the surrendered enemy, to the yoma, to the grudge, to the whole world
What is my experience of compassion's failure?	The death of a saved child, repeated betrayal, the corruption of a temple
What do I mistake for Void?	Emptiness, equality, rebirth, impermanence, silence

The Way of Emptiness is not a path that is only soft. Compassion saves a person, yet it must not vanish even before a decision that kills a person.

#How to Play Compassion

Compassion (慈) is the heart that seeks to lessen suffering. A Way-of-Emptiness character asks the enemy's name, chants a sutra over the dead, and asks even the yoma, "Why did it come to this?"

Good Compassion looks like this.

After a battle ends, he does not insult the enemy.
He does not count the dead as numbers.
He tries to hear the story of a being that became a yoma.
He does not deny a comrade's anger, yet keeps that anger from calling forth the next killing.
Even when killing is necessary, he does not speak of that necessity lightly.

A compassionate figure need not always be gentle. At times the most frightening person is the compassionate one. For he sees exactly what you have done, and yet treats you once more as a human being.

#How to Play Void

Void (虛) is the emptiness after compassion has collapsed. It is the state in which the realization "all is suffering" has turned into "nothing has meaning."

A figure of Void may not weep. He may not even grow angry. Rather, he is excessively still.

"Save them, and they will die again."
"Rebirth, salvation — all of it is only the solace of those left behind."
"When this world ends, the suffering ends too."
"What good is it to save that child? He will only die in the next war."

Void is no simple despair. It is a logical despair. That is why it is more dangerous.

#The Moment of Sliding from Compassion to Void

Trigger	Scene
The one he tried to save dies again and again	"This time too the sutra did not reach."
An enemy shown compassion commits a greater slaughter	"It is as if my own hand spared that blade."
Seeing the hypocrisy of a temple or master	"In the name of the Buddha, he was counting coin."
Understanding a yoma's suffering yet failing to stop it	"If understanding cannot save, then what is understanding?"

The turn to Void must be quieter than terror. A despair that does not cry out lingers longer.

#A Bundle of Buddhist Manners of Speech

#To Comrades

"I understand the anger. But that anger makes the next vengeful spirit."
"Call the names of the dead. Do not leave them as numbers."
"We must let them live. Even if the reason is not enough, we must let them live."

#To Enemies

"You too must have suffered. Even so, I cannot pass over this suffering."
"I will cut you. May we not meet this blade in the next life."
"Surrender. You can still change your karma."

#When Drawing Near to Void

"The prayer was not answered."
"When every path returns to suffering, why do you ask the way?"
"It is enough to end it. End it all, and no one will hurt anymore."

#Way-of-Emptiness Scene Tools

Tool	Use
Memorial tablet	The name of the dead. Forgotten, it becomes a grudge.
Prayer beads	Repeated prayer, repeated failure.
Extinguished goma altar	A failure of faith, or a fire to be lit again.
Blood-stained scripture	The collision of compassion and killing.
A child's funeral objects	A scene that compresses the price of war.

#The Way of Emptiness in Conflict with Other Ways

Counterpart	Conflict Question
Way of Rites	Can one overlook a sufferer for the sake of the lord's command?
Way of Mystery	If it is the flow of nature, must suffering too be accepted?
No Heart	Is grasping at nothing liberation, or evasion?
Zen no-mind	How does laying down attachment differ from laying down compassion?

Between Compassion and Void lies a single extinguished ember.