Editing Kindred of the East (section)

==Dharma, And You==
Each Kuei-jin has a Dharma, a path  through the unlife used to determine what their purpose is in the Great Cycle, with the eventual end of reaching Enlightenment.  Part philosophy, part code of behavior, part lightning flashes of insight and clarity (called ''dah''), a Kuejin grows in power and understanding the further they journey along the dharmic road.

Incidentally the further along a Kuei-jin is on their Dharmic journey, the more likely it is for a Cathayan to be eligible for a higher position in a given Court's ladder of influence (due to the accumulated wisdom and experience their Dharma implies).  Court '''Mandarins''' and '''Ancestors''' are usually the wisest, most cunning, and ''deadliest'' members of their community for good reason.

Futher along the path still are the '''[[Bodhisattva]]s'''.  Even the intrigues of Court unlife have lost their colour to these Kuei-jin, who have long discovered that these are distractions to the attainment of Enlightenment.  Many of them retreat from the world almost entirely, to meditate on forlorn mountain hideaways about the vagarities of existence.  As they stand on the cusp of attaining heaven, the power these enlightened beings radiate can often be overwhelming, even painful, for younger Kuei-jin, yet at the same time they are examples of what the lowest disciple can eventually attain.

The final step of the Dharmic journey is that of the '''[[Arhat]]'''.  The Kuei-jin finally becomes Enlightened; the process often takes millennia, but when that moment clarity happens, the cares of the Mortal World falls away, and they enter the Hundred Clouds.  Their kharmic debt was paid, and they are finally free from the Great Cycle.  

While the base Kindred of the East rulebook claims that there are no Arhats left in the waking world, the individual Dharma books that followed contradict this, and say that yes, there are still a few of these super-enlightened beings hanging around.  While they're ''supposed'' to move on to Heaven (and many indeed do), the few mentioned stay in the Middle Kingdom by ''choice''.  This is ''especially'' true of the Devil Tigers, whose Arhats are waiting for the Sixth Age to arrive... So that they can gank the Demon King when he even tries to ascend to the vacated throne of the August Personage.

Now, with the fluff out of the way...

''Mechanically'', levels in Dharma are almost the same as Generation is for Cainite vampires, though you deduct your Dharma level from 13 to figure out what your equivalent "Generation" is.  Interestingly enough, the main KoTE rulebook ''explicitly'' says Dharma scores should '''not''' be used to figure out Power Levels.  While a ''Bodhisattva'' is the rough equivalent of a Kindred ''Methuselah'', it does not mean that a Bodhisattva can take a Methuselah one on one (though if you munchkin it, it's certainly possible).  Not helped by how much ''expensive'' everything is points-wise for a Kuei-jin. 

Plus unless one was a Devil Tiger, being a [[Rip and Tear|close combat murder machine]] doesn't quite match up with the whole "at the cusp of Enlightenment" thing that Bodhisattvas represent.  It's best to think of it as an Apples and Oranges situation. 

That said, there are stuff that the more Spiritually-attuned Kuei-jin can do that your run of the mill Methuselah (who are often blind to the Spirit World) ''can't'', like travel thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, step sideways into the Spirit World ala [[Werewolf: The Apocalypse|Garou]], or summon storms to blot out the sun.

(To see a canonical example of this at work, several [[Ravnos]] Methuselah were little more than quick snacks when their [[Antediluvian]] woke up during the [[Week of Nightmares]]. By comparison, a trio of Bodhisattva managed to pin down  Zapathasura in Bangladesh for a night and a day, before the [[Mage: The Ascension|Technocracy]] decided to ruin everyone's fun by nuking all of them).

The higher your Dharma, the higher your Attributes, Disciplines, and Chi use limit can get.  ''Unlike'' Cainites, where a player will have to eventually do [[Diablerie]] if they want to get anything above five dots, advancement in Dharma is a mostly story-driven affair; you either experience a flash of enlightment over the course of a gaming session (depending on your chosen Dharma), or you don't.

===Choose Your Own Dharma===
There are five "Traditional" Dharma, universally called the "Fivefold Path" (called that way because these were the ones created by the first Arhat, '''Xue''' as he wandered the Middle Kingdom after God cursed the Wan Xian) that a Kuei-jin can follow, each representing one of the Virtues that a Cathayan seeks to embrace, each a different path on the road to Enlightenment.  Each Dharma likewise has a number of Sects connected to it, all based on a particular interpretation of its core tenets.  

There are also so-called "heretical" Dharmas, which either represent different interpretations of the way to Enlightenment, or spit on the concept on Enlightenment entirely.  Because of the fact that few if any of them have yet to ascend even a single Bodhisattva, followers of the Fivefold Path see them painfully deluded fools or, as in the case of the Scorpion Eaters, dangerous traitors that need to be put down for good.

The Dharmas of the Fivefold Path:

* [[Howl of the Devil Tiger]]: Experts in dealing and enduring pain, they're usually evil bastards, but their evil is never petty, as it's ''directed'' evil against the truly depraved and malicious.  They seek to replace the Devil servants of the Yama Kings, who've lost sight of their original purpose of destroying evil.  Represents P'o.  
* [[Way of the Resplendent Crane]]: Those who believe that through virtuous behavior, respect of the rules, and proper action, this rotten World can be saved and renewed.  Thinking of them as fussy but well-meaning Chinese [[Paladin]] bureaucrats wouldn't be too off the mark. Represents Hun.
* [[Song of the Shadows]] ('''Bone Flowers'''): Melancholic scholars, who have even closer ties to Ghosts and the Spirit World.  Due to their stoicism and detachment, they make excellent diplomats, spies, and assassins. Represents Yin.  
* [[Dance of the Thrashing Dragon]]: Thrillseekers and hedonists, they seek to experience all of life's colors, especially since they missed out on it before their Second Breath. Many of them become parents of [[Dhampyr|Shade Walkers]], due to either knocking up their mortal lovers, or ''getting'' knocked up. Represents Yang.
* The [[Path of a Thousand Whispers]] (Hollow Reeds): The rarest Dharma, where one seeks to find their place in the Great Cycle by living through a countless identities.  Not generally trusted by other Kuei-jin, as they can be allies in one of their identities, and enemies in another. Represents Balance.  

The Heretical Dharmas:

* '''Spirit of the Living Earth''' (Cerulian Veils): Shamans and travelers of the Spirit Realms, they're not picky about ''who'' they traffic with, which includes '''evil''' sprits that typically hunt down Kuei-jin.  Represents Yin and Yang.
* '''Face of the Gods''': Believe that they are Gods cast out of Heaven, and that Mortals should make it up to them by worshipping them and let them feed on their prayers, because why not? Represents Hun and P'o.
* '''[[Flames of the Rising Phoenix]]''': See their new Unlives as a simple continuation of their old Mortal lives, and a second chance to set the kharmic scales straight. Represents Hun and Yang.
* '''Tempest of Inward Focus''': Introspective isolationists, who feel that they need to focus on their own internal issues, and the problems of the world can wait. Represents Balance.
* '''Scorpion Eaters''': Fatalists that have given up on fighting the coming Sixth Age, and surrendered to the Yama Kings. Universally-considered traitors and ''akuma''. Represents P'o.