Principals and Practices

 

NEW RENAISSANCE

“The was is in training, the way is in bringing the self to the highest potential”

PREAMBLE

This book is meant to be a personal journey.

Each book is unique and reflects the personal cumulative aspirations of knowledge a person seeks to attain.

This is knowledge you carry forward to preserve the future of humanity.

This is knowledge to be built upon, shared, tested and refined. But more it is meant to refine the self into its greatest potential, to allow one to seek mastery of skills and knowledge within the context of ones own life, interests and ambitions.

To act as a mirror for the self, revealing the path forward when all other lights go out.

To act as an anchor for the self, when the mind and body are adrift in the stormy sea and no point of reference can be made.

To act as a subtle blade, cutting away the shadow of falsehood and revealing the true substance.

To act as the grimoire of mercy, showing one the true path when falsehood and ignorance have overcome the mind.

Forgiving the heart its betrayals, forgiving the mind its wanderings, forgiving the body its weakness.

These are daily conditions and practices, channel them through your study, your training and your work.

This book is meant to be a personal sacrifice.

FIVE PRINCIPALS

1: COMMUNITY - Society shall be organized for the benefit of all consenting people. Thou shall work to extend human life and well being as far as possible.

2: FREEDOM - Thou shalt not exploit another human. The system of exploitative labor shall be abolished.

3: UTOPIA - The environment shall be retained and protected. Technology shall be limited to allow for the recovery of nature.

4: SELF RELIANCE - Thou shalt not become unnecessarily dependent upon a machine. Thou shalt not turn over responsibility to a machine.

5: SHARED PURPOSE - Thou shall protect humanity from existential threats. Thou shall prepare humanity to live in space.

SEVEN PRACTICES

1: STUDY - Study all subjects, gain a basic understanding of the world around you, the scientific subjects, history, literature, arts and whatever is of value to you. Focus upon mastery of the simple and basic.

2: TRAIN - Train in martial arts, in sport and in game. Hone the body and mind, always focusing upon being a better person than you were the day before.

3: REWILD - Rewild the self, the lifestyle and the habitat. Just exist in nature, learn skills and practices which enable one to survive and thrive in any environment.

4: FAMILY - Build family connections with other people, whether they are of blood relation or not, base these relationships on the sharing of resources, ideas, activities and company. Focus upon contribution and developing shared values.

5: DISCIPLINE - Discipline of the mind, body and action. This includes the setting of basic routines and principals even if it is difficult. Success is only measure against the past self.

6: CHARITY - Charity in gift, service and favor. Working to see the collective good in all and building towards a world where everyone has their basic needs met and there is peace.

7: TEMPERANCE - Temperance in consumption, ambition and passion. Moderation in all things but especially excesses in greed and pleasure.

RELIGION AND PERSONAL BELIEF

New Renaissance is a religion which encompasses all other religions, as its principal venerates any and all religious practices or forms of tradition (which don’t violate the 5 principals). In this way it is meant to act as a binding agent to overcome religious differences by creating a unifying frame work which gives value to the study and understanding of various religion or philosophical systems by people of any religious (or not) persuasion.

The only true “cannon” of New Renaissance are the PREAMBLE, the FIVE PRINCIPALS and the SEVEN PRACTICES. The rest of the religion is essentially whatever knowledge kata you assemble in your book and the nature of your practice, both in physical training and in study.

As long as you are working to help bring people to their full potential, not purposely exploiting anyone, working to protect the environment, helping to keep humanity independent of controlling technology and working to bring about a prosperous future for humanity, you are following the principals of the New Renaissance.

You should also keep and maintain a sacred knife, compile and maintain a sacred book and try to live by the seven practices, though none of these is essential to being New Renaissance.

KATA

A kata is a pattern of movements or actions in a martial art. New Renaissance applies the idea of kata to knowledge, creating lists of information and principals which are to be memorized and practiced in the same fashion as you would a martial arts sequence. The ultimate idea is to master the knowledge within ones self.

The twin symbols of New Renaissance are the KNIFE and the BOOK. They represent the two aspects of the religion; The knife represents action and cutting away false hood to reveal the deepest truth, the book represents learning and aspiration to master skills and knowledge in ones life. Together they create a dualistic tension between the need to learn and the need to act. Their synthesis is the deepest purpose of New Renaissance.

THE WAY

The Way refers to a concept found within traditional Asian religion and martial arts, it is embodied in the fundamental principal of New Renaissance: “The Way is in training.” This is a classic quote attributed to Miyamoto Musashi, the most famous Japanese Samurai in history. It embodies the deepest principal of New Renaissance.

The Way is originally a concept from Taoism and refers to the nameless formless aspect that underlies and informs all being and action. To say that “The Way is in training” is to say that training is the gateway to achievement of the highest moral and spiritual principal. This principal can be compared to a life lived in a state of naturalness, that is not nature in the wild sense, but in the true deepest sense, living life in complete harmony with ones inner nature and the world around you.

The Prime Rose