Updated Explanation of Jashinism

[Guest Lupi]

Many people in life are oblivious to the suffering

of others. They do not know what pain is and yet they heartlessly inflict sorrow and grief on others. The faith of Jashinism is devoted to the enlightening of the public to the suffering they are inducing.

Jashinism is the religious practice based upon the worship of Jashin, the god of pain, death and destruction. Things that are depicted as evil by most people but that is due to nothing more than people's fears. Without these gifts the cycle of life as we know it could not exist. Followers of this faith are known as Jashinists. They believe Jashin draws energy from his followers by their acts of devotion. Jashinism is a polytheist religion that acknowledges and respects the faiths of others. They do not believe in a single omnipotent being, for if this were the case everything would be as that being wanted it. They would have created everything to be perfect. They also perceive the concept of free will as wishful thinking for once one pledges loyalty to a god or goddess they are relinquishing their freedom to serve their lord. Jashin is worshiped as a god and as a philosophy.

It is believed that Jashinism first appeared on the island Shikoku of Japan during the late Jomon period (14000 BC- 300 BC) to the early Nara period (710 AD- 794 AD). Shikoku is the smallest and least populated island of Japan. Jashinism shares many similarities to Buddhism and Shintoism. It is controversial due to its darkly oriented foundations. Jashinism was almost lost to the world due to the acts of religious rivalries. During the 1800s Jashinism began to reappear to the public. As a result, Jashinists were burned and lynched accused of being witches and devil worshipers. Religious persecution of Jashinists continues to this day and most are force to practice their faith in secret.

There are two kinds of Jashinists: Blood Bound Jashinists and Innocent Jashinists. Blood Bound Jashinists perform one of the most favoured forms of worship done through sacrificing their own blood. Blood Bound Jashinists are well educated on the human anatomy and do not intentionally do true harm to their body. Only small amounts of their blood are sacrificed. The most common ritual performed during blood sacrifices are to pray, sacrifice, then pray again. The first prayer is for a blessing on their sacrifice the second is of whatever they feel the need to pray for. The purpose of blood sacrifice is seen as some a way to help understand the physical pain that is inflicted to people. Others view it as a substitute for human sacrifices. Sacrificing was once a popular belief in almost all faiths.

Innocent Jashinists do not perform the rituals of blood sacrifice and mainly focus on understanding the emotional pain inflicted on others. They show devotion through extended prayer, fasting, meditation, etc. There are Jashinists who practice both forms of Jashinism.

Like most religions Jashinism has had a prophet. He is believed to be the founder of Jashinism and was granted immortality by Jashin for learning to understand true pain. He was eventually relieved of his immortality when his body was butchered and limbs cut off by those outside the faith. It is believed that Jashin brought his prophet to his immortal plain, where all souls sacrificed to Jashin are tormented for eternity and his followers rewarded and can even choose to be reincarnated.

Like other religions, Jashinism follows a set of commandments given to them by Jashin:

*Never inflict pain unto someone unless you have experienced that pain yourself (However by experiencing that pain you would not wish for someone else to experience that pain as you had.)

*No Earthly pleasures: sex, drugs, alcohol. (Man-made drugs used for medical purposes are fine. The use of marijuana is not prohibited for it is not a man-made drug. A romantic relationship with someone who is not a Jashinist is forbidden unless the basis of your relationship is out of love.)

*Pain equals pleasure. (Jashinist believe pain is a gift so we don't feel the damage done to our bodies. All Jashinists learn to enjoy the gift of pain or to ignore it completely.)

*Any sacrifice made must be human.

*Never leave a sacrifice alive. (This pertains to Jashin's prophet who is the only one who knows true pain. Only he is allowed to perform human sacrifice or to inflict pain on others, for he knows the difference between those who are suffering and those who abuse pain for their own benefit.)

*Once you become a Jashinist you cannot leave the faith. (The only way to leave is through suicide. By doing so you break your bonds to Jashin and your pledge of loyalty.

Some unspoken rules, though not commandments, is to respect all other Jashinists and to never use Jashin's name in vain.

To Jashinism sin is human selfishness. The selfishness of humans causes rape, theft, abuse, war, etc. Human selfishness is the cause of worldly problems and is something Jashinism is against.

Jashin's symbol represents the philosophies of Jashinism. The symbol is a downward pointing equilateral triangle inside of a circle. The spaces and lines all represent something different and relate to each other. The left line of the triangle represents life; the right death; and the top pain. the space between the left line and circle represents spirit; the right body; and the top mind. The circle represents the world and the space within the triangle represents self. Altogether it is Jashin. Mind over pain; life of spirit; death of body; all within the world around us with the self in the centre.

The ultimate goal of Jashinism is to create a world in which everyone understands and respects each other. A world where everyone, in some form or fashion, everyone is a Jashinist. A world without pointless suffering inflicted by those who do not understand its implications and consequences whether out of ignorance or done intentionally. A world of peace ruled by Jashin.

It is believed by some that once he has gathered enough followers and has accumulated enough strength he will manifest himself on Earth and bring his world of peace into being.

A common misconception that plagues the Jashinist faith is that this prophet was Hidan. Hidan is a character of a Japanese animation named “Naruto Shippuden”, originally a manga written by Masashi Kishimoto. He was portrayed as a ‘Jashinist’ very inaccurately. He was a brutal, sadomasochist and was a warped, extremist version of what should not be considered a Jashinist. Many fans of this character created crude websites of what they believed to be Jashinism, based off of what they saw from the show. These websites misinform those researching Jashinism and stain the true religion’s reputation and information available. Furthermore, the injustice to those seeking to practice the religion is done by fans of this character attempting to imitate him. Fans of Hidan claiming to be Jashinists, commonly referred to as ‘hidanists’ by those of the Jashin faith, who post ridiculous ‘facts’ and ‘rules’ of the religion negatively impact so many new Jashinists. Because of these websites and ‘hidanists’ people who are opposed to the religion harass Jashinists with claims that it is made up by Masashi Kishimoto or by the fans of Naruto Shippuden because of the inaccurate research they conduct on Jashinism.