🔹 Aliases: Buddha's Palm Sect, Moon Buddha Sect, Broken Precept Monk Sect
🔹 Creed: Breaking precepts without losing the Buddha-heart, propagating the Dharma through the palm, protecting the Dao through power
🔹 Headquarters: "White Bone Ridge Temple" on the northern plateau of Moonrise Empire
🔹 Nature: Integration of Buddhism, military, and politics; featuring warrior monks, dogma, and a territorial system
The Gessho Sect was originally a heterodox branch of a Buddhist sect from the Central Plains (now the Shuntian Dynasty), founded several hundred years ago by a high monk named Zen Master Huiguang. At the time, he stated bluntly that the five Buddhist precepts should not blindly follow ancient rituals, proposing: "If a person is evil, compassion should be severed; if sentient beings suffer, breaking precepts is the Dao." He allowed monks to marry, eat meat, use weapons, and kill, asserting that the "Buddha-heart is in one's thoughts, not in the precepts." Consequently, he was ostracized by mainstream Buddhism and branded as a "Demonic Heretical Sect."
Zen Master Huiguang led over a thousand followers eastward, taking root on the northern plateau of the Moonrise Empire. Among the snowy ridges, they established the "White Bone Ridge Temple," reconstructed their teachings, and integrated local customs, war traditions, and cultivation culture to eventually evolve into today's Gessho Sect.
They believe that the "palm is a vessel of compassion and a tool for punishing evil," merging Buddha-palms with Zen contemplation into martial arts, developing the unique "Way of the Buddha-Palm." Over the past century, Gessho warrior monks have participated in numerous conflicts between Daimyos and battles to protect local villages, gradually becoming revered by the local people as the "Army of the Guardian Buddha." The current sect master, Tsukigoshi Genshin, serves as both a Daimyo and a High Priest, establishing an autonomous region known as the "Buddha Kingdom Territory." Today, the Gessho Sect is not only a Buddhist power in the martial world but also one of the most stable local forces in the Moonrise Empire.
"Compassion is not cowardice, and breaking precepts is not turning away from Buddha. The palm can propagate the Dao, and the staff can subdue demons. Those who protect the people may kill if necessary."
—Zen Master Huiguang
The Gessho Sect is divided into five major seats, each overseeing different areas to maintain the sect's governance and the Buddha Kingdom's power.
🌕 Master – Tsukigoshi Genshin
🔹 Ruler of both the sect and the territory; simultaneously a Daimyo and a High Priest.
🔹 Master of both Palm and Staff: Proficient in "Zen Wrath" and "Halo Protection Seal."
🔹 Externally peaceful but internally fierce; has had political and religious conflicts with the Kagemoon Sect and personally led troops to suppress Huoga rebellions.
🛡️ Military Commander – Kakugen Osho
🔹 Commander of the "Rakan Precept Legion," the sect's strongest pure palm warrior monk. Silent, resolute, and unparalleled in actual combat.
🔹 His palm strength is as heavy as a mountain, capable of repelling Huoga ninjas with a single strike. Known as the "Immovable Buddha Palm."
📿 Chief of Dogma – Renshō Hōshi
🔹 In charge of precepts, heart-methods, and jurisprudence; the sect's theoretical authority and ideological anchor.
🔹 Emphasizes the theoretical basis of the "Broken Precept Buddha-Heart" within the sect. Resident at White Bone Ridge Temple, responsible for the main hall and presiding over ceremonies.
✋ Palm Instructor – Hakai Dōgyō
🔹 A fiery instructor who looks like a youth but is actually an old monk. Believes that "killing is also compassion; the palm breaks evil thoughts."
🔹 Blunt and crude but beloved by disciples. Called the "Demon in the Palm, Ghost of Buddhism." Hates illusions and tricks, harboring a deep grudge against the Huoga Sect.
🕯️ Intelligence and Propagation – Myōjaku
🔹 A white-clad messenger who travels everywhere, leading the Gessho Sect's intelligence exchange and political contact with other sects and Daimyos.
🔹 Has eyes and ears in both the Shogunate and the Reform Blade Alliance; the sect's most hidden strategist. Uses "Samsara Staff" to transform Buddha-hearts into demonic thoughts.
🔹 Possesses the ability to control enemy thoughts and manipulate public opinion; the most mysterious person in the sect.
🪷 Myōin Hōshi — Chief of Inner Guard
🔹 Specializes in the "Great Compassion Staff Formation" and "Demon-Subduing Shake." Responsible for temple defense and formation deployment; the "Grand Formation Master" of the Gessho Sect, maintaining the barriers of the main temple.
🔹 Samsara Staff: A triple-rotation strike that severs killing intent and breath.
🔹 Zen-Shock Void: An air-pressure explosion that repels illusions and fire escapes.
🔹 Demon-Subduing Shake: Seals the enemy's meridians and severs their true essence.
🔹 Halo Protection Seal: Deploying a Buddhist halo seal to protect the body or reflect incoming projectiles.
🔹 Great Compassion Staff Formation (Advanced): Deploying formations with staves to boost morale and suppress enemy presence.