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SHINSEI SEINARU MONASTERY APPLICATION
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Out-Of-Character (OOC) Section
IN-GAME NAME (IGN):
0XED_
DISCORD NAME & TAG:
TAG: oxxycleanchemicals | DISCORD NAME: oxy.
WHAT IS YOUR TIMEZONE?:
(EST) Eastern Standard Time.
DO YOU HAVE A MICROPHONE?:
Yes, I have a working microphone.
DESCRIBE YOUR ACTIVITY ON THE SERVER:
My activity on the server is pretty consistent throughout the week, although I do have a couple of days where I'm not online for personal reasons, so my activity on the server is about an 8/10 overall.
WHAT POSITION ARE YOU APPLYING FOR?:
I am applying for Maiden.
WHAT KNOWLEDGE DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE OF SHINTOISM AND ARE YOU PREPARED/WILLING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RELIGION?:
The concept of Shintoism, as far as I am aware, is that followers of Shintoism believe that spiritual forces exist in nature. While the word Shinto means the way of gods. Shintoism is one of the oldest religions of Japan. It was established at least 1000 years ago, but it is still practiced by more than five million people today. It is believed by the followers of Shintoism that spiritual powers exist in the natural environment. According to them, spirits called "kami" are present in all kinds of natural things such as animals, plants, stones, mountains, rivers, people, as well as dead people.
WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT FOR THIS ROLE OVER OTHER APPLICANTS?
From an honest point of view, reading other applicants' applications, showed me examples of how passionate, how much time and effort they put into their applications along with how their willingness to learn more about the overall Monastery and religion, Shintoism, really helped to give an example of how I want to apply and show off my own personal researched topic of Shintosim. As I still learning about this religious topic, I still want to be able to provide others with the amounts of knowledge I have about the topic of Shintoism, while also still learning more information when being accepted of this important role.
DO YOU ACKNOWLEDGE YOU WILL HAVE TO ATTEND MANDATORY TRAININGS TO BE TAUGHT MORE ABOUT SHINTOISM AND THE ACCORDING PROCEDURES?:
Yes, I acknowledge these mandatories, learnings, and overall important procedures. Along with the importance of attending the mandatory training, as well as not leaving the mountain and shrine until the training is confirmed done.
In-Character (IC) Section
SECTION 1: Character Details
The following quotations are what my character is speaking!
CHARACTERS FULL NAME:
“Brookee-Meiying Ding Amézquita, but I prefer to be called Keke”
CHARACTERS TITLE (E.g. Mr. Mrs. Miss):
“Miss- or just Ms.. is fine by me”
CHARACTERS AGE (E.g. 21-80):
“I am twenty-three years old!”
CHARACTERS MARITAL STATUS:
“I have never been married.. So my answer is just single, never married”
CHARACTERS NATIONALITY:
“I am Chinese and Latina! Even though I was born in China, in Chongqing, I was raised in Peru, Huancavelica”
CHARACTERS PHONE-NUMBER:
“My phone number is (030) 765-8100!”
WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION FOR APPLYING TO WORK AT THE MONASTERY?:
“My motivation for applying to work at the monastery was to really take a lifetime commitment to be free from traumas derived from various aspects of my life as a result of my previous experiences. Because I was almost hit by my father at the age of ten because I did not offer him the support he needed during that time when he was drinking. Throughout my life, I have been beaten by female classmates countless times because of the fact that my body was shaped differently than theirs, something my younger sister isn't even aware of yet.
As a result of my efforts to protect my sister from being targeted by the female classmates who beat me every week as a teenager, I have several scars all over my body. It is my intention, as an adult, to finally fulfill the long-term promise I made to myself when I was young, to finally have a chance to finally be able to rid myself of all the negativity that had harshly scarred my body for so many years.
Furthermore, to be able to say that I am finally recovering from past experiences that I was never able to take the time to fully understand that I can no longer push aside and that even my mental needs have to be taken care of rather than my physical needs alone.. is the most rewarding feeling”
TELL ME WHAT HISTORY AND INFORMATION YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SHINSEI SEINARU MONASTERY:
“From doing multiple research and exploring the shrine on my own, this shrine was built in 774 by Buddhist monks. As it was planned to be used for Buddhism, but was beforehand burned a few times. It was then rebuilt as a Shinto shrine, being named the Shinsei Seinaru Shrine. Although the overall monastery is a bit.. Uncommon compared to usual shrines. the first element is its elevation from the ground, being placed among the mountains allows it to have a better scenery. But as for its internal characteristics, you can pretty much find the most common things, such as the worshipping hall, where you can put offerings to the kami, a dojo to train, a tea house to make ceremonies, a gift shop where usually omamori, or lanterns are sold, the fortune telling hut, where you can get a reading, the torii gate... remembering to also bow to it. There was also a cave with carvings in it too, I remember when I was trying to read the carvings- I somehow saw sunlight peaking through the exit of the cave as it tried to show the small carvings with more clear understanding as i continued on to read it. For others, it may just seem like the sun was rising but- when I turned around to see the sunrise, it was still early in the morning- too early for the sun to even rise.. But- anyways! there's actually another shrine which is located behind the kami's hall, around the koi pond area, as in another shrine, that area is restricted from access. This also shrine worships a kami, the Chiharu-Yamatsumi. Which pretty much all I can remember and know as of currently”
WRITE A LETTER TO THE MONASTERY LEAD :
I hope this letter finds you well, and everything is going the best it can.
I’ve made a long, thoughtful decision to serve at the Seinaru Shrine as a maiden. I’ve been visiting the shrine multiple times than I can count, even though I’ve only been here for a few to couple months. The moment I came to this town, I felt the strong powerful urge to visit the shrine. I don’t know what came over me, but within these visits, the more I stayed here for visiting the more I felt this spiritual attraction to stay.
I’ve been through so much trauma as a child and teenager. All of these years as I pushed it away, thinking it’s just the past and it’s already too late to do anything with, gave me more stressors and pain without even realizing it. I promised to myself as a child, that one day all of these traumatic past experiences will soon be healed. Whether it was today, or later in the future. I want to be able to cleanse my trauma, to help heal myself, and to let others know that it possible to heal. And how it’s never too late to help deal with trauma at any age. I want to be the example I needed as a child.
When entering the shrine, and then going back to my apartment, I researched to learn the basics of being a maiden at this shrine. As well as attempting to do the simple offerings and rituals within my own living space.
But, somehow whenever I do the simple offerings and rituals, the sunlight always peaks through wherever I am. No matter which offering or ritual I’ve done. Perhaps it’s the sun goddess ‘Amaterasu’ trying to be in contact with me? Overall, I’ve been trying to inform myself of how daily duties that are being done within the shrine as a maiden.
As I wish everyone at the shrine the best of health and luck, thank you for taking the time to read my letter.
With much love and blessings,
Brookee-Meiying Ding Amézquita, Keke”
BACKSTORY (100+ Words):
(1175 Words)
Keke and her younger sister, Ben, are of mixed Latina and Chinese heritage. They were raised by their mother and grandmother, both of whom were involved in criminal activities. While her mother faced difficulties due to her past involvement, her grandmother's house served as a safe haven for criminal groups in Peru.
Currently, Keke’s mother is in jail due to killing her abusive father. But will soon finish her sentencing. The reason for Keke’s mother killing her abusive father was when he became drunk one night, yelling at Keke for not being there to help comfort him when she was only ten years old. Just as he was about to hit her, her mother came in from work and pushed her father out of the way taking her away to her bedroom, locking the bedroom door where Ben was five years old and sleeping in the bed both of them shared.
Keke and Ben’s mother were outside of the locked bedroom door, yelling at their father for trying to hit Keke. Keke was able to open the window to the outside, pick up Ben while she was still asleep with the blanket surrounding her, and run over to a friend's house barefoot with nothing but her pajama tank top and shorts. Even though, it was winter.
As she ran over to her friend's house with Ben covered in a blanket in her arms, she was able to knock on the door loudly with her bare foot. Her friend's parents instantly let her in, as gunshots were heard from Keke’s and Ben’s houses.
Cops were quickly called since the girl's mother was involved in criminal activities in the past, she was sentenced to twelve years in jail for murder.
But, the reasoning on why her father was drunk and stressed was because within the last two months, back then, her father helped his father beat and hurt his mother. As he was gaslit into thinking it was right for both of them to do. When Keke’s mother was sentenced to twelve years in jail, her father's father was sent to jail for a life sentence. He was a hitman who was never found guilty and was able to hide his killings and overall victims. This was why her father's family was rich, he was a hitman who killed people for money.
During the time of when Keke’s mother got jailed, was when an investigation was being done for her father’s side of the family. As they found her father’s mother locked in the basement, with sprained body parts and almost breaking bones they sent her to the ER. Putting her father’s father in jail for a life sentence.
Her grandmother from her mother’s side, often visited China to visit her father’s mother's treatment.
After the whole traumatic event of her mother being jailed and her father being killed, Keke and her younger sister were sent to Huancavelica, in Peru. They were raised there by their older female family members and their grandmother.
During her time in Peru, she and her younger sister were always close. They only trusted each other, along with some female family members and their grandmother. As they had each other's back, they even learned a language for both of them to bad talk about others in their faces without their peers realizing.
There was, however, a group of girls who formed huge emotions of jealousy toward Keke as she was experiencing more growth and development than her female peers at that time and seeking a new target to pour their frustration over their stress levels onto. This group formed huge emotions of jealousy towards Keke.
Because her younger sister was so much younger than Keke, she was often alone in classes, and thus would always be left alone with no one to turn to. This made her a target for the female members of her classmates who bullied her regularly. When no one else was in the vicinity, they would say how different and weird her body was compared to theirs, and push her around. The situation became worse over the years. She would have bruises or cuts all over her back caused by the wooden long sticks the girls used for punishment.
In the course of finding out about the name of her younger sister, Keke immediately took the role of a target in order to make sure her sister did not become the victim of any of the female classmates' anger. As much as Keke tried to tell the teachers about the situation that was occurring at the time, no one believed her since the girls were also achieving the highest grades in the classes in which they were enrolled. In addition, when the female classmates discovered that she had told the staff members about it, they would beat her even harder.
As they grew older, her younger sister graduated from school early at the age of sixteen. Since it was common in Peru, it was also due to her high honors and overall great grades. But for Keke, her grandmother knew the owner of a clinical office. Keke worked as a Home Health Registered Nurse from age sixteen-nineteen as a part-time job. But because of her part-time job, and how she was also on the track team, she graduated school at the age of seventeen.
Moving more forward into the future, as Keke and her younger sister were growing older. Ben decided to move to Japan, Karakura. As Keke stayed in Peru with their family. But, because of how their family believed culture was being lost from the two girls and how Ben was going through a rebellious phase of wanting to have a boyfriend, not being the right age the family wanted her to be when being in a relationship, and how she wasn’t going to be married, they divorced her from the family completely. Since Keke was extremely close with her younger sister, she decided to agree to be divorced from the family too. While their mother didn’t have a say in everything going on since she was still in jail, Keke still calls and sends letters to their mother about their current life situations and overall growing up as adults.
Since Keke and Ben are no longer allowed to step foot within their birthplace in China, and their hometown in Peru, Keke decided to move to Fukuoka. For a couple of years, she then moved to Karakura with her younger sister Ben.
SECTION 2: Self-Knowledge Details
What duties do Shinto Priests and Maidens have?:
For Priests, in addition to performing formal shrine rituals, are also responsible for undertaking a variety of administrative duties such as maintaining the shrine facility and managing its finances, as well as carrying out other duties as assigned by the shrine administrators.
While for Maidens, are not only responsible for assisting with shrine functions, but they also perform ceremonial dances, offer omikuji fortune telling as well as sell souvenirs, and assist a kannushi in his Shinto rituals.
What are the steps needed to be taken at the purification trough before entering the Shrine?:
The first step involves scooping up water using a ladle with your right hand and pouring water over your left hand. Once the water is poured over your right hand, hold the ladle with your left hand and then pour more water over your right hand. As a final step, take a ladle of water, rinse your mouth, and spit the water out beside the fountain, soaking up the water with your left hand.
How are offerings to a Kami performed?:
Rice, rice cakes, sake, salt and/or water are the traditional offerings. A Shinto priest who purifies himself beforehand must give the offering in accordance with the tradition in order to offer the best of the season, such as seafood or agricultural products from the mountains. As far as he can, he must do so following the tradition as much as possible.
How do you perform a tea ceremony ritual?:
Upon receiving the tea, the host bows to the guest receiving it, and the guest rotates the bowl so that it is not used up front, drinks the tea, and compliments the host on his or her tea. Once the guest receives the tea from the host, he or she bows to the second guest, reveals a pinch of humility, and takes a sip of it.
Certain kinds of ofuda are intended for a specific purpose, such as protection against calamity or misfortune, safety within the home, or finding love, and may be kept on one's person or placed on other areas of the home such as gates, doorways, kitchens, or ceilings
Explain what a Tamagushi, Ofuda and Kagura Suzu is and what they're used for:
An offering of a scared branch, also known as a Tamagushi, is a small branch with zigzag white paper strips attached to it, about ten inches long. As part of certain services, including weddings, funerals, ground-breakings, house and office blessings, and other blessings, the worshiper may offer a branch of this branch to the altar.
The types of ofuda that are used vary depending on the purpose they are intended to serve, which may be protection against calamity or misfortune, security within the home, or finding love. The ofuda may be carried about on one person, or placed in other areas around the home such as gates, doorways, kitchens, or ceilings.
A Kagura Suzu is a set of twelve-to-fifteen bells on a short-staff used in kagura dance. The set consists of three tiers of bells suspended by coiled brass wires from a central handle: two bells on the top tier, four bells on the middle tier, and six bells on the bottom tier.
As well, the Kagura being a sacred dance accompanied by the sound of taiko drums, flutes, and other musical instruments, and is accompanied by gorgeous costumes and expressive divinity's masks. In order to pray for a good harvest, it has been performed in the Shinto tradition in order to be dedicated to the local divinities.
(OPTIONAL) Based on your character; which other Kami would they worship?:
Since Keke has had multiple spiritual situations with the sun, she took a huge interest in finding more knowledge about the sun goddess, Amaterasu, specifically. The more research she’s done about her, the more offerings and rituals she has done within her own living space without realization.
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