Kudzoo
Kudzoo was one of the first un-sphered Insight teachers in the Dream City. He was a pacifist.
Also see: Sanctuary of Poetry
Mine is a belief based more on possibility and question than ceremony and doctrine.
The Beginning
I entered the dream knowing nothing of worlds such as this. I found 3 open houses and 5 closed ones. I heard the same house beliefs repeated over and over by faceless dreamers. I found dreamers waiting turn to enter a spot and collapse a so called ‘beast’ over and over. I saw wonders in the detail of the dreamstate others walked by. I asked questions none could answer. I was told over and over that the ONLY way to advance was by joining a house and/or collapse mares.
These first impressions set the foundation of my ways: I would not subscribe to violence I would not subjugate my freedom to think and act to any set doctrine I could not expect advancement as measured by other dreamers, XPs and spheres. I would strive to enlighten others with the things I learned. I would seek knowledge, not power. I would never be a ruler. If others saw me as a leader it would be because I was the first on the path. Others on that path would not be followers, they would be friends. And MOST importantly, I would stay true to this path and forge a way for future dreamers to grow without house or battle.
In the first days I wandered the dream, often alone. However I met many strong and noble dreamers. Most are now rulers and teachers of high position. I talked with them often and they shared their knowledge and wisdom of the dream. I began to study the murals and symbols around the city. I saw links and what seemed to be clues everywhere. It was then I met my dear friend boggen.
Boggen and I roamed far and discussing and sharing our thoughts on what we saw. Other dreamers often joined in these adventures. We even began to try to ‘talk’ to the mares and observe them as boggen led them on a merry chase. It was a time of great pleasure, much like childhood.
It was during this time that I was able to, shall we say for lack of a better phrase, define my views in a ‘formal’ manner.
Definition of My Beliefs in Common Terminology
Am I illuminated or freesoul? In each world IT is total reality for that time. Yet each plane has effect on the other. I suppose I am therefore an illuminated freesoul.
What are my beliefs on mares? As I looked about the dream I saw how unions formed new forms. I saw where the union of air and water formed rain fountains. I saw the creation of new life in the portrait of the trilogy. As I looked at the arts, items, and focus elemens it came to me that there was but one elemen common to all life forms; that of dreamsoul.
I knew that mares moved and talked. No matter if they were a lower life form or not, they were alive. It follows therefore that they have dreamsoul. And I will never strike down any with dreamsoul.
How should mares be studied? Studies and banishment of essence has been going on seemingly forever. Where has that gotten us? Now at long last it has been shown that there are ways to interact with them. Although many reject this as untrue, it is the truth. It is time to open our minds to this and advance our studies in this new light.
What of houses and other’s beliefs? Each dreamer must choose the path best for them. My path is not for many, if in fact it is for any. Although I do not subscribe to collapse of mares, that choice is mine. I can not say that any dreamer is wrong if they truly believe in what they do. I will say that all dreamers MUST allow room for others to follow their elected path. The dream is large enough for all. Now that I have been ordained as a teacher, I still see no house symbols as I talk to others. When asked to explain beliefs of houses I tell them to go ask the house. More importantly I tell others to take time to see the Actions of the house and it’s members, not accept the words as truth. I have seen lately that the houses are beginning to allow the so called mare supporters freedom to practice as they see fit. This is a positive sign.
What of a freespirit house? Freespirits are not a singular belief. There are both hunters and pacifists in this group. Perhaps there may be two or three houses to evolve.
What of the ongoing conflict and unrest? This is often the result of idle restlessness. I urge all houses and freespirits to devise challenging events to maintain the fitness both in the arts and moral character. The actors guild is an example. In assigning tasks I often require that the student work cooperatively with others as a team. The art is of little consequence. It is the lesson of teamwork and cooperation I wish them to learn. Another key ingredient I include is that the task must be FUN.
How important is a single dreamer? Dreamers ARE the dream. Any dreamer, or even better a group of dreamers working together can change things. Here I will use myself as an example. Without collapse of a single mare, without joining a house, without seeking Lyrans for tasks.... and with MUCH patience I was awarded both sphere and Teacher status even though I was orbit zero. Is this not change? Then there is the part of talking to mares. If I and others had not BELIEVED it to be possible, would it ever have occurred?
In summary........... “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
kudzoo Freest of the Freespirits
Four Plus One
"Boggen chuckles at the tormented souls trapped within the race of the gods."
Our Interviewer hikes through Trinity, being guided by Druss to Flash333's location in the Southeast Ring Path. She stops to remove a rock from her boot, and exhausted, slows as she becomes nearer to the ring. It has been a long, hard day for her. Finally she arrives and finds her friends Turbo-Speed and Flash333. Flash bobs in the air, a permanent Soulsphere, blood-coloured with an azure aura. He agrees to share the story with her, and our Interviewer takes a seat on the grass, resting her back against the hedges, relaxing and absorbing this story.
"I'll go back to when I first met Boggen, and how this came to pass.
"When I first entered the dream, Grog took me to Bogrom's Lair to see the great Mare Tamer. There in the center of the room was a collapsed Sphere with his pet Bogrom. Many dreamers were there, dancing with the mare. This was in the first days of April, and I had just started dreaming March 31st. Grog and I were friends and we had been hunting mares, but this time in the Lair was something special.
"Then wandering the dream exploring, I kept meeting up with the Peacfull One, Kudzoo. Even though I hunted mares he allowed me on many of his mare taming trips.
"I was down visiting the Lair one day when a dreamer named El poyo Loco (the crazy chicken in Spanish)... So this dreamer collapses Boggen's Bogrom; not that this was the first time a dreamer had done this; but Boggen went after the dreamer and collapsed him, not the first time that had happened either. But it seemed Boggen was getting tired of this. Though Boggen's students pleaded with him, it seems, Boggen wanted something different.
"I went to the lair many times to talk to Boggen but he was no longer there, he had left the dream. I had remembered the times I had heard Kudzoo and him discuss philosophies, the two brilliant Dreamseers, expressing themselves. Nothing caught my attention more in the dream.
"So soon I swore off mare hunting to help Kudzoo, and with Kard's allowing me to tell Dream Poems, and Kudzoo encouraging that, I became a Dream Poet, studying the Dream's mysteries, and publishing the poems in the scrolls.
"Then Boggen returned. Kudzoo was a teacher for the students, and knew the system wasn't fair. I know that also. Boggen's dream could never be, for dreamers would not let him have his lair. Boggen was to become nothingness in protest. But he couldn't get past a soulsphere, he still existed.
"Then Brother Timothy talked to him and the Four Plus One plan began to take effect. This become a long lasting protest with the dreamers providing the statement: four plus one reasons: Boggen, Brother Timothy, Shadruith, and myself, (MDkill and Spyder94 helping us also) to show the dream was more than arts and spheres, in hope of changing things to help the dreamers who go against the grain.
"Boggen performed many Mist Ceremonies. Shadruith and Kudzoo got rid of their spheres and moved about the dream differently. A dreamer named Blurp came, and showed us how to explore Sanctuaries, hidden passages, and we walked onto roofs never before seen, out windows, into unexplored territory.
"The Four Plus One carries on: The Sages Stone was made, and is hidden in the Mists. Those who want to can influence the dream. That is what it was about."
Kudzoo on his perch in Kudzoo's Perch, Edgeward Barrows
Since gathering this story long ago, Kudzoo's Perch has become the official name for the rocky part of Edgeward Barrows where Kudzoo first began preaching pacifistic beliefs.
References
https://web.archive.org/web/19991013222532/http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/lufia/625/index2.htm
