Shoken

Shoken was a guru and philosopher who lived around 3,829 BG. Known for his controversial ideas, Shoken remained much less popular than his philosophical rival Laghima during his lifetime and afterward. Regardless, his works survived for thousands of years, and influenced at least two Avatars, namely Yangchen and Kyoshi.

Life
Shoken was a contemporary of Guru Laghima, but advocated a drastically different philosophy. His ideas were deemed heretical by many, and remained relatively unpopular, though some people regarded him as wise. According to one interpretation of his transcribed statements, Shoken advocated that people should follow their own path unburdened by morals or the beliefs of the society. By ignoring the opinions of others, it was possible to discover one's self and exist without compunction. At some point, Shoken allegedly met Lao Ge; the latter would hold Shoken's philosophy in relatively high regard, and went on to discover the the secret of immortality.

Legacy
Shoken's writings continued to be handed down and discussed for thousands of years. Avatar Yangchen studied both Shoken as well as Laghima's philosophies. Three generations later, Lao Ge told Avatar Kyoshi of Shoken in an attempt to convince her to cast off morals and become an assassin. Though the old man stated that Kyoshi was already close to enbracing Shoken's ideals, she remained sceptical of the latter's philosophy and believed that following this path would result in a corrupted Avatarhood with "heartlessness the new enlightenment. Murder the means to self-discovery".