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Wisdom for Jedi Students
(Return to the Jedi Way) (Return to Literature Archives) I warn you now to proceed at a cautious pace, for the lure of the Dark Side is all that more powerful when you rush to embrace and control the Force. Seek the Light, always. Shun the dark, always. These words I hope will stay with you forever. When studying the Jedi Way. Just take one or two sections a day. Never mind whether the passage is difficult or easy to understand, or whether it is a profound passage or not. Just read on from the beginning of the section, and if you don't get the meaning by reading, then use some thinking, and if you don't get the meaning by thinking, then read again. Turn it back and forth and try to get its meaning. Thus after a long while, you will understand what is in it. In reading be most careful not to read too much. Read a little and it will be easy to thoroughly master it. All real insight from studies is gained in this manner. After all to understand the language of the text is one thing; to comprehend it's full meaning is another. It is a common weakness of readers to understand the superficial side without catching the hidden meaning of what is written. The way to avoid this weakness is to spend some real thought on it. At first, you will find that this understanding requires a lot of energy, but after you have gained enough general insight and understanding, it will require little time. A person should not participate in an organization or cause that he does not believe is reasonable or just. Once he truly believes it is right, however, that person should not abandon a course of action even if it brings him hardship and peril. You have come here to better yourself. You can't do this and still remain the same as you were. You must change, starting now and continuing to do so from here on out. When this process of change ceases, progress stops, crystallization sets in, decay inevitably follows. Often, if you are playing a game with a friend and you find you are losing, you want to quit, and you say things like "I don't like this game. I didn't want to play anyway." The winner usually says, "No, this is a great game. Let's play one more time." The better way is to try your very hardest no matter what --- to enjoy the trying and not give up. Then, even if you lose, you know at least that you didn't quit on yourself. One of the first things that a Jedi must learn is the Jedi Code; this philosophy lays the groundwork for the mastery of the use of the Force. There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force. The Jedi must carefully observe these rules of the light side of the Force to maintain harmony with himself and the universe around him. The light side is created and sustained by life. The Jedi acts to preserve life. To kill is wrong. Sometimes it is necessary to kill. The Jedi may kill in self-defense or in defense of others, especially the weak and the good. The Jedi may kill, if by his action he preserves the existence of life. However, the Jedi must never forget that killing is inherently wrong. The death is a stain upon the Jedi's spirit. The Jedi seeks knowledge and enlightenment, peace and harmony. The Jedi wishes to defeat those who would wipe out such qualities --- those who would inflict death, tyranny or ignorance upon others --- yet the Jedi should never act out of fear or hatred. A Jedi must act when calm and at peace with the Force. To act with anger filling one's spirit is to risk temptation to the dark side. Jedi should seek nonviolent solutions to problems --- but this isn't always possible. Sometimes, killing or fighting is the only answer available. Sometimes it is even the best answer. But that doesn't mean the Jedi shouldn't try to find an alternative. Inherent in the Jedi Code is the concept of responsibility for one's actions. A Jedi who uses the Force to coerce or control others is surely tending toward the dark side. But other, subtler abuses of power also lead to the darkness --- Jedi should never use their powers for fame, wealth or power. A Jedi who constantly uses the Force for personal gain is on the path of corruption --- perhaps more slowly then the Dark Jedi who chooses to serve evil, but he is on that path nonetheless. True Jedi use their powers sparingly and only when necessary to fulfill the tenets of the Jedi Code. A Jedi who depends on the Force is abusing it, which leads to folly.