Detachment as I see it

so while I am waiting to fall asleep at night I use that time for reflection on my day. Well last night I started having thoughts (Out of nowhere it seems) on detachment and if it makes total sense. Not having read every forum post as of yet I am unsure if this was discussed but so what lol.

Detachment at least complete detachment is hard nowadays and a virtually impossible expectation after all most of us have partners or wives or children and detachment from that would be odd in my opinion

Attachment is good and can be a source of comfort when we are attached to the right things It is wrongful attachment and greed that causes the problems

that was the thoughts that came to me

May the force be with you

Detachment's impossible in the Force though, right? All is joined, there is no separation.

As everything in live, there should be a balance.

Not complete detachment or attachment, but a middle way.

Of course, one of the Vows of the Jedi from TOTJO's doctrine is the Vow of Attachment which affirms how important it is for us:

'The Vow of Attachment:
Attachment is vital to the life of the Jedi. The Jedi must know life and be intrinsically tied to it in order to better serve the will of the Force. Jedi must possess ties to the people around them and are encouraged to love. Love is a strong connection to the basis of humanity and can serve as a strong foundation of strength and encouragement when a Jedi needs them most.'

It seems to me that a Jedi's actions are often based in love and compassion so the ability to form attachments is essential for this. I agree with Firewolf when he says that the dangers of attachment lie in 'wrongful attachment', would I would see as something like possessiveness or addiction to something or someone, which can create such things as greed and jealousy, which tend to cloud our judgement.

Knarf I agree in the need for balance we must have balance

Darren everything is indeed connected but unfortunately most of Humanity do no see it as such hence they become self involved and form attachments to wrongful things

V-tog thanks for that very good

All great comments and observations

Very interesting subject. I think V-tog said it best in that attachment is an essential part of being human, and I'd go further by saying that only through attachment can we really hope to bring our divided race together. However, there certainly are forms of attachment that are not constructive, that alienate or degrade that which is creative or 'good'.

In the Star Wars movies for instance, the Jedi fell to the machinations of the Darkside, and from my perspective a very large reason for their failing was their almost mindless devotion to the concept that all attachments are the path to the Darkside. By working so hard to stave off that which you believe is wrong (but is actually inherent to humans), to the point where you hide from it and ignore it, you're only hastening your own end.

Now in the rejuvenated Jedi Order that Luke created, the age restriction was removed, as was the restriction on Jedi having attachment and romance in their life, and this led to a far more compassionate and healthy way of living. There is of course nothing wrong with someone making the personal choice to abstain from connections, but to deny that attachment exists is a serious flaw to any form of living.

However:


Now in this sense I think the concept of non-attachment or detachment can be seen in a different light. The goal isn't to remove yourself from all emotions or purge yourself of feeling, it isn't even to deny yourself feelings that you have. Reaching detachment is reaching a point where you still have feelings, you can still love and be sad and feel anger, but these things are passing. They simply exist, they simply are, and one takes them as they are in the moment, being at peace with the fact that those attachments/feelings exist, but being able to continue without letting those things guide you one way or another. They simply are. Not good. Not bad.

Am I making any sense...? :pinch:

yes indeed you are and well put

It is my opinion that a Jedi will realise detachment from individual people, animals, objects etc when they truly understand that through the Force they are attached to all.

I believe that with this realisation a Jedi will be able to feel love and compassion for all things and can then truly serve the world as an instrument of peace.

The Force will be with you always.

Firewolf wrote: Detachment at least complete detachment is hard nowadays and a virtually impossible expectation after all most of us have partners or wives or children and detachment from that would be odd in my opinion

I dont think the Jedi attachment is best considered the opposite of detachment. Yes, for us to cease being attached is to perform detachment to resume an unattached state, but the word attachment for me is used as a specific action, wheras detachment is usually intepreted more broadly as being completely detached, having no attachment, none at all...and as you say 'complete detachment'. In that way detachment seems for me to imply being perhaps cloistered, as in strict obediance to perpetual vows. For me this has relevance as a contemplative pursuit to reach and perhaps maintain enlightenment, or communion with God etc, depending on ones beliefs... for Jediism I guess being connected at a high level to the Force around us. I like to think Jediism is about living an engaged life with society at those higher levels of connection to the Force without having to be completely detached. So therefore detachment could be considered a tool to be used when required to refocus to an achieved level of mastery, or to try and attain higher levels of mastery.

I think how V-Tog pointed out that the Jedi Vow of Attachment is important because it is about understanding how to connect to the Force. Specifically, avoiding attachment's to things which actually distract from the connection to the Force. I'm not sure if we need to have any negative attachments, but if we do then I guess we'd need to counter-balance them with methods to reconnect to the Force.

Living without attachment is cold and tiresome. The attachments for me, are what keep me connected to this world, knowing full well that nothing is forever and everything has an end just as it has a beginning. But that just make them all the more precious.