Initiate’s Guide to Temple Doctrine
As per Temple of the Jedi Order website
www.templeofthejediorder.org
Introduction
I became an Initate of the Jedi Path in June of 2012. Prior to this, I had gone through a period of being lost, confused, with no general direction or moral guide. I had always been enamored with the Jedi from the Star Wars Saga, and was delighted when I found a contemporary incarnation of those ideals. After speaking with some of the Masters in the Temple and exploring the library myself, I realized there needed to be a comprehensive guide to the Temple Doctrine that Initiates can easily access and learn from.
All of the information within this document has been collected by myself, with many Knights, Masters, Apprentices, and Initiates contributing. As with all things, one does not achieve great things alone, but with the help of those he considers friends. Many thanks go to Br. John and Akkarin for helping me information to get this started.
Chapter 1
Temple Doctrine
The Orthodox Jedi Code
There is no emotion, there is only peace.
There is no ignorance, there is only knowledge.
There is no passion, there is only serenity.
There is no chaos, there is only harmony.
There is no death, there is only the Force.
Section 1: Emotion
1. There is no emotion, there is only peace.
This line is enigmatic for many different people. Most tend to take it literally, striving for the purge of all emotion, living only in peace of mind and peace of spirit. That, in and of itself, is a very worthy goal, but futile nonetheless. The modern world in which we live in doesn’t permit us to be free of our emotions.
As Akkarin has said in his online lecture, (http://templeofthejediorder.org/forum/profile/userid-484), a better way to approach this line is to think of it as moderation. It is okay to have emotions, but as we must always be mindful of our actions and thoughts, we must also be mindful of our emotions as well. Mankind is an emotional species. There’s no way short of re-wiring our brains to avoid that. The only other option is to be cold-hearted and logical, which is highly impractical considering the nature of our work as Jedi. But that doesn’t mean that we have to be governed by our emotions. Through meditation (of whichever style you prefer), and contemplation, you can find the triggers to any of the various emotions you feel during the day, and learn to handle those triggers without resorting to emotional reactions without reason.
The first line of the Orthodox Jedi Code is the basis for one of the 16 beliefs of the Jedi, specifically numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 14.
• Jedi belief number 2 states, “Jedi live and focus on the present; we must neither dwell on the past nor be overly concerned about the future. As the mind wanders, focusing on the present is a task not easily attained, for the mind is not content with the eternal present moment. As Jedi, we must release our stress and ease our minds.”
Being mindful of your emotions means that you are not worried about the future. You aren’t regretting the past. Emotions are one of the easiest ways for the mind to wander, so by being mindful of your emotions, you find that you can concentrate and focus so much more on the present, living life and enjoying new experiences so much more than if you are worried or regretful of any different myriad things you could be worried or regretful about.
• Jedi belief number 3 states, “Jedi must maintain a clear mind; this is achieved through meditation and contemplation. Our minds can become cluttered and infected by forces and attitudes that we encounter every day, and must be purged of these unnecessary elements on a daily basis.”
Maintaining a clear mind is a difficult task, requiring a great deal of meditation, practice, and persistence. Most of the “clutter” in our minds is derived from our emotions. There are many days where you go into work thinking, “I hate my job, I don’t feel like doing this, etc. etc.” By being mindful of your feelings, and learning how to govern them, instead of them controlling you, you find that those types of thoughts are very rare. Instead, you are focused on how best to apply your teachings to your every day life, how to better your life through service to another, and how best to reap the most from each day.
• Jedi belief number 4 states, “As Jedi, we are mindful of our thoughts... we focus our thoughts on the positive. The positive energy of the force is healthy for the mind, body and spirit.”
As Jedi, everything we do comes from the Living Force. Our emotions, our thoughts, and our actions affect the Force as a pebble in a still pond. We cannot see how our thoughts, emotions and actions can affect those around us, hence our emotions must be governed in order to achieve peace not only within ourselves, but peace with those around us. The positivity of any given emotion is a great motivator. Initate Cocheese, in his contemplation of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Adventure” alludes to Nirvana, the heightened state of awareness created by positive thinking and singlemindedness.
• Jedi belief number 5 states, “As Jedi, we trust and use our feelings. We are intuitive, more so than others and with this heightened intuition we become more spiritually evolved as our minds become more harmonious with the Force and it's influences.”
When I first read this belief, I shook my head because it seemingly contradicted the first line of the Jedi Code. If there are no emotions, how can we trust them? But by re-orienting our way of understanding the Code, we can begin to see that, even though we strive to govern our emotions, we can still trust them. If you are walking down a dark, secluded street that you don’t know at midnight, you’ll most likely feel a great deal of fear. By trusting those emotions, thereby leading to a heightened intuition, we can derive that there is something dangerous about that street, causing us to seek another, safer route to our destination.
• Jedi belief number 7 states, “Jedi are mindful of the negative emotions which lead to the Dark Side: Anger, Fear, Aggression, and Hate. If we sense these emotions manifesting within ourselves, we must meditate on the Jedi Code and focus on purging these destructive emotions.”
This belief is almost directly derived from the first line of the Code. By governing our emotions, we can best avoid emotions such as anger, fear, aggression, and hate. All of those emotions lead to danger and suffering for all involved, including ourselves. By finding peace within ourselves, learning how to govern our emotions, we can learn to turn those Dark Side emotions into Light Side emotions: Anger-Acceptance, Fear-Courage, Aggression-Pacifism, and Hate-Love. By telling yourself that you hate your job (see previous entry), you are actively allowing a Dark Side emotion to govern how you go about doing that job. But, by turning it in on itself, turning that hatred of your job into a love of what that job allows you to do, you gain an appreciation for everything that your “hateful” job brings into your life.
• Jedi belief number 14 states, “We as Jedi believe that love and compassion are central to our lives. We must love each other as we love ourselves; by doing this, we envelope all life in the positive energy of the Force.
Love and compassion are both emotions, are they not? By governing our emotions, by finding that peace within yourself, you learn to love more deeply, derive more compassion less fortunate than yourself, and become a better person, a more devout Jedi, and more productive citizen/subject.
Section 2: Ignorance
2. There is no ignorance, there is only knowledge.
This line is pretty cut and dry. Ignorance is merely knowledge yet to be learned. As Jedi, we strive to learn about anything that interests us, but most importantly, we strive to learn about ourselves. Life’s journey is that of discovery. No one discovers who they are overnight. It takes lessons, and experiences all throughout life, in order to define who and what you are.
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