The Ways of the Jedi

[Raydo]

"How do the Jedi govern themselves then if their actions may or may not break The Jedi Code depending on the Jedi's intentions." Reland said after thinking on the Jedi's words for a moment. The whole class seem to struggle to grasp the concepts that the Jedi was teaching.


He knew it was necessary for Jedi to sometimes take the life of another. What he struggled with was how to take a life with first elevating yourself above that person first. He was new and didn't want to flood the master with questions he was sure the more advanced padawans, which was all of them, had already mastered. So he sat quietly and listened to what the other students had to say before asked any more questions.

He felt as if he was truly inferior to the others in the room. Some of the others had been here since they were infants and he had only been learning for a few weeks. There were 10 year olds with double the knowledge of the Force that he had.

 

[The Kyzer]

Von raised her hand again to answer.

"I think the Master already answered that somewhat," she replied as calmly as she could, her legs shaking a bit from her nerves, "We have to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. That clarity will allow the Force to tell us whether what we are doing is right or wrong...I think."

Then she took a deep breath.

"If we do something because our emotions tell us to do so," Von continued, "That would break the Code. If we do it because we examine it with a clear conscience and dub that it is the right thing to do, that would not."

Then she looked down, trying to restrain the need to breathe heavily. Answering questions....what was she thinking? She wasn't a Knight or a Master. Just a lowly stray that the Jedi had taken in.

No, you are a Jedi, a voice echoed in her mind. It was faintly that of the Weapons Master.

You are a Jedi, and you are meant to be here.

 

[Master Maverick]

"That is the great mystery, is it not?" She commented on Reland's question after Von had finished speaking, adding to her statement.

She needed to add an important part to the equation that she had purposefully left out, wanting to see if anyone might pick up on it. "It is the very reason that the actions of one Jedi are not his or her own." She paused for effect, again allowing them to come to conclusions before she clarified and explained. "You act on behalf of the Order of the Jedi, not as a Jedi yourself. You are a symbol, part of a whole. You do not act independently, even when you are out in the Outer Rim, all by yourself. Your actions are under the scrutiny of your fellow Jedi. However, no one Jedi can decide the fate, or the punishments, of another." That wasn't necessarily the case. She knew of some Jedi that put down punishments on others unilaterally. However, as far as this room was concerned, they could not pass judgement on another and carry out the punishment themselves. Well, at least as long as she knew about such instances.

"Of course one's Master may do so, but it must be within reason. Actions are checked continuously and will continue. We are sentients - imperfect creatures. We are bound to make mistakes, of course, but that is where our compassion, our forgiveness must come into play. Rigid rules do none any good. They must flow and bend, not only with the happenstance we might find ourselves in, but over time. All changes with time, this can not be helped." There would certainly be more questions, so she paused to wait and see if they understood what she was trying to say.

 

[Raydo]

Reland thought he understand what the Jedi Master was saying. He knew, or at least thought he knew, how a Jedi should should act. He understood that using using your emotions clouded your judgment and should be put aside by a Jedi. "So a Jedi is first accountable to themselves and then accountable to the order as a whole?" he said with some hesitance. It was a topic that needed to be covered but seemed a Jedi's main focus should be to make sure they followed the will of Force above the Jedi Code.

He glanced at the other Padawan as he asked his question. At first he had a small twinge of frustration as she had answered his question. He had calmed himself he should accept instruction from everything. She didn't say it with any sort arrogance or self pride. It was him who has let pride rise up in him but why? He had no reason to take pride in his abilities. He and spent most of his time in the Order studying the Force but lacked in almost all physical abilities. He pushed the pride and frustration from his mind. Replacing it with logic and calmness. He made a point that he would at least introduce himself to the other Padawan after the class.

 

[Beta12]

Piper had been quiet for so far. She had only been on Empress Teta for a short while before she was scheduled to go to the Coruscanti Temple for better understanding of her galaxies government. It was a time of change, but grabbing every piece of knowledge she could along the way would help her greatly. So when she had seen this class scheduled before her departure, she made it her personal mission to attend, her things placed in a small bundle to her left. All of the questions thus far had been more about morals on taking life, focusing on that main point. She could understand why questions along these lines would be asked, killing and the like was a taboo and a mystery among padawans, being so young they could not all fully comprehend what it meant to take someones life from them. She could only imagine the awesome weight of the responsibility pressing down on you as you considered making that final swing, or was it even that hard?

The Padawan herself had become a little depressed when Sith were mentioned in the lecture. It felt like a long time ago, but she had feelings for a boy who had fallen, she hadn't seen him since their last meeting on Naboo. She had grown slightly from such an experience, learning to keep her emotions more incheck as the months went by. She watched firsthand what that path did to you, and she did not wish to go down it as well. It was interesting to watch the others talk, but she had a few questions of her own as well. "If someone.. you know.. has had a tainted past.... and it probably is rather tainted, in what ways should a Jedi be more cautious as to keep from following a similar path?" She asked, trying hard to keep her voice from faltering. Her mother, had been even worse.

 

[Master Maverick]

"They are one in the same," she started in response to Reland's answer. "Each must be considered equally. As I said, we are indeed individuals, but we are part of a whole. You are an ambassador for this Order, whether you wish to be or not. It simply is the way of the Jedi." It wasn't fair, she knew, but it was the truth.

"Even so, as a sentient being in the galaxy it is only responsible to be accountable for oneself." That was that. It really was that simple.

Now for Von's tangent. A good question, surely, if not a bit random. There would be a moment or two as she switched gears, changing her train of thought to answer the question and think of a concise way in which to state her thoughts.

"Remain mindful." Again, a simple answer to a rather complicated question. "And as a wise woman once said; it is not that you keep your mind full, but you remain conscious, aware of your own thoughts and feelings. In this awareness you must allow yourself to be - do not condemn thoughts or feelings. They are as much a part of you as you arm or leg. Rather, seek to understand, find the rationale. If there is none, then find the reason. Once this is found, let it go. It it serves no purpose other than to cloud your mind then you need not keep it. Let it go with the Force." It was a lesson she gave while teaching younglings to meditate, but she remembered hearing that first part from the former Sage Master. There was a twinge of sadness and regret, her throat clenching once quickly while her eyes shifted downwards in remembrance. It was a fleeting moment and soon enough she was focused once more on the class.

"There may be darkness in the Force, but it is always a choice to follow it. This is why it is the Code that we follow as Jedi. The Code is tantamount to the Force, for the Force can be misleading, we can be blinded by it and follow darkness masked as the light." She was sure there would be plenty of queries on this line of thinking, so she paused and waited for whatever clarification might be requested.

 

[Raydo]

Forgetting his previous line of questions he spoke out "Why do follow the will of the Force if it can be misleading to us and one half of its entirety is "Dark"? If the Force can mislead and their are exceptions to the Code then what are we supposed to follow as Jedi?" He said it louder than he meant to but he was confused by what seemed to be circular logic. "We follow the Force unless it leads us away from the Code and we follow the Code unless we feel compelled by the Force to act otherwise? I mean no disrespect Master, but I do not understand" He sat down calmly as he waited for the other Padawans to ask their questions. He looked around the room at the different people in the room. He didn't know really any of the other Padawans. Maybe that was his problem.

He looked at the girl who had spoken just before Master Vashee had spoken. She was clearly older than him but she seemed so small. She looked like her legs were going to give as she quietly ask her question. It made sense that the old Jedi order forbade relationships as being close to someone who has fallen to the dark side could be an incredible burden on the individual. He then remembered that he had no ties to his past. His parents were dead and he barely thought about them anymore. Shame washed over Reland as he continued to listen to the other Padawans. Should he feel more about their death. It had not been that long ago but he had been so caught up in his studies here with the Jedi. Is it better to be weighed down by relationships and reap their benefits as well or forsake them? His parents were not the best parents but he did miss them dearly

 

[Master Maverick]

"As previously discussed, there are no exception to the code." Her hands tapped the screen to once again bring up the code for all to see. "You are to be a guardian. The Force shall not be used for any save the above mentioned. Life is to be respected, even if one must end it for the good of the many. You do not rule, you advise. You do not manipulate, you educate. Finally, you are to continually seek to better yourself in all aspects of life." She paused, looking around to see if they understood this.

"A Jedi is a Jedi because they follow the Code and the Ways of the Jedi, not because they follow one aspect of the Force over the other. Our understanding of the Force, even now, millennia after it was first discovered, we know very little of its true essence. This is why I stated that the Force is not what we follow, for we do not completely understand it. In this we can not follow something we are ignorant of for it can deceive. Or, rather, we can be misled, especially if we are not mindful, if we are not aware of our selves." Good questions, and she's glad it was brought back up again. He had some time, now, to think of a better answer, remembering that she hadn't properly addressed this issue previously.

"Anyone can follow the Light Side of the Force, and many do. This does not make them Jedi, however. Quite clearly this code requires a use of the Force as well, meaning that non-sensitives could not call themselves Jedi. They could act like a Jedi, surely, but that does not make them Jedi. Jnd ust as following the Light or doing good with the Force does not a Jedi make."

She hoped this would clarify the miscommunication and confusion on the subject, but wanted confirmation from the class on this.

 

[Raydo]

Reland wasn't apologetic for going back to a previous topic. He understood her answer more this time and quickly jotted down several notes to late review and meditate on. He did not have any further questions for now on this topic. When the Jedi Master looked around the room for any questions he bowed his head slightly and quietly said "Thank you Master".

He had never seen it that way before that someone could be a user of the light side of the Force and not be a Jedi. He had always associated the Jedi with the light side of the Force and the Sith with the Dark side of the force. The Sage Masters words seemed to suggest the Force was not so white and black. This class wasn't on the ways of the Force but the ways of Jedi so he decided to not ask any of those questions for the time being.

He looked at the words written down on his paper. He choose not write many notes and he didn't need to write the Code down but he felt the need to. He would go back later and write in his thought on each tenet.

Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.
Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect.
Jedi respect all life, in any form.
Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.

While he didn't fully understand these words and their meaning he knew this was his life. He would dedicate himself to being everything these codes required him to be.

 

[The Kyzer]

A Jedi is a Jedi because they follow the Code and the Ways of the Jedi, not because they follow one aspect of the Force over the other. Our understanding of the Force, even now, millennia after it was first discovered, we know very little of its true essence. This is why I stated that the Force is not what we follow, for we do not completely understand it. In this we can not follow something we are ignorant of for it can deceive. Or, rather, we can be misled, especially if we are not mindful, if we are not aware of our selves.

These words burned into Von's mind. This is what Master Juno was talking about. Jedi do not follow the Force. They use it for good, but do not follow it, as it is incomprehensible...unknowable. It is the combination of the Code, the Force, and the Ways of the Jedi that made them what they were.: Guardians of justice and peace...Jedi.

Von slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"Thank you, Sage Master," the Padawan said softly. She knew that while many would not be able to hear her, the Sage Master would.

Stick to the Code, Von told herself, and you will do your duty to the galaxy.