|
The original code was as follows:
Emotion, yet peace Ignorance, yet knowledge Passion, yet serenity Chaos, yet harmony Death, yet the Force
the Jedi Odan-Urr refined it to:
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 fourth line, "There is no chaos, there is harmony" is added by some Jedi, left out by others. Personally, I prefer Odan-Urr's version(either with or without the optional line), as it maintains the esoteric nature of the code while refining it just enough to remove some mild confusion.
My personal interpretation is that the code is not denying in any way the existence of emotion, ignorance or passion, but saying that wherever those attributes arise, there exists the opportunity for their counterparts, peace, knowledge, and serenity respectively. As to the last line, I take this much more literally; that one does not "die", per se, but rather returns to the living energy of the Force.
As to Luke Skywalker's Jedi creed, as follows:
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.
I think it's too easy. True, it is a very succinct description of what Jedi do, but it doesn't, to my mind anyway, embody the underlying nature of what it means tobe Jedi, nor does it leave that element of mystery to the code, which I think is so very necessary.
|