Samurai: The Jedi of Old

we as Jedi are a chivilrous people who put others before ourselves. that is our way and how we are taught.

in a way, we follow a code of ethics now believed to be extincted. we follow Bushido, \"The Way of the Warrior\". this ancient system of social and personal guidelines has been ingrained not only in our core beliefs but to an older and now passed group of protectors. these were the samurai.

the samurai were bound by the Code of Bushido and if one strayed from that code, the warrior would commit seppuku, or ritual sacrifice, to regain his honor. in an excerpt from his book Samurai: The World of the Warrior, historian Stephen Turnbull describes the role of Seppuku in feudal Japan:

\"In the world of the warrior, seppuku was a deed of bravery that was admirable in a samurai who knew he was defeated, disgraced, or mortally wounded. It meant that he could end his days with his transgressions wiped away and with his reputation not merely intact but actually enhanced. The cutting of the abdomen released the samurai’s spirit in the most dramatic fashion, but it was an extremely painful and unpleasant way to die, and sometimes the samurai who was performing the act asked a loyal comrade to cut off his head at the moment of agony.\"

other parts of the Bushido philosophy cover methods of raising children, appearance and grooming, and most of all, constant preparation for death. One might say that death is at the very center of Bushido as the overall purpose- to die a good death and with one's honor intact. this system of rules and regulations regarding all walks of daily life created a complete and stable society without social chaos on a regular basis as we have now in the present.

no religious group, at this point in history, could ever be truly compared to that of the samurai when in regards to the following of the Code of Bushido. however, if the samurai could be compared to any religious group in place presently, we would fall within that list of groups. the samurai truly were the Jedi of Old.

-Shaun
Grey Consular

i hav all way though of how the Jedi and the Samurai were close to each other
but i hav not had time to look at both of them and see how they r close to
each other

This is why I ask apprentices to read up on Bushido and suggest anyone who hasn't already done so to do so.

yes, and i think Lucas intentionally made them similar. In fact the very word \"Jedi\" comes from the Japanese language

Here are some books that are required reading for my Kung Fu students they are; Code of the Samuri by Thomas Cleary ISBN 0-8048-3190-4(hc), Bushido The Warrior's Code by Inazo Nitobe ISBN 0-89750-031-8, The Code of the Warrior by Rick Fields ISBN0-06-055060-0, and Scholar Warrior by Deng Ming Dao ISBN 0-06-250232-8. all of these are excellent for those interested in the way of the warrior no matter what your martial preferance3 may be hope you find and enjoy them

MTFBWY

Dagan

huh learn somthing new everyday

Thanks Dagan for the ISBN reference numbers that will make the search much easier online.

I have to disagree with this topic.Im not sure how right i am but if i remember correctly samurai are in serves to some thing weather it be family or a lord.So some how i doubt that Jedi are in serves to any lord or any thing for that matter.

OK, the word samurai does translate to 'in service of'

Now, on the point of serving a lord you are correct, but this is only true of tha samurai later in the history of samurai.

Originally they started out as warrior monks, and were in fact peace keepers of the community, almost like a local police force. It wasnt until the value of dedicated skilled warriors was seen by a few of the brighter warlords that they became a fighting force of a lord etc.

These monks were called Jidai geki and this is where the word Jedi comes from.

The Jedi of the Starwars movies can be viewed as servants of the force, and if you like the historical starwars universe stuff, the Jedi used samurai swords (katana) before lightsabres were devised so whilst i see you r argument against samurai and jedi, maybe this sheds some light on things?

But, Bushido is undoubtedly a big part of the fictional jedi character and as this was developed by Samurai the link is re-established

I thought I'd chime in on this since I was taught the Bushido Martial Arts (all of them)

The creed that I follow is this:


I have no parents; I make the Heavens and the Earth my parents.
I have no home; I make the Tan T'ien my home.
I have no divine power; I make honesty my Divine Power.
I have no means; I make Docility my means.
I have no magic power; I make personality my Magic Power.
I have neither life nor death; I make A Um my Life and Death.


I have no body; I make Stoicism my Body.
I have no eyes; I make The Flash of Lightning my eyes.
I have no ears; I make Sensibility my Ears.
I have no limbs; I make Promptitude my Limbs.
I have no laws; I make Self-Protection my Laws.


I have no strategy; I make the Right to Kill and the Right to Restore Life my Strategy.
I have no designs; I make Seizing the Opportunity by the Forelock my Designs.
I have no miracles; I make Righteous Laws my Miracle.
I have no principles; I make Adaptability to all circumstances my Principle.
I have no tactics; I make Emptiness and Fullness my Tactics.


I have no talent; I make Ready Wit my Talent.
I have no friends; I make my Mind my Friend.
I have no enemy; I make Incautiousness my Enemy.
I have no armour; I make Benevolence my Armour.
I have no castle; I make The Immovable Mind my Castle.
I have no sword; I make No Mind my Sword.

This is the Samurai Creed, I keep this on my forethoughts every minute waking and sleeping, this is a good creed for the begining Jedi to remember, although there are a few lines that may confuse people, for instance \"I have no friends; I make my Mind my Friend.\", this doesn't mean you must not make friends it means if they leave in any form ie. die or move away/drift apart from you, you do not mourn them do not miss them be happy for them and wish them well on their journies.

*bows*