First Impressions Reconsidered

A couple of weeks ago I came across the TOTJO website and was intrigued by the idea of Jediism. I began looking through the forums to gain a little more insight into the organization, beliefs and methods used to progress on the Jedi path. I have to admit that reading through the forums I became a bit disillusioned by comments made by some of the members, a few of them higher ranking members whom appear to have been given apprentices to train. In no way do I mean my words here to be insulting or an attack upon established members, and I hope that it is not taken as such.

A few of the disillusioning comments I refer to came out of the thread dealing with the Virginia Tech shooting. Without going into specifics, I agree that all points of view are valid and vigorous debate is a wonderful thing, however given the tenets of the Jedi code and the Temple's own stated belief system I felt that many comments were rooted in emotions not particularly conducive to the Jedi way. I thought the debate was quite judgemental and that many of the arguments made were based on: FEAR for the safety of self and family, FEAR that \"liberals\" would take guns away from law abiding citizens, ANGER, FRUSTRATION and even IMHO CONCEIT towards people who did not hold the same opinions.

I felt disillusioned because I hoped more time would be focused on the pitfalls, temptations and emotions that would lead someone to the dark side (like the shooter); compassion and concern for victims and families; and how as Jedi we should RESPOND proactively and with equanimity to a situation rather than REACT out of fear, hatred or revenge. Instead, as in most cases when discussions turn \"political\", people chose sides and verbally hacked it out with very little room for growth, insight or relfection. Just defense of arguments. I honestly wasn't sure that I wanted to be put in an environment where the voice and wisdom of fellow members was not honored as much as one's own personal political convictions.

So I left the forums, letting this unsettling feeling go as much as I could, but with no desire to join the TOTJO. I began going to Meditation classes, doing Aikido and spending time with loved one's whose spiritual knowledge and wisdom I prize, and I decided to come back. I do beleive in the tenets of the Jedi Order, and felt that I should attempt to enter in cautiously, but with an open heart and mind, and add my voice to those of others advocating the Jedi ideals. Perhaps I am presumptuous, but I beleive that as Jedi we should all be mindful of how our words and deeds are influenced by emotion, whether or not our argument is sound. And as \"masters\" I would expect it even more so than novices. It is one thing to speak your mind, and another to mind your speak.

Okay I've said my piece/peace, and with that I wanted to share a story dealing with pacifism and learning to respond rather than react. To me this way of thinking is suitable no matter what your personal political view on violence and gun control. The following is from Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein

\"... And there are some circumstances that do call for a forceful response. We do not always have to be passive and accepting in every predicament. Sometimes we have to use our umbrella!
Sharon Salzberg, a friend and teaching colleague, had a frightening experience years ago, when we were both first practicing meditation in India. She and another frewind had been in Calcutta with one of our teachers, Dipa Ma. when they left her, they hired a rickshaw to go to the train station. As they took a shortcut through a dark back alley, a man leaped at them violently and started to pull Sharon out of the rickshaw. It was a very scary moment. Sharon's friend managed to push the attacker away, and they escaped to the station unharmed.
When they arrived back in Bodha Gaya, where we were all staying, Sharon told our teacher, Munindra-ji, what had happened. He listened carefully to all the details. At the end of the story Munindra-ji said, \"Oh dear. With all the lovingkindness in your heart, you should have taken your umbrella and hit that man over the head.\"
Sometimes that is what we need to do. It would be easy enough to hit the man over the head with the umbrella. The difficult part would be to do it with all the lovingkindness in our heart. So that is our real practice.\"

Thanks for your time and patience.
Yours in the Force, Shawn

It is then most wonderful that you Joined with us. We are happy to have you and It would have been most distressing to lose even one member over just one topic alone. That said I think it is important to point out that we are each human of course. From different backgrounds, experiences, ages, etc...and this only adds to the diversity and spice of our discussions. Each of us has something unique and wonderful to bring to the table and we do this often. Do we all agree all the time? Of course not, and it is just that which allows us to continue to grow, understand, and believe. Through these discussions we; learn about one another, learn from each other, grow through self meditation, and most importantly gian new insight into the possible angles from which these subjects can be interpreted.

I am Glad you have decided to join with us, and being cautious is never innappropriate, especially when it comes to ones faith. I look foward to seeing your thoughts and \"angles\" throughout our many discussions. Welcome to the Order. MTFBWY

Br. Shugyo,
indeed you are correct in your assertion of the principles of \"speak your mind but mind what u speak\", in fact in the archives is an article i wrote titled \"we should think deeply before we speak and even deeper before we post\". and indeed there were and still are things said and posted that are questionable, however the reality of it is we are all human and some have less control of thier emotions than others. in a position of leadership ones words and posts quite frequently come back to haunt the author, and it is through this that we learn, to stumble, to falter, these are things that we all experience and each of us learns our own lessons from it or we are fated to repeat it till we do. even though this is a Jedi site, it is also a discussion/debate forum and when differing opinions are expressed, some more heated than others, there will always be those who's emotions come into play and it gets out of hand. even though we are Jedi, after all we are still human with all the faults, frailties, and idiosyncricies of such. many, including myself, have difficulty dealing with emotions. only those who have deep understanding of Zen or other Eastern Religions have a better grip on the emotional responses usually induced buy heated debate. many times i have had to bite my tounge on a topic so as not to fan the flames of emotional responses. many here are new to the idea of Jedi as a practiced religion and some in my humble opinion were advance in rank much too quickly just becasue the were already established in another religion. again in my humble opinion, just because someone is Ordained in another religion, that should not automatically give them rank and title here or anywhere else but within thier Faith they are Ordained in. but thats just my opinion.

Hello, I'm Br. Shaun, I'm also one of the \"hotheads\" on the site. I give into emotions very easily, and am constantly butting heas with someone, BUT, all the head butting that goes on, is a learning experience, and, it HAS helped me to get a better handle on certain aspects of emotional response. However, as has been stated before my post, we are all human, sucks sometimes, but, that's the hand we're dealt in life, lol. I have a preference for using my emotions in a productive manner, I desire peace as much as the next person, but I'm willing to take a more extreme approach to bringing that peace about, others here, are willing to let things come as they may, and try to find an angle to bring the peace about in a fashion that's beneficial to all parties involved. We are each different in almost every aspect, except the fact that we are all human, and all prone to the mistakes that are our birthright. However, welcome to the order, glad that you chose to overlook the fact that we argue like siblings, which, in the Force we all are, and I look forward to someday butting heads with you if the opportunity should arise, lol. Take care, and MTFBWY.


The strongest steel must first pass through the hottest flames, or it shall break with its first use.

Br.Shaun I can only agree with you on that. And if it is any help: it is true when they say, those who don`t do anything don`t make mistakes.

remember though, when i give a thought when i give an idea, which most of the time are the same things. we as human make mistakes. with you're assumption with our views on the virgina teck we were not just talking as jedi but human. when it comes to certain topics we tend to speak how we as human feel. that is how we learn to better ourselves. this young man who shot up the school, do we hate him no, but we pity him. he did not get to see or feel the greatness in life nor the force. when it comes to security we should be able to voice how we feel it should be done, that doesn't mean we will act on it. as jedi we live a certain way we act a certain way. we also speak a certain way as well, but when we are among other jedi and friends, we should also be able to speak are minds. now yes this is a public forum and others will read it, but if we we're to hide who we are as people then aren't we just lie ing to everyone? this is our church and temple. this is our sanctuary. we support everyone here. also one more thing remember that this temple have light, gray, and dark jedi here as well. so as my brothers said before me welcome and i hope you enjoy all you learn with us. MTFBWY

There isn't really anything I can add to the words of my fellow Jedi. We are Jedi. It doesn't make us perfect, we are just as fallibile as any other man or woman. As humans, being an emotionless robot is not in our nature. True, the Code does say, \"There is no Emotion, there is Peace.\" This does not mean we are to have no emotions, it just means we are to control our emotions and have peace in our actions/reactions. When one gets emotional, we do not act/react rationally. So in controlling our emotions, we have peace. This is not something accomplished over night and even the most advanced Master of Jediism has to battle their emotions on a day to day basis. Do not be discouraged by what you saw, but be joyful that their are people here, just like you, that are in a never ending state of learning while on the path we travel as Jedi.

The other side to the coin (of our behaviour), is what others bring such as expectations. It is my experience that wherever there are any there will also be disappointment (for exactly the reasons already mentioned). If there were truly any faults to be corrected then it is not only the duty of a Jedi (or aspiring Jedi) but also the opportunity to intervene (16(15): \"We never negotiate out of fear, but never fear to negotiate\".