Actual Churches?

We have neither the need nor the resources for one. Laboring under the delusion that we need or should have on will be detrimental; slow and steady wins the race.

I'm not saying I'm going to build it here and now and worry about the details later.. But it's something to keep in mind. I'm listening for the opportunity! It's out there!

Jediism churches, temples, meeting halls etc will arise when enough people in a local physical congregation gather their resources and build them.

Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance but to do what lies clearly at hand.

Thomas Carlyle
Scottish author, essayist, & historian (1795 - 1881)

Establishing a monastery is another matter. This is an actual home and temple for those who are dedicating their lives as Jedi monastic brothers and sisters. While visitors would certainly be welcome and there'd be guest quarters, the permanent population is the people who live there. This should be a self-sustaining monastery.

Does this make sense? I know some people think I'm just a party poop but I'm only saying we should put the horse before the cart.

Its a bit of a daydreaming process I guess for me. The only reason I keep thinking about it is because I've managed the build of two residential houses (designed one of them myself) and renovated a few other houses, so I like to scour the web looking for unique spiritual land, and then have a creative design session about what could possibly be built on the plot. Its just a bit of fun for me and its interesting to dream about what a real facility might need and how it might operate. Each piece of land really lends itself to different designs IMO. Agree with Br. John though of course.

Adder wrote: so I like to scour the web looking for unique spiritual land, and then have a creative design session about what could possibly be built on the plot. Its just a bit of fun for me and its interesting to dream about what a real facility might need and how it might operate. Each piece of land really lends itself to different designs IMO. Agree with Br. John though of course.

Personally when I want to pass the time I build my imagined version of a Jedi Temple on Minecraft

@ Nicholas Reynolds

There are churches and synagogues all over. A few religions actually have temples. As a former Mormon I used to attend one of these physical structures we called a Temple.

Speaking only for myself and not for the millions of active, Temple-going Mormons, I often compared what happened while sitting at the top of Mt. Haleakala on Maui (10,000 ft above sea level and looking down at the clouds) to what I felt sitting in the meditation/prayer room in the Mormon Temple (it's not called the Meditation/Prayer room; it's called the Celestial Room, but that's basically what it is):

I have never felt such peace and awe at the nature and Force around me than when I was on that mountain peak. I have felt peace in the Mormon temple, too, but it paled to that experience on the mountain. In other words, a physical structure had nothing on nature.

Now I get that Jediism is a young religion. I'm only 30 and a lot of our members are younger than that. 100 years from now, there very well could be, and probably will be, a physical temple. This future temple may even be looked at more for the peace of the land it's on than the physical structure that may occupy it.

In other words, a physical temple a Jedi does not need. Would it be nice to have a Temple one day? Absolutely. But purely as a want, in my opinion. We'll function just fine in the meantime and as Jedi start to join and more and more are found in certain geographical areas, some of the other things you mention will also become a reality.

Planet of Chaos wrote: My family is actually in the process of trying to aquire some land. Looking at this piece of property I envisioned a building in the shape of the TOTJO logo. The land still needs to be purchased but this is a goal I'd like to see happen in the future. Along with a TOTJO Los Angeles.

That would just count as a "Western Temple" though, yes? For a country as big as the US, we'd need at LEAST three - an Eastern Temple, a Western Temple, and a Central Temple. It's just too far to drive to a single place, even though it would certainly collect more people into one place.

Br. John wrote: Jediism churches, temples, meeting halls etc will arise when enough people in a local physical congregation gather their resources and build them.

Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance but to do what lies clearly at hand.

Thomas Carlyle
Scottish author, essayist, & historian (1795 - 1881)

Establishing a monastery is another matter. This is an actual home and temple for those who are dedicating their lives as Jedi monastic brothers and sisters. While visitors would certainly be welcome and there'd be guest quarters, the permanent population is the people who live there. This should be a self-sustaining monastery.

Does this make sense? I know some people think I'm just a party poop but I'm only saying we should put the horse before the cart.

I wouldn't mind living in one of those.

I'm actually definitely more for something along the lines of a monastery or a retreat, as opposed to a general street corner church. The very fact that we're so scattered means that to go to a physical temple would require something of a pilgrimage, so we'd definitely need to use it as a place to stay and relax for as long as we were there (or else we'd have to find a hotel and just make things more complicated). Of course, then the problem arises for how to afford the upkeep and utilities for such a building. Would there be enough Jedi to donate to keep it going, or would it be privately owned and maintained, or would the Jedi who keep a permanent residence there have extra jobs to pay for things such as electricity and food?

Then again, you could go all-out self-providing and have a small field where food is grown, and maybe some solar panels for electricity, but then there'd be no real reason to leave, would there? And then the purpose of being a Jedi - defense of the people - would be lost.

Not to mention, people might start thinking of the members as "those weird cultists on the mountain" or something, and that wouldn't exactly be enjoyable...

It's certainly something nice to think about, but would definitely require a greater public opinion of real Jedi.

Does anyone have examples of a monastery or retreat center in their area? Here are my two.

http://www.buumon.org/ [Buddhist]

http://www.buumon.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=9&Itemid=2 [About in English].
[Be sure and read their history.]

http://dioceseofbmt.org/holyfamily/index.html [Catholic but see note.]
[A few monks live at the center and have a small chapel there.]

Note: Persons and groups of all faiths, men and women, lay and religious, church and non-profit organizations, are welcome to Holy Family.

There are monasteries that are self sustaining in several ways. They may produce goods for sale like cheese, wine or hand crafted items. Some of the members might be employed at a variety of local jobs or professions. A retired person could contribute from their pension. It could be a combination of both. This is not to be confused with a cloistered religious order.

www.chenrezig.com.au [Buddhist] is near to me.

They have different types of accomodation, food hall, study hall, library etc. Monks and Nuns live-in to undertake a course of training, and they run training for the public as well in Buddhism.

Coincidently there is a place for sale up the road which is set up as a spritual sort of retreat apparantly;

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-acreage+semi+rural-qld-eudlo-109082661

I like this piece of land as a blank slate if I was rich;

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-noosa+north+shore-107071514

Xiam wrote: I'm actually definitely more for something along the lines of a monastery or a retreat, as opposed to a general street corner church. The very fact that we're so scattered means that to go to a physical temple would require something of a pilgrimage, so we'd definitely need to use it as a place to stay and relax for as long as we were there (or else we'd have to find a hotel and just make things more complicated)..

Yea me too, a teaching retreat sorta thing. Anything greater then that depends on the extent of the operations which might come about from growth of TOTJO and thats an unknown quantity at this time. The only way it would happen anytime soon I guess is if done privatly for TOTJO. It wouldnt have to be 'too' expensive but anything like this would benefit from lots of planning. I'm currently wondering how difficult it would be to throw up a few of these bale/mud houses as I like the organic quality but not taken to the extreme with the Yoda hut;



Another dedicated structure for teaching and training would then perhaps serve as a central 'temple'. LOL, its all a bit of a design exercise.