This has been submitted by Akkarin on behalf of Cabur Senarr, we thank him for his contribution!
Before I begin, please permit me to express gratitude to Maître Alexandre Orion, the Clergy, and all in attendance for your time, effort and patience. Thank you for this chance to speak my truth this evening and each day.
If there is no other delay, I shall begin. I would like to speak on January’s theme: Tradition, yet Originality.
We were given a story. That is how it began. Not a list of attributes or rules, but a tale. We watched people make choices for good or ill, take their stands where they found themselves, or run away. We chose, then, who our heroes were. And we chose to seek what they sought. That is the root of our tradition.
And we learned that our story was built from the bones of a thousand other stories from as many times and places. And we learned that all of those stories, written when the land and seas had other names, were about us. All of us and each of us. And you.
Take a moment with this. What are your stories?
We know the spirit of our tradition, the spirit of our culture. We are called to be brave, called to be just. We are called to a deep commitment to learning and service. We quibble over the letters of that tradition. He would see his words carved in stone. She would see hers. None of us are immune to this. What might you choose, with the best of intentions, for all of us? You are not, necessarily, wrong.
Let us consider: Ours is a Path navigated with the gifts of new stories. Even now, someone is writing the story that will guide a Jedi who does not yet even know that they are a Jedi. And one of us is uncovering a very old story that none of us know, ancient but fresh again.
Ours is a Way built of stories and examples. We chip and file at the mass of it, adding where we must, cleaving off what gets in the way. Concealed, somewhere in that mass, is the Jedi Ideal. And each Jedi seeks it in his or her own way. We take on Masters and students, training and refining. We study. We stare inward.
Think on this:
Even though our path is completely different from the warrior arts of the past,
it is not necessary to abandon totally the old ways. Absorb venerable traditions
into this Art by clothing them with fresh garments, and building on the
classic styles to create better forms.
– Morihei Ueshiba
Ueshiba was called O-Sensei, the Great Teacher, and he spoke on Aikido, his “Way of Peace.” It represented a dramatic departure from arts of the time, but resonated with an ancient tone that was familiar to the spirit of the warriors of that time and place.
Jedi have a parallel experience.
Consider this:
I could think of no worse fate than having all the letters of our tradition written on a single stone: Here, the heavy rock of all we will ever know.
Could we submit to that?
Let us always be willing, with an eye to truth and with respect to our roots, to hear the new stories and take from them what we can. The teachings we share with each other should sing and thunder as we need them. If we need to learn in fresh language, we should be open to that.The spirit of our tradition is imperishable. We know this because people discover it anew before they ever arrive at the Temple doors. In that we have nothing to fear. Instead, let us strive to draw from the thousand stories that make us strong, that help us walk our winding paths.
The Jedi spirit cannot be bound to stone. We live it and we breathe it.
May the Force be with you.
