Service as Religious Observance

[Andy]

So lately I have been on this service kick. Mostly due to the fact I feel it is the core to what makes a Jedi, well, Jedi.

We come together and what do we do at our gatherings? Train (and hang, but officially train). People ask, what makes the jedi different than other religions? Is it the Force? EVERY religion has the force in one form or another. Is it our connection with the force? All religions Meditate, pray or commune with spirits in some way. Is it the fact we are a melting pot of religions? Could be, but that just makes this a path anyone can follow.

I feel that what makes this path different is the fact a jedi serves. The fact this is an obligation makes it a religious observance. Every time we serve we are following the religious observance of our path. Some pray, others meditate, we serve.

Deep down, all activities of the jedi are dedicated to service. We might say well what about the act of achieving enlightenment? Is that not a wholly internal practice? It is not. We better ourselves to better serve. We meditate and find peace so we can be of more use. We train martially and physcially to be stronger and fast so we can serve harder. We push ourselves mentally and challenge our limits so we can quite simply do more.

Service is not always to the community, but that is VERY important. There is service to the order and service to the force as well as others.

What it all comes down to is, we better ourselves to better serve others.

What do you think?

[RyuJin]

well put

[Moonshadow]

I don't personally view the Jedi path as a religion, but completely agree that commitment to service is a key part of makes a Jedi.

--Moonshadow

[Kol Drake]

There is a debate in some religious communities as to whether or not we are 'judged' by our works or 'observances'. There are some that 'specialize' in service... so using that as a point to separate out Jedi 'from others' is not necessarily a done deal.

As Moonshadow notes, I do not see the Jedi as a religious organization nor as a 'religious' organization per se. It does emcompass 'faith' -- that there is the Force. (many take it on faith until such time as they experience the Force and 'faith' moves to firm belief and confirmation.)

I'd venture to say Jedi are 'all encompassing' -- we are open to concepts, views, religions, lifestyles which expand our views of the human condition and our relationship with the greater Universe. Or something like that...

[RyuJin]

ah but once upon a time philosophy was the father and religion and science were the 2 sons....over the centuries the sons abandoned the father, traveling separate roads until we have what exists today, with philosophy, religion, and science all being separate fields of study, and yet if you look closely enough into any one of them you still find traces of the others....i consider jediism(or jedi realism if you wish) a philosophical lifestyle, but once you realize that religion came from philosophy then in a roundabout way it is easy to reason that it is a religion, just as science is a religion. the main difference between them is the amount of spirituality, thought, and faith placed within

[Jestor]

According to the World English Dictionary

religion (rɪˈlɪdʒən)

— n
1. belief in, worship of, or obedience to a supernatural power or powers considered to be divine or to have control of human destiny
2. any formal or institutionalized expression of such belief: the Christian religion
3. the attitude and feeling of one who believes in a transcendent controlling power or powers
4. chiefly RC Church the way of life determined by the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience entered upon by monks, friars, and nuns: to enter religion
5. something of overwhelming importance to a person: football is his religion
6. archaic
a. the practice of sacred ritual observances
b. sacred rites and ceremonies

As defined by the dictionary, a belief, is a religion. People feel funky when it's called that for fear of being pigeon-holed, laughed at or whatever. This, as I see it, is one of the major problems with the english language, and a reason it is so hard for other people, countries, and cultures to learn. Although, like the Jedi idea/concept, a faith, it doesn't care what you speak, it will take your words, or new words, and wrap them into it's existence.

And as far as service goes, we are in our infancy. As far as being a movement, religion, realists or what have you.

Charities, homless shelters, sojourn houses for battered women, food lines, clothing drives, benefits, cake walks..... all examples of serving.

Jahovah's witnesses going door to door, trying to get their beliefs out, serving their beliefs. I don't believe as they do, but they are pretty devout, and if that's what gets them through, more power to them.

Helping with Neighborhood Watch Group, mowing my neighbors yard, helping carrry a couple of bags of mulch, defending my co-worker from the bosses critisism, these are just a few things off the top of my head that I have done in the last few weeks.

This just makes me a better person. Not necessarily a Jedi. I make myself a Jedi by my belief in the force and acceptance of the beliefs of others.

Most other religions want you to become as they are. Trusting that their way is the one true way to life and eternal salvation.

Theses are just my thoughts.... rebuttals?

[Moonshadow]

I believe that Jediism can be a religion and is followed as one by some, but I personally still view my own personal path as a Jedi as a philosophy or way of life vs. a religion. I believe that number 5 above, which you emphasized, is intended to be utilized on more of an individual basis than as a general definition of religion. Then again, I personally view religion as involving some sort of formal worship, deity, and/or doctrine which none of the above definitions really delve into. In fact, I think there are a lot of conflicting thoughts on the definition of religion in general and here (http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_defn.htm) is an interesting article on the topic.

I personally prefer the following code/definition of the Jedi. Even more than the 4 lined , "There is no emotion, there is peace." code, the following definition most fully embodies for me what a Jedi should be.

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.

You can see that service is right there in this core definition directly from the literature. I agree that other religions/paths also focus on service, so that alone does not differentiate the Jedi path, but I believe that service is still a core part of what makes a Jedi a Jedi.

I think it's interesting that the Force isn't even mentioned in the above definition, but I believe that by respecting everything around you, you also acknowledge that we are in some way all connected and extensions of the same energy. This might even indicate that the Jedi are defined more by the role they play than by their individual beliefs. Brings up an interesting question about whether belief in "the Force" is necessary to be a Jedi, but that's a topic for another thread.

In the mean time, I believe that what makes a Jedi is a combination of the following components:

1) Providing service and protection to others.
2) Respecting all life and everything around us.
3) Always striving towards self growth and self improvement.

Going back to the original post, I think Andy pretty much hit the nail on the head:

What it all comes down to is, we better ourselves to better serve others.

--Moonshadow

[Andy]

This just makes me a better person. Not necessarily a Jedi. I make myself a Jedi by my belief in the force and acceptance of the beliefs of others.

I've always questioned whether or not its not just belief in the force and the acceptance of other beliefs as what makes people jedi. That would make you Unitarian Universalist. Belief in a non-defined god/energy and acceptance of others beliefs regarding that has already been done.

How then would the jedi differ from this group? It would have to be the service.

[Jedi Phoenix]

Quote:
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 have to agree with Moon on this one. This is the code I more closely follow. I think it just highlights more of the issues a Jedi would tackle in this day and age. While knowing to go to peace over emotions is a good thing, this "code" give us more than guidelines, it gives us drive, motivation, and goals. And its not absolute, which is another nice thing. Its not saying this or that; its saying when striving to be a Jedi, we need to strive for these things.

And as far as service, its highlighted in the fourth line. We seek to serve others, for the betterment of all. I look as my path outside of religious 'bounds' and for me service is just as essential a part of the path as studying philosophy or martial arts.

[Jestor]

The views and opinions are not necessarily the veiws and opinions of any group or person, other than myself. These are my thoughts, and these lines were wrote to assure that I am not trying to cause offense or preach my doctrine... Just my thoughts, and as they are my views and opinions at this moment, with logical enough discussion, they are subject to change without notice..... lol.... :sHa_hehe:


As defined by the dictionary, a belief, is a religion. People feel funky when it's called that for fear of being pigeon-holed, laughed at or whatever. This, as I see it, is one of the major problems with the english language, and a reason it is so hard for other people, countries, and cultures to learn. Although, like the Jedi idea/concept, a faith, it doesn't care what you speak, it will take your words, or new words, and wrap them into it's existence.

Oh, I agree as well, and this is my final post on this in this tread. I would gladly go on in a discussion of this, but this is not the thread, or necessarily the web-site for this discussion, as this is not a philosophy site and more of a way for Jedi-minded folk to get together, but after the opener, I felt the need to pipe up.... lol.....

-Religion? After being a Catholic for years, I really dislike the term....
-Philosophy? Closer, but I am not smart enough for much of that fancy book learnin'... lol...
-Path? Yes, for sure. A path I choose to walk.
-Way of Life? Yes indeed!...lol...


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 really like this as well as it does define a Jedi, pretty succinctly...
But I believe the code is something we are to follow, not necessarily our definition. This is what I would say a Jedi, is. The code is what I would say we somewhat try to follow.


I've always questioned whether or not its not just belief in the force and the acceptance of other beliefs as what makes people jedi. That would make you Unitarian Universalist. Belief in a non-defined god/energy and acceptance of others beliefs regarding that has already been done.

Really? I don't even know what a Unitarian Universalist is. Seriously. There are way to many to define them all and new ones all the time. I just googled them. It seems they also provide service, according to their website. They have protests, and sit-ins (among other things... I just skimmed), for things they believe in.

From their website:
Unitarian Universalism is a spiritually-diverse and welcoming faith tradition. We embrace the questions and encourage our members to find their own answers. If you're seeking a warm religious community and enjoy some hands-on activism along with your fellowship, Unitarian Universalism might be a good fit for you and your family. We welcome people of all different ages, creeds, abilities, races, and orientations.

Their line," seeking a warm religious community ", would have been enough to scare me away.

Why did I become a Jedi? Because, thanks to the movies, I know about them. I somewhat understood their beliefs. Learning more from those of you that have been 'living the life'.

Tell someone this is a religion, they think "FREAK!!", tell them it's a way of life, "Crazy, but, interesting...." comes to mind... to me anyway ... lol...


This just makes me a better person. Not necessarily a Jedi. I make myself a Jedi by my belief in the force and acceptance of the beliefs of others.

However, as I stated in my disclaimer, I will amend this statement. I make myself a Jedi, like I make myself, Jestor, Dad, Husband, these are titles I have given myself..... Son and James were given to me by birth. Master, teacher, leader will be given by people who feel it is appropriate it is my choice to accept or decline this last group....

And Finally, to quote Forrest Gump, (I could not find a post to copy from, forgive me...:sHa_wave:...), "That's all I have to say about that..."

The views and opinions are not necessarily the veiws and opinions of any group or person, other than myself. These are my thoughts, and these lines were wrote to assure that I am not trying to cause offense or preach my doctrine... Just my thoughts, and as they are my views and opinions at this moment, with logical enough discussion, they are subject to change without notice..... lol.... :sHa_hehe:

[jdmcowan]

I find "code" to be a bad word for the "there is no..., there is..." verse. My dictionary says a "code" is a "system of principles or rules." The Jedi Code is too confusing to actually be a "code". It's much more similar to a buddhist koan. It is something that cannot be taken literally and should be used as a meditation to explore our own soul and how we interact with the world around us.

The "definition" that Moonshadow gave is a lot more like an actual "code" - and a pretty good one at that.

As for what differentiates a Jedi, I think that there is no one belief or act that really differentiates us from all other groups out there. As a Christian, I am very dissapointed that Christians aren't known for their acts of service as a religious observance (like Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."). I think there is one requirement that makes someone Jedi: They must have dedicated and committed themselves and continue to dedicate and commit themselves to following the Jedi path.

I think part of that committment should be "service", as is stated in the "definition" that Moonshadow shared and as indicated in Andy's start to this thread. Therefore I would like to expand this thread into a place to exchange ideas about how to become involved in "service" in your area.

The Chicago Chapter will soon be visiting the Greater Chicagoland Food Depository to help them repackage their food donations for distribution. But I feel like we could use more ideas. What service projects have you been involved in that you could recommend for others?

Jeremy

[stancheung75]

In the past I've posted about how I would love to have the group donate blood and or platletes in the name of the Jedi community .

The work at the food depository sounds like a great idea.

I have done volunteer work as a server the shelter in the past and personally didn't like it too much. But still enthusiasticly did it cause I know I was doing good for the community.

I have taught martial arts lessons for non profit after school programs and church groups.

Perform magic shows at hospitals and nursing homes.

answered phone for a public television fund drive.

Dressed up like Santa.

buddy or "hugger" at MD Special Olympics

These were things I've done before I even knew real life Jedi's existed. I think it's awesome that there is a community of people that is not only willing but wants to put time into helping their local community.

Other programs that I haven't done but very willing to are: meals on wheels, tudor, Pet on Wheels, Volunteer at School for the Blind or National Ferderation for the Blind.

But things I stayed away from where patrol groups like the Guardian Angels. The concept is good. But it isn't for me ar this point of my life.

[Kitsu Tails]

I've always questioned whether or not its not just belief in the force and the acceptance of other beliefs as what makes people jedi. That would make you Unitarian Universalist. Belief in a non-defined god/energy and acceptance of others beliefs regarding that has already been done.

How then would the jedi differ from this group? It would have to be the service.

It wouldn't be because of there belief in the force....coz there were several other groups that believed in it as well. Quite honestly I believe the Online Jedi are not Jedi, and are better, closely defined in the fictional realm as Baron Do Sages (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Baran_Do_Sages) (The link has incomplete Data. If you want more explanation on my part please feel free to contact me about it) ...but that's just me. :sHa_thumb:

[Sorran]

This is my initial post on this matter...I was raised Christian (COGIC) matter of fact. As I got older I just didn't feel this fit me...more and more I described myself as spirital not religous to me there is a difference. So I consider myself non-religious but I do believe in the force and would say I'm spriital..I don't even know where I'm going with this but I don't think Jediism or Jedi Realism is a religion but more of a spirital belief and philosophy. A way of life. I believe belief in the force is only one component to what makes us jedi but I believe that is one but not solely. It's what lead me to where I am today more and my conviction grows as I look back at my life and realize I've always believed this I just didn't have a name for it, or others that I knew felt and believed as I did. Now I service is part of being a jedi to me but I just don't feel ONE thing alone makes you a jedi. I may have been all over the place I think I should order my thoughts more on this and then come back.

[Master Alex Winward]

While Jedi exist to study the ways of the Force, they are allowed to exist because they serve the public interest. Were they unable to use the Force, indeed, if the Force did not exist, the Jedi would go on serving because it is their mandate. The fact is the Force is real and that the Jedi are it's most devoted practitioners, only strenghtens their resolve to use it in the service of the common good.

DUTY TO THE GOVERNMENT:

The governement of the country you live in and the Jedi Community are not the same, and the Jedi hold no authority in that government. Nevertheless a Jedi should serve that governement. The Jedi should act to preserve a just government, to uphold it's laws, ideals, and protect it's citizens, but the Jedi hold no rank in the governement hierarchy. The Jedi serve asked and stand aside at all other times.

RENDER AID:

A Jedi is obligated to assist those in need of aid whenever possible, and must be able to quickly judge the priority of doing so. Saving one life is important, saving multiple lives more so. This tenet does not require a Jedi to abandon other goals in every circumstance, but the Jedi must do their best to ensure that those in need of aid recieve it.

DEFEND THE WEAK:

Likewise, a Jedi should strive to defend the weak against those who seek to oppose them, from one person suffering at the hands of another to an entire race held in a thrall. A Jedi should always remember, though,that not all might be as it seems. The customs of other cultures should always be respected, even if they offend the Jedi's moral or ethical code. In every case, though,a Jedi should carefully consider the ramifications of his or her actions.

PROVIDE SUPPORT:

At times, a Jedi must stand aside to let others render aid or defend the weak---even though the Jedi could perhaps do a better job. The Jedi should assist by word or by action as required by the situation, offering advice when asked for, warning when necessary and agrument when reason fails. Otherwise a Jedi must remember that he or she wields a marvelous and potential tool in the Force, and he or she should be ready to use it on behalf of a good cause.