SPECULATION Lukes New JEDI Code

Unless you fear to lose something.

 

I think more than the code, Luke will redefine what a Jedi is. The guy is at the first Jedi Temple in existence, so maybe in his recluse there, he learnt of how the Sith and Jedi, were, before their separation. He also may have failed in his new Jedi Academy years prior because he stuck to the old code. He may very well train Rey to become something like a "Gray Jedi", like Qui-Gonn Jinn was.

 

I wish to allude to something I wrote in response to another thread (Watching the ROTJ end celebration after seeing TFA) because I think it ties directly into the discussion here:

To add to this, I wonder if the situation in the galaxy does not demand a new midichlorian-dictated and/or by-invitation-only Jedi Order but rather something far more inclusive and accessible and applicable both among Force-sensitives and everyone else.

Perhaps Luke might do better to found something like a new trans-galactic Academy or applied philosophy, wherein he uses the galaxy's own history, combined with his own wisdom (and whatever wisdom he might have gained by returning to the First Jedi Temple), to provide examples and teachings essentially to everyone at all levels in the galaxy could potentially relate to and agree with if they truly want to move forward and escape the next iteration of unnecessary suffering.

Luke could reveal the respective (and perhaps shared) origins, paths, and failures of the Jedi and the Sith, and through this reveal the need for new thinking and a mindful galaxy of consequences governed by symbiotic actions and a more natural and lasting balance and peace than was ever achieved through past conflicts between the Jedi, the Sith, and other factions in and beyond the Force.

JediMasterRobert

 

I agree. I think the saga has to really find a new conclusion to the out and out war that ended the Empire in ROTJ.
As we see, the knock on effect of Anakin's turn to Vader and the rise of the Empire, exists to this day - it's as if Luke and co's victory meant nothing.
Planets are being destroyed, the galaxy is in despair, evil has risen from the ashes of the Empire.

I'm wondering whether what needs to happen is a way for the heroes to end the war peacefully.
Only through doing this can they truly diminish the power of the Dark Side within those who would only too easily help evil rise again.
I think this is where the value of Finn, Rey and Kylo lies. This is why we will essentially have 3 heroes. A holy trinity if you will.

Finn will be the guy that turns the FO War machine in on itself. He will lead the Stormtroopers to their freedom - show them a different path.
I think the fact that it has been established in TFA that they were all taken from their parents (as slaves essentially) provides a good motive for Finn to be able to appeal to the Stormtroops and achieve this emancipation. This will thus result in a peaceful end to the FO's military might.

Kylo will be the person who holds the key to allowing the light to triumph over darkness. Snoke is using him, in my view, as a means to empower the Dark Side. He is using Kylo and his strength (and I think Kylo is more powerful than Snoke, just less knowledgeable) to spread evil and as a weapon to prevent Luke from returning. He knows Luke couldn't kill his own nephew. And he probably sees that a fully trained Kylo would arguably be able to defeat Luke anyway. So when Kylo eventually turns on Snoke and rejects the Dark Side he will diminish the Dark Side itself, thus taking away Snoke's power and influence and ensuring that the Jedi can rise.

Rey is the person who will hold all this together. She is the motivating factor for Finn and Kylo to achieve these goals. She has to inspire Finn. She has to redeem Kylo. And she has to be a figure of hope and justice for the galaxy. Essentially, she has to do what Luke did at the end of ROTJ. Luke didn't actually do anything other than stop fighting. This enabled his father to fulfill his destiny and destroy the Sith. There won't be an end to this if Rey wins by striking down her foes. The only way the heroes are going to win this is by using love to conquer the darkness.

 

Finn will be the guy that turns the FO War machine in on itself. He will lead the Stormtroopers to their freedom

Interesting I never thought of that.

There won't be an end to this if Rey wins by striking down her foes. The only way the heroes are going to win this is by using love to conquer the darkness.

This I don't know about. Somebody has to kill somebody. A good guy has to kill a bad guy. If everyone were to follow that philosiphy the bad guys would win. Luke had a plan. "Soon I'll be dead and you with me."

He threw his weapon away as a symbolic way to show the Emperor he will not kill his father and turn to the darkside. Yes it led to Vader saving his son but lets face it, this was a special case. After all he went on to train other Jedi to fight.

You get what I'm saying? It was a one off deal. I don't expect that scene to be a message for future Jedi to not fight.

 

Did he train other Jedi to fight though? We will see. But i'm just playing devils advocate there though. I'm not saying that fighting is wrong. Sometimes you have to fight. And I am sure Rey and co will and should fight at some point. I agree - the message at the end of ROTJ wasn't that Luke shouldn't train future Jedi to fight. But it did show there there is another way.
But indeed, Anakin had to literally kill Emperor for the good guys to win.

I am suggesting though that it doesn't have to play out this way at the end.
My view is that Snoke is physically very vulnerable. He relies on the Dark Side to live. Without the Dark Side empowering him, Snoke is dead.
I believe that if Rey redeems Kylo and inspires Finn to emancipate the Stormtroopers then that will lead to Snoke's demise.
They won't need to throw him down a big hole.

This means that there can be a truly peaceful end.

 

Very well said, master_shaitan, and I completely agree.

This is exactly my thinking, in terms of Luke's further potential for greatness for this saga as the last and greatest of the Jedi, someone who could prove wiser than Yoda and the former Jedi, in his Return to and enlightenment of the deepest underlying truths of the Force and all reality:

to reveal that the much-sought-after Balance and peace cannot effectively find its definition or resolution as a physical struggle, a generational tug-of-war between "Good vs. Evil."

Such wisdom could proceed from the seemingly enigmatic feeling of compassion and hope Luke felt toward his father (the true Anakin Skywalker occulted by Darth Vader's persona): to love unconditionally that which seems to defy and reject any loving, and to forgive and enable redemption even as it might seem unpopular, unthinkable, or impossible.

In response to yet another thread (Anakin never showed his Supperior Power much. I want Luke to make a Black hole or something), I tried to demonstrate how Luke might put this thinking into action even all the way to the battlefront:

This is how I believe Luke and all his life encompassed can survive the Sequel Trilogy, or, at the very least his teachings (perhaps encoded in a Holocron he could pass on to Rey).

Spreading this new bold message of love (compassion, redemption, symbiotic contemplation, mindfulness, etc.) would certainly present its own many challenges, even as the galaxy is ripe if not desperate for such new thinking.

Someone will likely always be around to try to disagree, complicate matters, and/or try to tip the balance of power in their favor.

There will always be temptations to revert to the past, failures to learn from personal and galactic history, as so many star systems have been so inured to the Empire and ingrained with certain expectations, practices, and practical considerations, especially in the underworld and places like Hutt Space.

Which means the Post-Jedi Force adepts could have their hands full simply in not being lured back into the endless conflict ("The Only War" as Maz Kanata called it).

Every adversary, up to this point, has implied the necessary counterbalance of a hero, a Rebellion, a Resistance. It has remained in an "eye-for-an-eye" mode for ages with little positive results. Saga marketing and business plan longevity considerations aside with regards to how many "Sequel-Sequel Trilogies" might arise in the future, someone somewhere (in or beyond the Star Wars galaxy) really has to begin to wonder how many Death Stars and Starkiller Bases does it take before it becomes overwhelmingly apparent that suffering and destruction are not solutions.

Resisting that primal call for war or vengeance would take greater strength and wisdom than has ever been espoused or exemplified necessarily in this saga (e.g. one cannot simply "love" a Death Star into nonexistence when it is perched beside your planet; action obviously becomes necessary under certain circumstances), but it remains possible under the right conditions, the right actions and understanding. A lot does have to go right (or wrong, but in a helpful way) to reach that rare point of possibility, and that seems like a project for the very Force itself.

Still, this could become a major aspect of Rey's future: becoming a true "Ray of Hope" throughout the galaxy by relating her insight along with the journeys and wisdom of Luke Skywalker, leading by example and inspiring others to embrace and apply a greater post-Jedi/Sith -- post-Force even -- philosophy built on love.

JediMasterRobert

 

Word play

Passion, yet peace.
Strength, through knowledge.
Power, through serenity.
Through harmony with chaos,
The Force shall set me free.

Edited for spelling.

 

Yes, in not fighting, Luke Skywalker made the supreme choice in Return of the Jedi, the paradoxical path of winning by not trying to win, overcoming through peace.

I see this as an effective and essential pattern in Luke:

• by not using the targeting computer in the Death Star trench run, he allowed himself to flow in the Force and succeed more naturally
• by not straining toward the lightsaber and instead calming himself and calling it to him in the Wampa cave, he succeeded with minimal physicality
• by offering himself up to Vader on Endor, he conquered him through surrender

Much of this stems from Obi-Wan's simple instruction when briefly training Luke aboard the Millennium Falcon: "Let go of your conscious self, and act on instinct."

In not thinking, Luke is able to anticipate and block the energy beams from the training remote.

At this point, Luke begins succeeding by not seeing: he his wearing the helmet with the blast shield down.

This paradoxical pattern seems to extend (until we learn otherwise in Episode VIII) for Luke all the way to The Force Awakens:

in withdrawing from conflict, he could be preparing himself for victory.

These decisions of Luke Skywalker seem to exhibit a central concept in martial arts as well as Buddhist and Taoist philosophy:

wu wei.

Meaningful inaction.

Here is a more revealing and hauntingly relevant definition:

(source: http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddhismglossaryw/g/Wuweidef.htm)

On key occasions, as in the examples above, Luke has somehow found his way into the natural rhythm of the Force, riding its crests and resting in its curls as he moves forward along its current from one difficult situation to the next. This is why the Force is strong with him.

With respect to us learn he has "disappeared" at the beginning of The Force Awakens and, in the end, find him on a world of flowing water, is all very meaningful in this context.

As we look further into wu wei, we can explore some of its implications for Luke's withdrawal, especially if it was voluntary:

(source: http://taoism.about.com/od/wuwei/a/wuwei.htm)

There are many other ways to interpret Luke's decisions before and up to The Force Awakens, but this concept of wu wei does, from my perspective, offers special potential relevance between his interactions with and within the Force and his major successes as a character in this saga.

Some links for further reading...

• The Wu-Wei Principle (http://www.jadedragon.com/archives/june98/tao.html)
• Wu wei (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_wei)

JediMasterRobert

 

Thanks for the reply, FallenAngel!

You're right: he tried with the Emperor and physically defeated Vader.

In that frantic and furious scene there were a rapid series of choices made.

Luke, confronted with the potential loss of his friends on Endor and the end of the Rebellion, did strike out at the Emperor, who knew he would do that.

Vader also knew and blocked the blow, and soon he was dueling with Luke.

Luke (and this is stated in the screenplay) recognizes he is tapping the Dark Side of the Force and decides to deactivate his lightsaber.

He realizes he cannot win by trying to win. And so he says, "I will not fight you, father."

Vader's reply is, "You are unwise to lower your defenses."

Luke appeals to his father -- repeatedly invoking the word father -- as Vader moves to engage him again: "Your thoughts betray you, father. I feel the good in you... the conflict."

The battle here is working on two fronts: physically via lightsabers/the Force and psychologically.

When Vader suggests Leia might turn to the Dark Side, Luke finally gives into hatred (that word begin cited in the screenplay) and overcomes Vader by force.

It is only once Luke chooses not to fight, sparing Vader and sacrificing himself before a wrathful Emperor, does Luke begin to achieve the true victory of redeeming his father. He does not end Vader, and his choice not to act enables the Return of the Jedi.

Luke choosing not to carry the conflict any further set off a second rapid series of choices. The Emperor chose to Force-fry Luke. Writhing in pain from the Emperor's energy bolts, Luke calls out to his father, who had only before in that film rejected that prior identity of Anakin Skywalker.

More importantly, Luke's choice and subsequent sacrifice/suffering and appeals to his father enabled his father to make a choice: to sacrifice himself to save his son and overthrow the Emperor.

I find it beautifully symmetrical, this convergence of inaction and actions, the totality of which enabled Luke and Anakin to save each other and to fulfill the Prophecy of the One.


JediMasterRobert

 

It reminds me of something like a "means to an end."

 

Wonderfully said, FallenAngel, and I agree with you.

Resistance is the key. Resisting the call to act on the Dark Side of the Force.

I find this to be a very telling scene in Revenge of the Sith with regards to Anakin:

Anakin's inability to accept the natural order of life, and then his conscious intent and physical actions to try to prevent Padme from dying ultimately lead to his worst fear of losing her.

This is a major reason why the Jedi have cautioned against attachment and fear: such things can lead one astray and place one at odds with the ways of the Force. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts: he grew fearful of losing her and so he lost her.

Anakin, in trying to act forcibly and override the natural order of life at that point, made a series of bad decisions which lead to his initial fall in that film.

Since Attack of the Clones, Anakin has had it in mind to achieve such strength so as to exert his will over death itself:

In trying to prevent death, he metaphorically (and nearly physically) died: Anakin Skywalker was no longer, and Darth Vader was born.

Interestingly enough, this concept of trying to control things leading to a loss of control is echoed in Episode IV: A New Hope, when Leia very strongly admonishes Tarkin:

JediMasterRobert

 

You can't overplay what Luke did. In fact, it was probably the bravest action of any hero we have seen in Star Wars.

He gives himself up to Vader to protect his friends.

He does this knowing that he'd likely die but still wanted to try and redeem his father.

He continues with his plan only up to when it seems all hope is lost and get gets angry at Sidious trying to strike him down.

He recollects his thoughts and has a passive battle with Vader, still trying to redeem him.

Then he has the final hurdle, Vader taunts him using Leia and Luke flips - but at the last moment he does the incredible. He sees what he will become and throws down his saber. He invites death. The ultimate act of self sacrifice (more so that Vader, as he was already half a life anyway!).

From this moment of pure bravery, love and compassion The light in Vader is empowered. And we know what happens next.

Wonderful scenes.

 

75% of people wants the millenary Jedi Code to be changed for Luke could have his baby girl.

How lovely ...

You won't have that.

 

It certainly seems like he has cheated death in some way. The concept of someone that drains force power from people could be interesting.

 

By the time Obi-wan recruits Luke in the OT, 19 years have passed since the time of the prequels. If we are supposed to believe, as TFA suggests, that the Jedi had already sort of lost their way in the time before the Clone Wars, then we have reason to believe that the stories Obi-wan tells to Luke are already the product of 19 years of calm thinking about going back to the roots:

1.) Obi-wan hands the lightsaber to Luke only when Luke is curious enough to seek him out.
2.) Obi-wan sells the idea of Jedi membership explicitly as a job that can be combined with a family life: "I was once a Jedi knight, the same as your father"

Luke signs up eventually because he wants to be like his father. And his father was...well...a father, among other things. The reason Yoda was uncertain about taking Luke on was that he grew up in an uninspiring environment, so he was chronically impatient about getting off Tatooine. Now that Luke's figured that out, I guess his new code is essentially what has already been established in the OT. No need for him to reinvent the wheel.