Over the decades, the mythos has offered many interesting nuggets of both insight and confusion to those who practice the ever-growing Jedi Way. Thus is the nature of a living and growing mythos. Some of these nuggets have been beneficial, whereas others have done only to blur issues, or create division where there was none. There is no greater example of this that the divisive nature of “the Jedi Code”.
That phrase has been used countless times for any number of small bits of focused information, much of which is very situational to the fable being told. However, there has been three major Codes spawned throughout the years. They have created an odd division in how people approach the Jedi Way, because they seem to say the same overall statements, but from wildly different points of view. I have watched these Codes come en vogue over the years, and cause many problems, from one decade of new student to the next. However, though meditation and personal reflection, I have found how these three main Codes build upon one another, to become what I call the Jedi Code Complete.
Let’s start where everyone journey on the Way begins, with the Mind.
MIND CODE:
Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge.
Passion, yet serenity.
Chaos, yet harmony.
Death, yet the Force.
The Mind Code (also referred to as the Yet Code, the Code of the Student, or the Adherent’s Code) is one that teaches how to take steps on the Jedi Way. It acknowledges that we, as people, have undesirable traits that we will never fully remove: emotional outburst, ignorance, consuming passions and manias, the stress of chaos and disorder, and the mortality of the flesh. These are all things that limit us, as we are subjective creatures when living solely in the physical plane. However, it also acknowledges the traits of the Force in each of us: personal peace, knowledge, the serenity of the larger view, the harmony found in the bigger picture, and the immortality of energy, as it cannot be created or destroyed.
The importance of the Mind Code is to train the mind to look beyond our physical and psychological limitations. It teaches us the road to growth, so that we may better walk the Way of the Jedi.
BODY CODE:
Jedi are the guardians of peace and justice.
Jedi use their power to defend and protect.
Jedi respect all life, in any form.
Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.
The Body Code (also called the Jedi Creed, the Direction Code, or the Knight’s Code) is a bit more straightforward. It acts as instructions on how we are to act as Jedi in the world. Guard peace and justice, protect and defend those who need it, respect all life, serve the world around you rather than take from it, and continue to grow through training and learning. These are what make a Jedi Warrior more than just a philosophical fan. The mythos often only shows active, powerful examples of Knights charging into battle, but we must remember why we are inspired by these extreme examples. Extreme examples draw very clear lines for the Seeker to follow. However, we must also remember that the mythos is set in a fictional place, where the galaxy is at constant war, and the Jedi act as government-sanctioned peacekeepers. That is not our place in the world, and may likely never be.
So, we must apply these extreme examples to the mundane world, and bring the greatness of the Jedi of legend to the here and now. While doing this, we must continue to grow into not just peacekeeper citizens, but into Lightbringers. To do that, we must also grow more into the Force.
SPIRIT CODE:
There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no chaos; there is harmony.
There is no death; there is the Force.
The Spirit Code (often called the Anderson Code, the Orthodox Code, or the Action Code) is the oldest of these three main codes. It has existed since 1987, but was made popular by the literary works of Kevin J. Anderson. This Code is an extremely powerful tool for self discovery, and personal refinement… if you read it right. The problem is that many on the Jedi Way look at the absolutist prose, and either reject it or try to force themselves to fit an unattainable goal. This was a far more common problem in the earlier days of the Jedi Way, as it manifested in the world, but it can still be a bit confusing. It tells the Jedi student that they must never act on emotions, always know everything, be constantly in a point of serenity, never be stressed by chaos, and that they will never die. Easy enough to do, right?
This was the first of these three Codes that I personally developed a new name for, because simply calling this the Jedi Code is a lie. This is, in fact, not the Jedi Code at all. This Code is the nature of the Force itself. Go ahead, read it again with that in mind. Makes a bit more sense, doesn’t it? The Mind Code is how we as mortal beings interact with the world… but let us not forget one of the oldest teachings from the mythos. We are luminous beings, creatures made from the limitless energy of the Force. We simply exist in one dense position in the world, as crude matter. It is for this reason that the Jedi are said to be the subjective vessels of the objective All of the Force.
The Spirit Code gives us direction of how to grow closer to the Force, as well as the understanding of the world beyond the physical, to know when we are growing closer to, or further from, the nature of the Force.
Contemplate these teachings, this Code Complete, often as you travel the Way. They will help you to better guide your steps.