Debate concerning Light side and Dark side

I find this thread interesting. If you cba to read the whole talk on the official forum, I'm quoting the first thread (opened by someone) and my answer.

The jedi train you to be DETACHED from your emotions, so that you are always in control. This also allows you to make clear informed decisions in messy situations.

The sith train you to EMBRACE your emotions because it was makes you alive. They are also very adept in manipulating the emotions of others.

So which side provides the best way to MASTER YOUR EMOTIONS???

I am not posing this question in terms of "morality" (right or wrong, good versus evil). But more so from philisophical standpoint.

Do you embrace or do you detach???

My answer :

Lately I've been readin some novels that has nothing to do with Star Wars, atleast not directly. But it has a lot to do with different doctrines of Buddhism (different shool).
And by reading together this novel, and thinking about my future character background, I've think a lot about that question lately. I find this extremly interesting.

The Jedi code and philosophy is highly inspired by Buddhism, I'd guess by the Grand Vehicule (or zen branch) which is the chineese, korean and nippon branch.

What buddism teach is to increase compassion (it's not pity) and detachement. Detachement is not to not "feel emotion", and beeing heartless. It's the ability to not pay attention to results. What matter is the original intention, and this one need to be positive (universal love, compassion, etc). If the intention is positive, then all consequences (karman) will be tainted by positivism. While if in the countrary the intention was negative (selfish, tainted with anger or fear), then all future action will be tainted with negativism. This philosophy remind also the christian "original sin".
What Buddism teach aswell is the acceptance of the universal law "nothing is eternal, everything change"

To come back to the Force and Star Wars. I think Jedi code is alike Buddhism, but tainted with more manicheism (Light vs Evil). It's a kind of mixture between the monk and the paladin.


The Dark side of the Force, is where the general human is standing today. We are experimenting life, through emotions. In Star Wars, obviously, as it is a bit manicheen, the "anger and fear" side of passion is enlighted to make the Dark Side look evil.

But i think that the Dark Side in a whole is not Evil. It's Passion and passion is made of emotions : goods and bad ones. The story of Anakin show it well. He is loving his wife with passion, but such intence emotion have a cost. You can not feel the bright side without embrace the dark side aswell. And if you know extreme hapiness in passion, you have to know as great suffering for it.
The wish to stop this cycle, is the first step towards the Light side of the Force (or Buddhism). Then after a long way of learning, the diciple can break the "emprisonement" of emotions, become free of attachement and only feel the original pure and disinterested Universal Love.


To answer the question, Jedi msterise emotions better. They don't use emotion, they are beyond their influence.

This is quite interesting. This is basically exactly how it is. Embarcing the dark power also corrupts you making you more evil. That is how the force is in the movies and books. (Appearence change etc).

Jedis are Buddhist for sure though. But Jedis do have emotions, the only emotion they actually control is anger and hate. They train to not fight with anger and hatered. The still love etc.

Yeah but I also think they have to love without attachement. Because when you love with attachement, your love feelings are tainted with selfishness, or selfcentrism, maybe fear, or need and desire. And this drive to negaitive emotions. The only love wich is not tainted, is the love without desire and that one is extremly hard to attain, particuliary in romantic relations.

Elloa wrote:Yeah but I also think they have to love without attachement. Because when you love with attachement, your love feelings are tainted with selfishness, or selfcentrism, maybe fear, or need and desire. And this drive to negaitive emotions. The only love wich is not tainted, is the love without desire and that one is extremly hard to attain, particuliary in romantic relations.

Anakin is a proof of that, indeed.

I'm affraid to be myself a proof of that aswell ...

Having emotions does not mean right away you are on the dark side. The dark side just means they have emotions and exploit emotions from others. You can be light side with emotions, one of the best examples would be Luke Skywalker.

Besides even in real life you have people who are evil, greedy and do not care about others. You also have really nice caring people, who are generally nice and caring about the ones they like. To me it just depends on the person really.

Anakin always was a bit of a nutcase to be honest. He wanted to get stuff, if he didn't he could get nasty. That is his personality, not so much having emotions.

With the danger of sounding a bit "darkside", the ideas of "good" and "evil" are just points of view anyway.

Fear is the path to the dark side, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering!

There is no Dark Side, nor a Light Side
There is Only the Force
I will do what I must to keep the balance
The balance is what keeps me together
There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish
There is passion, Yet peace
Serenity, Yet emotion
Chaos, yet order
I am the wielder of the flame, the protector of balance
I am the holder of the torch, lighting the way
I am the keeper of the flame, soldier of balance
I am a guardian of balance
I am a Gray Jedi

The Code of the Grey sum up what i think about the whole Good Evil thing
Although i would choose the "Dark side" if the way of the grey would not available to me for a reason beyond my control

Here is the entire Jedi Code: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jedi_Code

The Grey Jedis are my favorite and strive for balance rather than "good" or "evil"