Master Yoda is one of the main characters of the Star Wars movies.
He has a leading role in educating the audience about Jedi philosophy, which has quite some
similarities with Buddhism and Stoicism.
During the original trilogy in which he trains Luke Skywalker, Yoda often enlightens us with
his wisdom.
And in the prequels, he’s a prominent factor in the development of Anakin Skywalker and
his transition to the dark side.
In this video, I’d like to talk about Jedi philosophy by exploring the wisdom of Yoda.
Yoda is a small, green creature and one of the most powerful Jedi.
The Jedi are a quasi-militaristic organization with a very strong spiritual tradition.
They are wielders of what they call the ‘Force’, which is a metaphysical, all-encompassing
power, that’s present in everything our senses perceive and beyond.
It’s comparable with the Taoist concept of the ‘Tao’, along with its vagueness
and elusiveness, and also reminds me of the Stoic idea of pneuma; the great lifeforce
that sets the universe in motion.
The Jedi are sensitive to the force, which means that they can wield it.
But this comes with great responsibility and intensive training of the mind.
For guidance, the Jedi use profound wisdom, which can also help us - here in the “real
world” - to lead better lives.
In the movies, Yoda is one of the main sources of Jedi wisdom, and I’d like to explore
four of his ideas in this video and back them up with similar philosophical concepts that
we can find in Buddhism and Stoicism.
Warning: this video contains some minor spoilers.
Now, let’s dive in.
(1) Detachment sets us free.
When we attach ourselves to people or things, the consequence is that we become afraid to
lose them.
That’s why it’s important to dissolve our fears by cultivating a healthy detachment
rather than clinging to what we encounter during our lifetimes.
This is a main Buddhist concept, and with Star Wars creator George Lucas, being a “Buddhist
Methodist,” it’s no surprise that his epic space opera has many Buddhist influences.
An essential part of the Star Wars plotline is the romantic love affair between Anakin
Skywalker and Padmé.
Anakin, who’s destined to become a Jedi, falls head over heels in love with Padmé,
leading to a secret relationship in which he builds an unhealthy attachment to her.
The reason for this secrecy is that romantic love is not permitted within the Jedi order,
because it’s a birthplace for strong attachments with all dangers that come from them.
In a way, we can compare their approach with monastics from many traditions, whose abstinence
from romantic love is an integral part of their spiritual path.
Anakin is unable to regulate his feelings for Padmé and preventing his separation from
her becomes his main focus.
When he suffers from visions about the future accompanied by a fear of loss, Yoda gently
teaches him the dangers of attachment.
“Attachment leads to jealousy.
The shadow of greed, that is,” Yoda tells him.
This teaching was the cornerstone of what turned out to be the greatest tragedy of the
story; that Anakin turns to the dark side because of his immense fear to lose the person
he’s attached to the most.
According to Yoda, the solution that sets us free from the sufferings that attachment
causes is simple: “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.”
Unfortunately, Anakin fails to do so.
Despite his immense strength, he isn’t strong enough to conquer his desires, which eventually
leads him astray.
(2) Equanimity is key (but not the end goal).
The Jedi are the protectors of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic.
Becoming a Jedi takes great sacrifice; they are selfless and in service of other people.
Therefore, there’s isn’t room for them to concern themselves with a number of things.
“Adventure.
Excitement.
A Jedi craves not these things,” Yoda says to Luke.
Even though people may feel attracted to the Jedi lifestyle because of excitement and adventure;
these are not the things a Jedi is after.
According to Wookiepedia, it’s quite the contrary and I quote:
“Adhering to a doctrine that favored the light side of the Force, the Jedi aspired
to attain a state of inner tranquility through calmness and meditation while avoiding emotions
affiliated with the dark side of the Force, such as anger and hatred.
Nevertheless, Jedi philosophy did not forbid a Jedi from acting in self-defense or in the
defense of others.”
End quote.
This combination of equanimity and the struggle for good that shapes ‘the way of the Jedi’,
reminds one of a Stoic concept called ‘eudaimonia’.
Even though inner tranquility is part of this, the goal is the pursuit of virtue.
So, the Jedi actually have a very Stoic mindset.
In the movies, we can see this pursuit of equanimity often, by the meditation and mindfulness
exercises that the Jedi engage in.
This also protects them from the dark side, because being mindful means that we can more
easily detect when problematic emotions start to creep up on us.
(3) Fear leads us into darkness.
Probably the most famous quote by Yoda is this one: “Fear is the path to the dark side.
Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering.”
Now, I think it’s a good idea to analyze this quote a bit further, looking at the story
of Anakin and Padmé.
Yoda already sensed a vulnerability in Anakin’s heart when he was younger, and initially did
not see him fit for Jedi training.
However, his fellow Jedi Qui-Gon was so impressed by Anakin’s power, that he insisted to train him.
Anakin’s background is traumatic.
He grows up as a slave on desert planet Tatooine with his mother Shmi.
He doesn’t have a father and experiences his mother dying in his arms when he’s a
young man.
Because of these events, he develops a fear of abandonment.
This fear strongly manifests when he is romantically involved with Padmé, and he suffers from
an ongoing fear of losing her, which he often dreams of.
Yoda tells him that the future, at the end of the day, is uncertain and that he should
be careful when sensing the future.
This is profound.
When we look at it, the future is not only the domain of death and decay of ourselves
and those around us, it’s also the source of all anxieties we have.
Anakin, in this case, becomes obsessed with the future, and he desires to control it,
so he can assure himself that he won’t be separated from Padmé.
This is impossible of course.
Because of his fear of separation, Anakin also develops feelings of resentment towards
everything that he perceives as a threat.
The Emperor, who embodies the dark side in this story, sees Anakin’s fear as an opportunity
to seduce him to the dark side, so he can use him as a puppet.
Slowly, we see how fear becomes Anakin’s master, and that many problematic emotions
arise along the way.
This includes his anger towards his friend Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Eventually, Anakin accuses Obi-Wan of turning Padmé against him and, eventually, he tells
him that he hates him.
He doesn’t just hate Obi-Wan, but the entire Jedi Order that he sees as an obstacle to
reach his goal.
“In the end, cowards are those who follow the dark side,” says Yoda, which is true.
Because those who follow the dark side are led by fear, which is, in essence, the definition
of a coward.
(4) Darkness will consume us.
Now, it seems that many people are blind when it comes to the risks of following the path
of darkness.
This path is seductive, easy, and often doesn’t require much mental discipline.
It’s more attuned with our animalistic side, our passions and our will to dominate.
It’s undeniable that this path can lead to boundless pleasure, but there’s also
a price to pay when we choose this direction.
“Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you
it will,” Yoda says.
In Buddhism, there’s a concept called Samsara which means the cycle of life and death, which
is a process full of suffering.
Part of this suffering is desire, aversion and also ignorance.
When we’re constantly led by our cravings, our aversion, and operate in a state of ignorance,
we’ll move to the lowest regions of samsara, also known as hell, in which we suffer deeply.
Similarly, the Stoics have their definition of ‘vice’.
They divide it into foolishness, injustice, cowardice & intemperance,
and following the path of vice leads to suffering.
We see this descend into suffering with Anakin Skywalker, who slowly turns more miserable
during his pursuit of power.
The tragic reality is that no matter how strong and powerful he becomes: he’ll never have
full control over his fate.
We can see that he offers more and more of himself to reach an impossible goal, which
only generates more suffering.
When Padmé dies, the Emperor tells Anakin that he killed her in his anger, which isn’t
entirely true.
But this creates enormous grief, and also a form of ‘toxic guilt’ within Anakin
which makes him even easier to control.
So, darkness will not only harm ourselves but those around us as well.
It will lead to destruction, and this destruction will contribute to our suffering in return.
To wrap it up...
The Jedi are a fictional group, but their wisdom is profound, and effectively expressed
by the character of Yoda.
A story like Star Wars may seem insignificant to some, but it contains a valuable message
for humanity.
We are a powerful species with the ability to destroy our planet with the push on a button.
Therefore, it’s extra important to, as the Stoics would say, keep our faculty in order.
Yoda is aware of the dangers of an untrained mind and rampant problematic emotions, and
if we don’t take care of our mental hygiene, we are at risk to slide away into darkness.
Looking at the ever-growing might of our species, being led by our animalistic desires, our
anger, our hate, is a recipe for disaster.
Thank you for watching.