Gservo
29th May 2002, 04:21 AM
Suite101 has a lengthy new article on the Force of Star Wars. Here's a clip:
The concept of the Force is one of the richest in Star Wars. It is defined as a mystical energy field that is generated by the act of living itself, and its flow serves to penetrate the very fabric of the galaxy, binding everything together. Certain beings can even attune themselves with it, and their direction of its energies manifest in the twin potentialities of the light and dark sides.
In the first of the prequels, The Phantom Menace, the Force is opened up to even more interpretation. Two more aspects of the one energy are developed, one being the Unifying Force, and the other being the Living. According to creator George Lucas, the former has to do with destiny and purpose, while the latter involves intuition, spontaneity, and empathy with all living creatures. Though the Jedi Council emphasizes the Unifying Force, others such as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn champion the Living, and this article deals with why this is so.
To begin with, the Living Force is first and foremost about being in the present moment. This sounds like a simple thing, yet it is anything but. Just as Yoda criticizes Luke Skywalker for, we too spend most of our lives everywhere by where we actually are, anxiously peeking over time's shoulders, trying to get a glimpse of the future. Of course, just as a horizon will recede when one attempts to chase it down, so will the future get farther and farther away, which is no doubt why even the Jedi cannot accurately predict it.
At the beginning of The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon instructs his Padawan learner, a certain Obi-Wan Kenobi, to "keep [his] concentration here and now, where it belongs." This is sound advice, and not just for Jedi apprentices. A person incapable of living in the present is not really living at all. Yet so much of our time is spent actively doing and planning, we are not very good at simply being. In contrast, the Jedi talk about learning to quiet the mind, because once one does this, the world looks incredibly interesting, with previously unseen levels of texture and resonance.
It is unfortunate that religion is often used in much the same way as a carrot perpetually dangling in front of a donkey in order to get him to pull a heavy cart. It is built on the promise of future reward. Yet another just as valid way of experiencing the spiritual life is to realize the true bliss that is right now. Along these lines, the Zen poet Wu-men Hui-K'ai proclaimed that "one instant is eternity; eternity is the now." And this is the essence of the Living Force.
From this point of view, the normally sharp division between the natural world and the supernatural one is blunted. Quite simply, just as the philosophy of Zen has been defined as your "everyday mind," the Jedi Masters who follow the Living Force live in the real world. This is very apparent with Qui-Gon, who looks quite at home in the quaint Skywalker hovel on Tatooine, and spends a lot of time with his hands on someone's shoulders, constantly reaching out to everyone around him. Such mystics are far from otherworldly or untouchable.
It is interesting that the midichlorians - the cellular life forms that act as conduits of the Force - caused such a controversy. Many fans argued that they reduced the spiritual side of the saga to mere biology. But what's wrong with biology? In the real world, matter and energy are two sides of the same thing. And after all, since the physical world creates the Force, it only makes sense it would be inseparable from it. It all really depends on perspective. For instance, medieval religious art in Europe usually features otherworldly scenes of heavens and angels, yet Asian religious art by Chinese painters simply features pictures of trees and mountains. In the latter, matter and spirit are not totally distinct.
The concept of the Force is one of the richest in Star Wars. It is defined as a mystical energy field that is generated by the act of living itself, and its flow serves to penetrate the very fabric of the galaxy, binding everything together. Certain beings can even attune themselves with it, and their direction of its energies manifest in the twin potentialities of the light and dark sides.
In the first of the prequels, The Phantom Menace, the Force is opened up to even more interpretation. Two more aspects of the one energy are developed, one being the Unifying Force, and the other being the Living. According to creator George Lucas, the former has to do with destiny and purpose, while the latter involves intuition, spontaneity, and empathy with all living creatures. Though the Jedi Council emphasizes the Unifying Force, others such as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn champion the Living, and this article deals with why this is so.
To begin with, the Living Force is first and foremost about being in the present moment. This sounds like a simple thing, yet it is anything but. Just as Yoda criticizes Luke Skywalker for, we too spend most of our lives everywhere by where we actually are, anxiously peeking over time's shoulders, trying to get a glimpse of the future. Of course, just as a horizon will recede when one attempts to chase it down, so will the future get farther and farther away, which is no doubt why even the Jedi cannot accurately predict it.
At the beginning of The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon instructs his Padawan learner, a certain Obi-Wan Kenobi, to "keep [his] concentration here and now, where it belongs." This is sound advice, and not just for Jedi apprentices. A person incapable of living in the present is not really living at all. Yet so much of our time is spent actively doing and planning, we are not very good at simply being. In contrast, the Jedi talk about learning to quiet the mind, because once one does this, the world looks incredibly interesting, with previously unseen levels of texture and resonance.
It is unfortunate that religion is often used in much the same way as a carrot perpetually dangling in front of a donkey in order to get him to pull a heavy cart. It is built on the promise of future reward. Yet another just as valid way of experiencing the spiritual life is to realize the true bliss that is right now. Along these lines, the Zen poet Wu-men Hui-K'ai proclaimed that "one instant is eternity; eternity is the now." And this is the essence of the Living Force.
From this point of view, the normally sharp division between the natural world and the supernatural one is blunted. Quite simply, just as the philosophy of Zen has been defined as your "everyday mind," the Jedi Masters who follow the Living Force live in the real world. This is very apparent with Qui-Gon, who looks quite at home in the quaint Skywalker hovel on Tatooine, and spends a lot of time with his hands on someone's shoulders, constantly reaching out to everyone around him. Such mystics are far from otherworldly or untouchable.
It is interesting that the midichlorians - the cellular life forms that act as conduits of the Force - caused such a controversy. Many fans argued that they reduced the spiritual side of the saga to mere biology. But what's wrong with biology? In the real world, matter and energy are two sides of the same thing. And after all, since the physical world creates the Force, it only makes sense it would be inseparable from it. It all really depends on perspective. For instance, medieval religious art in Europe usually features otherworldly scenes of heavens and angels, yet Asian religious art by Chinese painters simply features pictures of trees and mountains. In the latter, matter and spirit are not totally distinct.