Tao's Chambers - Jedi Self-development

Tao's Chambers - The Ring of Power

A discussion on the attainment and pursuit of ultimate power and how that ultimately corrupts.

Change -Swimming up the Waterfall

There’s a legend in Chinese Mythology that if a koi fish swims up a waterfall, it’ll become a dragon. Looking at what this entails for our own lives, what must we do to swim up that waterfall? What do we need to come to face to find it in ourselves to be able to swim up that waterfall? Reflection? Introspection? Tenacity?

Some koi may not ever have the desire to become dragons… they remain koi fish their whole lives without ever taking up the challenge to swim up that waterfall.

Think of the waterfall as the adversities in life… what must we do and what does it take to swim up that waterfall? In the koi fish is the potential to become a dragon. To take on the title of a dragon, one must embody what a dragon is.

What about what gets us up that waterfall? Might it be the choices we make? What about what pushes us to do it? Waterfalls are difficult to swim up, everyone has some waterfall they have to climb up in one way or another. Think of something difficult in life, how did you get up that waterfall, how did you address it? The koi must have the strength to find within them that leap of faith, and what is it they’ll discover in that time of climbing that waterfall? Strength, understanding, and experience are required to gain the strength to become the dragon.

Is one ready to swim up a waterfall? Not everyone is… we don’t see dragons very often. We have mountains to climb, a different referance but the same topic. What must one do and face with climbing a mountain?

How have you applied this knowledge to the Jedi Path and/or how do you plan to?

Change

Knighthood & Accountability

What example are you setting within the becoming when it comes to Knighthood? One of the responsibilities of a Knight is holding yourself accountable for where you’re not following through and addressing it. The principles we live by and the codes play a part in this. Recognition can be a part of being a knight, but in solely seeking the recognition, what does one actually gain? When one becomes a Knight they must ask themselves if they’re willing to stick to the principles and character of a Knight.

If you’re a Knight, did you think about knowing your motives and reasons for becoming a Knight in the first place? What was your reason for stepping up to that role you’ve taken on?

The character of a Knight involves leadership and that means one has to make hard decisions. Discomfort can play a part in this, and taking on that role, not everyone’s going to like what you have to say. Knights uphold character and integrity, and to leave that behind after obtaining the title means you’re no longer living the life of a Knight. It is the continuous growth and learning, the mistakes and adversities we face in gaining more knowledge.

Don’t become a Knight for false humility in becoming a Knight just to show off and not actually live by it. Don’t point out a title to point out justifications for your behavior, show you’re a Knight by action -not by becoming defensive in your words and falling back on your title to prove something, and if you do something wrong, take accountability for your actions. In being a Knight, you continuously learn and look at what’s difficult to face in continuous growth. Accountability is important for understanding ourselves and our part in what we do and helps develop character, practicing compassion and empathy in this is important.

Knights are representations of the training they’ve undergone, those who’ve trained them, and the broader Jedi community. In this, respect in action, and integrity and character in how we carry on that legacy are necessary. The titles are given because people have seen that “this is going to be a quality Knight,” but a Knight should make a consistent effort in upholding being a Knight and holding to their principles.

How willing have you been, or are you in accepting those roles?

Tao's Chambers - Autonomy, Environments, and Jedi Conduct

There are unwanted things that we do unknowingly. When we have the examples set in front of us, growing up, home environments, and crowds we’re a part of… don’t let us say what we need to say due to upbringing. We keep finding ourselves in situations with people, where when we need to speak up we don’t have the courage because in the past we were told to not say anything repetitively. It’s become an ingrained thought, behavior, and practice. How we express ourselves, might respond, or carry conditioned behaviors throughout our lives. We keep repeating this cycle of doing things we don’t understand, and it can harm our lives in ways we didn’t want in the first place. Acknowledging this is the hardest step, but where acknowledging that learned or conditioned behavior and being conflicted in what we should do in that… and then we say nothing and regret. The moment we recognize what we need to do is where the work starts.

This can be many things… how we talk to or manipulate people, or maybe what we say and how, or habits we pick up. Over time we’ll discover things about ourselves that we’ve been avoiding.

Discomfort, and avoiding letting go of what we’re holding onto thinking it’s a part of ourselves. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable could be something different from what we know and what’s better for us. How can we stop residing only in what’s comfortable and avoid letting go? How can we step away from things that are keeping us from moving forward in what we do? The Sith codes mention breaking the chains that bind, have you ever thought that those chains were the things that held us back from improving, the making of excuses instead of becoming more powerful over what controlled us? This is in solving our own problems and doing the work, not in the search for power and chaos.

Attitude, Perspective, Perception, and Truth

Passion & Principles

How can passions to help others blind us, and steer us away from our principles? Having good principles initially, and staying grounded in that… how can being ambitious in our efforts cause us to lose sight of that? If our mission drives us in what we’re doing and we get caught up in that, leaving our principles behind, we can get tied up in it, and become something we were fighting not to become. How can losing objectivity obscure us from keeping to our principles? How can self-honesty keep us from falling into this?

How can we lead by example through actions rather than speech?

Tao's Chambers - Principles & Intentions

Hidden agendas and misleading people can turn away people from the Jedi community. Passion in some ways is a good thing, but it can also corrupt us. People who have their principles in order, and their character with their morals and ethics with good intentions… there can be times that individuals can get corrupted and take advantage of individuals who are highly trusting. What is the difference between teaching on principles -vs- ideologies? What harm can be caused by a teaching of ideologies, and how can the intentions and passions of the people behind such teachings drive this?

Tao's Chambers - Character & What We Hold Ourselves To

We listed quotes anonymously to respect the privacy of those who responded to our original post.

"By cultivating inner character, people could influence events but still accord with the greater of the Tao. Thus, the inner-outer dichotomy was involved. This school of thought and practice became later known as Taoism." -The Tao of Zen by Ray Grigg.

Reflection:

How does inner character affect our outer action and decisions?

How are the principle and moral aspects of character (the things you hold yourself to) influenced by your understanding of the Jedi Path?

How does our understanding of morality affect the inner and outer representation of self?

Tao's Chambers - Grey Jedi