KOTOR Files: Jedi Wisdom

While these quotes are uncredited, savvy readers may be able to identify both canon and expanded universe sources. For the purposes of role-playing, these quotes are uncredited because, essentially, they have their roots in traditional Jedi teachings.

The Jedi 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.

Wisdom from Force users

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them not. Miss them not. Attachment leads to jealousy. That is the shadow of greed.

A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind.

Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi craves not these things.

You must name your fear before you can banish it.

Wars do not make one great.

A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.

While it is true that a Jedi uses his power only for defense, never for attack, it is equally true that a Jedi must nevertheless prepare with great vigilance, for only the Force knows when you may face your greatest battle.

If you can't win, there are alternatives to fighting.

Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled, but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love, that's what they should teach you to beware, but love itself will save, not condemn you.

Don't start thinking this war, your war, is more important than any other war just because you're in it.

A Jedi needs more than mere bravery ... over-confidence has been the undoing of many a seasoned warrior.

Being a Jedi will involve making such life and death choices. You'll have to face terrible ordeals. It is very easy to become trapped into a corner with nowhere to go.

The Jedi do not believe in killing their prisoners...What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them?

It is only through interaction, through decision and choice, through confrontation, physical or mental, that the Force can grow within you.

Jedi do not fight for peace. That's only a slogan, and is as misleading as slogans always are. Jedi fight for civilization, because only civilization creates peace. We fight for justice because justice is the fundamental bedrock of civilization: an unjust civilization is built upon sand. It does not long survive a storm.

The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The Force is the blade of the heart. All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi.

I wear my robe so that I am warm; I carry my lightsaber so that I am safe; and I keep enough credits for my next meal, so that I am not hungry. If the Force wants me to have more, it finds a way of letting me know.

Learn to recognize when speed is not important. Race when being first is important; move at your own pace at all other times. It is not necessary to always strike the first blow, to provide the first solution, or to reach a goal before anyone else does. In fact, it is sometimes vital to strike the last blow, to give the final answer, or to arrive after everyone else.

Overconfident thinking is flawed because the Jedi does not take all possibilities into account. He may understand the task at hand, the support of his fellows, and the ramifications of his success, and he may have even planned for unanticipated factors - but he has failed to understand his own capabilities. He has planned only for success, because he has concluded that there can be no failure. Every Jedi, in every task, should prepare for the possibility of failure.

Do not see a lightsaber duel as a choice between winning and losing. Every duel can have many, many outcomes. When you concentrate solely on winning - in lightsaber duels as in everything else - you sully your victory. Winning becomes worse than losing. It is better to lose than to win badly. And it is always better to end a duel peacefully than to win or lose.

When a Jedi behaves badly in public, an observer might think, 'If this Jedi is a representative of the whole Order, then plainly no Jedi is worth respect.' On meeting a second Jedi, who behaves better than the first, that same person might think, 'Does this say that half the Jedi are good, and half bad?' On meeting a third Jedi, who behaves as well as the second, the person thinks, 'Was the first Jedi an exception, then?' In this way, only by the good behavior of several Jedi can the public be certain that the poor behavior of one Jedi was unusual. Thus, it takes many Jedi to undo the mistakes of one.

A Jedi is a Jedi, first and foremost, and only. For a Jedi to divide his attention between the will of the Force and the will of others is to invite disaster.