There is no emotion, there is peace.
This is the first line of the Jedi code. There are other versions of the Jedi code, and probably you are thinking why I have chosen the original, when others seem more accurate.
Let me explain, we all know that is impossible to live in this world without emotions; and if you say otherwise, probably you are not human. Saying that there is no emotions, is somehow living in denial of your inner self. To fully understand the meaning of the first line of the Jedi code, you have to reach to a whole new level, a level beyond words.
Let's have an example, let's use anger. I sometimes get angry, when I perceive something to be wrong, or unfair. This is something stronger than us, and we should accept it, instead of fighting it. Now, comes the tricky part, let me ask you some questions:
Is it Anger your Natural state? What is your Natural state? How can I find my natural state?
If you use meditation frequently, this is going to be easier to understand, because when you are able to observe your mind and body without judgments, and your mind is silent, or in a second plane of importance, you are closer to your natural state, so what do you feel in those times?
I feel peace, and in that state everything seems a lot easier, then I am able to look at the problem without the emotion to cloud my judgments. This does not mean i should neglect the emotion, but instead, use it as a challenge to surpass it.
So, in my opinion, what the code says is: when you are beyond emotions, you will feel at peace. Once again this is not for you to try to neglect emotions, but instead to be aware of them, so that your judgments will be an action instead of a reaction to your emotion.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
This line is a tricky one. I always had issues with this line of the code. First i thought, "this is too obvious", but lately i started to think differently...
My whole life I have been searching, thinking that there must be something more, feeling that I'm on the edge of a major discovery that will finally bring peace to my mind and heart, but lately I started to ask myself, what am i searching for? and why am i searching?
The thing is, most of us keep searching for knowledge, because in our hearts we fear ignorance. We try to learn everything we can, so that we can be prepared for whatever will happen. Truth is this search never ends. We try to find the perfect knowledge, the one that will make everything crystal clear, but that knowledge seems always a baby step away. Why? Because we are searching where it can't be found...outside ourselves.
I believe we all have the perfect knowledge inside, standing there, just waiting, and to find it we have to stop being afraid. Even if you don't realize it, the fear of ignorance is always present in your search. The simple act of search means you don't have, there is something missing. So in my opinion the code states something like this: "Don't fear ignorance, because you are the true knowledge." Ignorance is just a distorted point of view. Forget your quest for knowledge, and you will have it.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
Once again, like when talking about emotions, this line does not mean we should neglect passion. Passion can be an amazing tool, since it gives us strength in our daily life.
What the code says is to not be driven by passion. All these emotions are limited, and sooner or later they will fade. If you base your life on passion you will fade too, and you will have ups and downs all the time. Accept things as they are, live your passion too, but always remember the things that are long-lasting like the serenity that lives inside of you. Because in the end passion is just a glimpse. Passion is like a wave on the ocean. It is there, but if you go deeper, you will see it is just water. Waves come and go, they have a beginning and sooner or later, they will have an end.
We have to focus on the water, not on the wave, and the water is our inner state of serenity. We can feel it between waves, in the silence...when we just observe without judgments. I believe this line of the code is an amazing teaching, mostly about meditation, and our inner self. When we try to fight our emotions, they seem to gain an extra strength, it's almost like we are feeding them. Passion is like fire. It can make us warm when there is cold, and sometimes can even give us some light. But most of the time passion cannot be controlled, and we end up burning ourselves.
Where there is passion, you cannot have serenity. Passion is not patient, it urges you to act, to move. It can be used as a boost, but never as the fuel that moves you all the time. Serenity is like the river that flows. It sometimes is slow, but always gets to the sea.
There is no death, there is the Force.
In our daily life most people try to not think about death, and some of them even get their fingers crossed whenever they are confronted with something that reminds them the end of life as we know it. Death brings fear... fear of losing, not just our lives, but also the the lives of the ones we love, and what do we do? We fight death.
Since we were little, we learned that everything dies; and death is one of the most certain things we have in this world, but still we fight it. We react against it: every day thousands of people die, but it is ok with me if I don't know them. When I do know them, I feel like I am the only one losing someone in the world, and that nobody can understand my grief. Ok, maybe I am overreacting, but this was just an example of how some people take death to extremes, and this always brings emotions, most of the time destructive, not just to the self, but also to those around us.
Like Master Yoda says "death is a natural part of life". We all know this, but to internalize this is a lot easier said than done. So what can we do?
In my opinion, we have to do the same thing we do with emotions, feel our grief, mourn what we think is necessary, then move on. The ones we love, wouldn't like to know that we stopped living since they were gone. Everyone will lose someone sooner or later, there is no escape, no other way, so we can only live moment by moment the best way we can.
Now i have another question for you: If you lived near a spring of fresh water, would you fear to be thirsty? You probably wouldn't, because you knew the spring was just a step away. The same thing happens with this line of the code. The force is everything, it is present in everything and even when we die, we still live through the force. Nothing ceases to exist, we simply change, but we continue to be part of the force, and we always will be, because the force cannot be destroyed. Knowing this, how can we fear death? This line of the code is a reminder to use in moments where we face death.
Don't fear death or loss, because we are part of the force, So mourn the ones you lose, but always keep this line in mind.
May the Force be with you.