Star Wars Episode Two Attack of the Clones (2002) — III: Lazy Fetishization
*SPOILERS*
Weeb Ass Buddhism
Meditation with No Goal
The Jedi appear to have no equivalent of nirvana/enlightenment yet still engage in meditation. In the Zen tradition that Lucas vaguely appears to be parodying, meditation without a clear focus on nirvana is how you end up in Makyo, the realm of demons. A dramatic way to make the point that it is a mental state characterized by a focus on experience rather than the ultimate goal of transcending suffering.
You might argue that Jedi can become force ghosts which can be construed as the goal, and that’s fine (even though most Jedi don’t know about this technique), but that’s not Buddhism, because it presupposes a soul that would continue after death and it precludes an attachment to the experience of being alive, rather than accepting life’s impermanence. Segment III of Episode One Essay explains why these contradictions between Abrahamic theology and Buddhism annoy me.
Incidentally there are many schools of thought that embrace the existence of a soul/self and use meditation as the vehicle to inquire as to its nature. However they’re not Buddhist and don’t fit Lucas’s generic samurai pop tropes so he’d probably never heard of them. If he would’ve reframed Jedi theology around Hinduism then he actually might have been able to find relatively natural ways to integrate it with his Methodist Christianity.
Because Lucas doesn’t appear to understand the goal of meditation the act of meditation itself is mischaracterized. I’m thinking of when Kenobi comes to Yoda seeking advice on some galactic developments (forgetting the specifics) and Yoda responds, “On this meditate I will,” as well as advising him to “clear your mind and meditate about this” on another occasion. That’s not how meditation works. You don’t meditate for the purpose of analysis since it either involves clearing your mind (actively preventing thought of any kind from happening) or passively dropping back into the effortless posture of a mindful observer, again refraining from the effort of directed analysis.
Non-violence (Unless it Looks Cool on Screen)
The Jedi avoid killing living things, instead opting to increase suffering in the galaxy by crippling and maiming. Honestly not a problem because there are definitely schools of thought throughout the history of Buddhism that inhabited the same paradox, but worth pointing out.
And even then Jedi won’t kill, unless they’re on Geonosis in which case they’ll Freddy-Krueger any of those bug aliens on sight despite their obvious intelligence and self awareness. There’s actually an argument to justify this under some schools of Buddhist thought, relying on the premise of non-duality and non-self, neither of which the Jedi acknowledge, though. (By the way these schools of thought are fucking awesome, even including pantheons of duality-transcending bodhisattvas like the wrathful buddhas, which include Mahakala, the coolest one).
Aright, I’m (almost) done bitching.
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Star Wars Episode One Essay —
Star Wars Episode Two Essay —
III: Lazy Fetishization
Star Wars Episode Three Essay —
Star Wars Prequels Overview Essay —
