not a new comparison of course

my jedi and tibetan buddhist tradition comparison is not new of course, in fact a zen practitioner named matthew bortolin wrote an entire book about this comparison titled the dharma of star wars.

he writes from a zen perspective though. all dharmas lead to the same kind of enlightenment they say, but i think the references to the force in star wars are more of a tibetan buddhist presentation. the tibetan form of buddhism uses the idea of subtle energy below thought and emotion that is the root of pre-conceptual wisdom, and some tibetan lineages also say that it is truly existent. that last part about existence might be where they are most critiqued by other buddhist sects and other lineages in tibet, who feel that goes too far toward hinduism - by claiming existence they say that the subtle energy below thought and emotion would then be an undying form of soul or atman. these sects would then defend their view by saying that it is not soul or atman, but treating that energy as existent is less about absolute view and more about relative training to avoid the trap of nihilism when studying the impermanent nature of all phenomenon. it therefore leads to a skillful route to the direct experience of phenomenon without elaboration for some people. but that debate rages on…

i suspect though my mapping of “the force” to the five wisdom energies in buddhist tantra is perhaps too much of a stretch, but the way the force is depicted in the movies is somewhat consistent. luke is told, “reach out with your feelings” and the subtleness of the feelings in general are discussed. we often see yoda in meditation to connect with it, or the jedi must relax or stop to contemplate their feeling of the force. ok, i’ll stop with the comparison there, but it’s been a fun contemplation.

CORRECTION: No Tibetan lineages actually say “truly existent” I’ve discovered, for the subtle energy below existence. Some do discuss that as a stepping stone to going beyond the extreme of existent and non-existent. But ultimately they seem to agree that nothing has been found to be truly existent.

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