Source: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jedi/Legends
OVERVIEW
A Jedi was a member of the Jedi Order, who studied, served and used the mystical energies of the Force; usually, the light side of the Force. The weapon of the Jedi was the lightsaber, a weapon with a blade made of pure energy. The Jedi fought for peace and justice in the Galactic Republic, usually against their mortal enemies, the Sith and Dark Jedi, who studied the dark side of the Force.
Becoming a Jedi required the most profound commitment and astute mind; the life of a Jedi was one of sacrifice. To hinder transgression, those who showed an aptitude for the Force were taken directly from birth (or soon afterward) to train in the Jedi Temple headquarters on Coruscant or at smaller Jedi Enclaves as Padawans. From the beginning of their training, a Jedi was expected to adhere to a strict Code that included concepts such as rational thought, patience, and benevolence. Dark emotions such as hate, anger, and fear were thought to be destructive, leading down the path to the dark side of the Force, so the Jedi were taught to purge such feelings.
THE 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.
TRAINING
Children being trained as Jedi were called younglings and instructed in âclansâ by a venerable, experienced Jedi Master, learning the ways of the Jedi and the powers of the Force.
When an individual student achieved satisfactory understanding of the Jedi way, they were usually taken under the wing of another Jedi member and instructed individually to complete their training. Masters typically brought their Padawans along on missions, and later sent them on missions of their own, to allow them to gain experience and learn from practice.
Not all students were promoted to direct study as Padawan learner under a Jedi Master. In the days of the Old Republic, it was common practice for younglings who were not selected to be Padawans by the age of 13 to be shifted into one of the divisions of the public service organization, the Jedi Service Corps.
WAY OF LIFE
In following the Code, Jedi behavior was rigidly structured to uphold self-discipline, responsibility, and public service. The Jedi conquered emotions and materialism. They honored life, the law, the Order itself and the master-student relationship. Jedi rendered aid to support and defend the weak; compassion was âencouraged.â Rules of engagement included such notions as understanding the dark and light in all things, learning to see accurately, opening their eyes to what was not evident and exercising caution, even in trivial matters. Above all, Jedi upheld their duty to the Republic and embraced the Force. The Jedi before the Ruusan Reformation (approx. 1000 BBY) typically had more leeway in their dealings, as the Order was more loosely organized and the individual Knights and Masters granted greater personal freedom.
Early Jedi were known to utilize shields and armor to protect themselves in battle, and used blaster pistols as well as lightsabers in combat. Later, as the lightsaber became a more self-contained weapon without an external power pack, the Jedi chose to carry it as their sole âtoolâ of defense and offense. The lightsaber was considered more a tool than a weapon. The lightsaber came to fulfill both a symbolic and pragmatic role for the Jedi; it identified the wielder, had a powerful visual impact, and given the availability of cybernetic replacement limbs might have been seen as a more âcleanâ weapon than the blaster.
The Jedi of the pre-Reformation era, (Old Jedi Order), also do not seem to have had any formal dress code, and dressed more or less as they saw fit, although traditional robes were favored by most Masters. These included a tunic, a cloak, and sometimes a tabardâusually in varied tones and shades of white and brown, though, gray was also quite common for the overtunic. The left side of the dress was always turned on the right part of the torso. The Jedi also wore trousers, an obi, a leather utility belt, where they carried specialized field gear for their missions, and leather boots. The Jedi colors, which showed harmony with the Force, formed a stark contrast to the antithetical Sith, who were draped primarily in black.
In accordance with their philosophies of non-attachment, clothing was viewed as quite disposable. Indeed, possession itself was seen as forbidden as another form of attachment, and most Jedi lived out lives of material poverty, though the Orderâs infrastructure and the support of the Republic meant the Jedi did not lack for food, housing, or clothing.
Some time prior to the Great Sith War Jedi were forbidden to hold strong attachments, as they were believed to lead to the emotions of the dark side. For this reason, Jedi were not allowed to marry. Although Jedi were not required to be chaste as well, many Jedi were abstinent if not outright celibate, due to sex being considered self-indulgence and an unnecessary act.
Despite this, even despite this, Jedi were still known to have secret, clandestine relationships, whether with non-Jedi, or others within the Jedi Order itself. Many of these relationships did not lead to mishap. Some prior to the Great Sith War even practiced marriage and were known to have families of their own. The children of such families were often gifted in the Force. Even later in the Order, such families existedâthough the continuation of the line was through those family members who did not become Jedi.
The way of the Jedi was a life-long path, and a Jedi usually remained part of the Order their entire lifeâlearning more about the Order and the Force and following the will of the Jedi Council.
THE FORCE
The Jedi were unified by their study of the Force: an âenergy fieldâ that emanated from every living thing. The Jedi sought to understand the Force so that they could use its power to protect and aid the people that they served. The Jedi believed that the Force could be harnessed through careful study and contemplation to benefit the user and the universe around them. As they studied the light side of the Force, the Jedi encouraged their members only to use the Force for healing and defenseânever in anger or fear. However, several members of the Jedi order throughout history disagreed with this view, believing that darker uses of the Force should be embraced because they offered a quick and easy path to power, while contemplation of the light side of the Force required patience and effort. This disagreement gave rise to the Sith, the constant enemy of the Jedi.
The Jedi focused their lives on understanding and strengthening their connection, or oneness, with the Force to allow them to manipulate it as an extension of themselves (by contrast, Sith merely exercise control over the Force). This connection was increased by rigorous training and meditation to achieve a state of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual harmony, a kind of inner peace. As the path required such great discipline and may have extended a Jediâs life, most Jedi never reach their true potential. Further attempts to achieve this potential may have met with failure and caused frustration in Jedi, resulting in a lesser connection and more frustration in turn. This is the main reason why the Sith considered themselves stronger than the Jedi, for whereas they were trained to use the dark side with maximum effectiveness and power, few Jedi had shown the true limits of the light sideâs power and those who have seldom used it.
The dark side of the Force brought with it a great temptation for many Jedi; to many the dark side seemed a quicker and easier path. Pursuit of the dark side, however, was a self-destructive endeavor, and many Jedi who tasted dark powers found it harder and harder to turn away. Though some Jedi could be redeemed back to the path of the light, many fell and became Dark Jedi, some of whom became members of the Sith Order. Further, the pall of the dark side could diminish Jedi ability, clouding their insights into important matters. For these reasons, practice of dark Force powers was expressly forbidden by the Jedi Council. Those fallen to the dark side, however, the Jedi tried to save. To the Jedi, killing was a last resort. This quality was at once a strength and a weakness of the Order.
THE LIGHTSABER
The traditional Jedi weapon was the lightsaber, which, in the hands of a skilled wielder, could be deadly in combat, even against opponents armed with ranged weapons. To attain this level of skill, however, required great focus and training. Students practiced the rubrics of lightsaber combat with a remote, and children used training lightsabers. They also dueled fellow Jedi as a test of their skills.
Due to all the weight being in the hilt, the lightsaber was a difficult weapon to handle. Jedi needed heightened awareness to use the weapon well, and such conditioning helped to hone their connection to the Force. Since the binding of a lightsaberâs intricate innards and the initial charging of the power cell also required knowledge of the Force to implement, the Padawan was tasked with constructing their own lightsaber as part of their training, using a unique crystal, (such as the type found on the ice planet of Ilum, for example), that focuses the crystalâs energy thus creating the lightsaberâs blade.
Further, it was a task in itself to find components for the lightsaber. Meditation in a crystal cave on a planet such as Ilum or Dantooine would often produce an image in the Jediâs mind about the lightsaber they were to build. The construction of a lightsaber was considered a milestone on the path to Jedi Knighthood, and took on a heavily symbolic meaning.
During the times of the Old Republic, it was a customary practice for a Jedi Master to present their own personal lightsaber as a gift to their most accomplished student.
THREE PILLARS OF THE JEDI
The strength of the Jedi Code and organization of the Order rested on the three core tenets of Force, Knowledge, and Self-Discipline. Built into a Jediâs everyday life, the Coruscant Jedi Templeâs main entrance statuary was illustrative of the three pillars.
The first pillar was the Force, the constant between all things. A symbiosis of midi-chlorians and sentient beings was the key needed to be able to touch the Force, but this biological necessity was not a main focus of Jedi study. Instead, Jedi contemplated the will of the Force and the differences between its two aspects: the Unifying and Living Force.
The Pillar of Knowledge maintained that a Jediâs role in the galaxy could not be filled without intense study and accumulated wisdom. To assist in the pursuit of knowledge, the Temple was equipped with a deep well of knowledge known as the Jedi Archives. In addition to the Archives and supplementary library, the Temple contained several vaults which housed the holocrons of the Order. While an individual could never learn everything within the collection, the presiding Chief Librarian that maintained the collection would argue that it wouldnât hurt to try.
Lastly, the Pillar of Self-Discipline was rightly known as the Third Pillar. Classes on combat and physical training were not given until mastery of the first two tenets was gained. Once ready to study the art of self-discipline, students were oftentimes disappointed to learn that they would not begin intense lightsaber training, but would be encouraged to take on more stringent forms of meditation. Only after mastering oneself could an Initiate proceed to take up a lightsaber for the first time.