Stop Saying Star Wars is Buddhist or Taoist
I watched 
attackfish have a conversation on Tumblr about good/evil dualism in the Star Wars franchise and was amused that her interlocutor was denying such dualism existed in the series. As Fish and I discussed afterward, it is sometimes hard for people who live in a dominant thought system like the Christian duality to recognize that a) they actually subscribe to a very specific and non-universal worldview, and b) this view colors how they view everything else, because that’s what a worldview does.
Fish has a good breakdown in the linked thread on why the Jewish concept of yetzer hara does not map to the Dark Side of the Force as portrayed in the franchise. She also referenced poorly understood Buddhist and Taoist concepts, and as she pointed out, ideas from Buddhism and Taoism used in Star Wars are heavily distorted by a strict moral dualism that is alien to these traditions.
The core of Buddhist thought is that the source of all suffering is attachment to earthly things. The fact that Lucas ran with this to “attachment leads to evil!” is a testament to the franchise’s deep, deep basis in Christian dualist thought. No, actually, people don’t turn into mass murderers because they love too much and not wisely. They commit mass murder because they made the wrong choice.
Attachment as used in Buddhism isn’t love; it’s identifying yourself with external things, like approval and validation, to the extent that you no longer have a self. It’s being codependent because you have no idea who you are outside of that relationship. It’s seeing no worth in yourself unless you’ve met certain milestones or achieved certain things. It’s the insidious cycle where you’ll still see no worth in yourself even if you’ve achieved these things. It’s the inability to see a self beyond these external things that the world teaches you are the only metrics that count. None of these is the same thing as slaughtering children, because you make a choice to do evil and not because you love your mom and your wife too much.
The identification of worldly attachment with Dark Side = evil and enlightenment with Light Side = good isn’t actually a Buddhist idea, it’s the barest semblance of Buddhist thought stuffed into an overriding framework of Christian dualist thought.
The same goes for the reference to Taoist concepts of wu wei (無爲／无为) and the yin/yang dynamic. Wu wei is about living without pretense and as part of nature without trying to police social conventions of goodness and propriety. Wu wei is how you follow the Way, the Tao, which is like water following its own course and inclination instead of being dammed or reversed.
Wu wei is in fact the exact opposite of the kind of good/evil divide and dramatic fall/redemption arcs you see in Star Wars, which are distinctly Christian in nature. Wu wei doesn’t mean “stand up to evil by being spiritual and mythical woooo,” it means “chill the hell out and stop striving to fight evil and promote good, because that’s a construction in your own mind and you’ll end up doing more harm that way.” Taoist thought doesn’t exist in the same framework of absolute good and evil like Christianity and Star Wars.
The yin and yang dynamic, also an idea associated with if not originating from Taoism, is similarly an extremely poor fit for the Dark and Light sides of the Force. Yin isn’t about being evil or committing war crimes; in fact, the kind of aggression and violence the Dark Side favors is yang ascendant, while the kind of quiet waiting and watching that Yoda counsels Luke to do is more of a yin approach. It just goes to show the power of basic cultural assumptions that people living in a Christian-derived civilization hear “Yin is darkness and shadows-” and go “Ooh, dark! Evil!”
To clarify, I have zero problems with Christian moral dualism or with Star Wars using that dualism. I do have a problem with people distorting concepts from my culture to make Star Wars seem “deep” and “philosophical.” Because Asian philosophy is extra-specially profound and spiritual, right? Eye roll.
Face it, Western Star Wars fans, your franchise isn’t based on Asian philosophy. It’s a quintessentially Euro-American and Christian story of the conflict between good and evil, and it’s perfectly enjoyable as such. There’s no need to bastardize concepts from other cultures trying to make Star Wars seem profound or spiritual. You don’t have to, because Christianity is-surprise!-also a spirituality and one associated with respected philosophical traditions. And Asian ideas are no more ornaments to make yourselves seem smart and hip than Asian people are.
(Originally posted on Tumblr. Yeah, I believe they have an app for that now.)
Dreamwidth entry URL: http://ljlee.dreamwidth.org/67138.html
attackfish have a conversation on Tumblr about good/evil dualism in the Star Wars franchise and was amused that her interlocutor was denying such dualism existed in the series. As Fish and I discussed afterward, it is sometimes hard for people who live in a dominant thought system like the Christian duality to recognize that a) they actually subscribe to a very specific and non-universal worldview, and b) this view colors how they view everything else, because that’s what a worldview does.
Fish has a good breakdown in the linked thread on why the Jewish concept of yetzer hara does not map to the Dark Side of the Force as portrayed in the franchise. She also referenced poorly understood Buddhist and Taoist concepts, and as she pointed out, ideas from Buddhism and Taoism used in Star Wars are heavily distorted by a strict moral dualism that is alien to these traditions.
The core of Buddhist thought is that the source of all suffering is attachment to earthly things. The fact that Lucas ran with this to “attachment leads to evil!” is a testament to the franchise’s deep, deep basis in Christian dualist thought. No, actually, people don’t turn into mass murderers because they love too much and not wisely. They commit mass murder because they made the wrong choice.
Attachment as used in Buddhism isn’t love; it’s identifying yourself with external things, like approval and validation, to the extent that you no longer have a self. It’s being codependent because you have no idea who you are outside of that relationship. It’s seeing no worth in yourself unless you’ve met certain milestones or achieved certain things. It’s the insidious cycle where you’ll still see no worth in yourself even if you’ve achieved these things. It’s the inability to see a self beyond these external things that the world teaches you are the only metrics that count. None of these is the same thing as slaughtering children, because you make a choice to do evil and not because you love your mom and your wife too much.
The identification of worldly attachment with Dark Side = evil and enlightenment with Light Side = good isn’t actually a Buddhist idea, it’s the barest semblance of Buddhist thought stuffed into an overriding framework of Christian dualist thought.
The same goes for the reference to Taoist concepts of wu wei (無爲／无为) and the yin/yang dynamic. Wu wei is about living without pretense and as part of nature without trying to police social conventions of goodness and propriety. Wu wei is how you follow the Way, the Tao, which is like water following its own course and inclination instead of being dammed or reversed.
Wu wei is in fact the exact opposite of the kind of good/evil divide and dramatic fall/redemption arcs you see in Star Wars, which are distinctly Christian in nature. Wu wei doesn’t mean “stand up to evil by being spiritual and mythical woooo,” it means “chill the hell out and stop striving to fight evil and promote good, because that’s a construction in your own mind and you’ll end up doing more harm that way.” Taoist thought doesn’t exist in the same framework of absolute good and evil like Christianity and Star Wars.
The yin and yang dynamic, also an idea associated with if not originating from Taoism, is similarly an extremely poor fit for the Dark and Light sides of the Force. Yin isn’t about being evil or committing war crimes; in fact, the kind of aggression and violence the Dark Side favors is yang ascendant, while the kind of quiet waiting and watching that Yoda counsels Luke to do is more of a yin approach. It just goes to show the power of basic cultural assumptions that people living in a Christian-derived civilization hear “Yin is darkness and shadows-” and go “Ooh, dark! Evil!”
To clarify, I have zero problems with Christian moral dualism or with Star Wars using that dualism. I do have a problem with people distorting concepts from my culture to make Star Wars seem “deep” and “philosophical.” Because Asian philosophy is extra-specially profound and spiritual, right? Eye roll.
Face it, Western Star Wars fans, your franchise isn’t based on Asian philosophy. It’s a quintessentially Euro-American and Christian story of the conflict between good and evil, and it’s perfectly enjoyable as such. There’s no need to bastardize concepts from other cultures trying to make Star Wars seem profound or spiritual. You don’t have to, because Christianity is-surprise!-also a spirituality and one associated with respected philosophical traditions. And Asian ideas are no more ornaments to make yourselves seem smart and hip than Asian people are.
(Originally posted on Tumblr. Yeah, I believe they have an app for that now.)
Dreamwidth entry URL: http://ljlee.dreamwidth.org/67138.html