Var George Lucas inspirerad av Buddhisms filosofi eller annan filosofi för att skriva Star Wars Scripts?

Det verkar som om han tog referenser från alla religioner och sammanfogade sig i filmen.

Från Bill Moyers intervju med George Lucas ,

Bill Moyers: Have you been influenced by Buddhism, because “Star Wars” came along just about the time there was this growing interest in America in Eastern religions, and I — and I notice in “The Phantom Menace,” the new Episode One, that they discover this slave child who has a — an aura about him. And it reminded me of — how the Buddhists go out to look for the next Dalai Lama.

George Lucas: Mm-hmm. Well, there’s a — again, a mixture of all kinds of — of mythology and religious beliefs that have been amalgamated into the movie, and I’ve tried to take the ideas that seem to cut across the most cultures, because I’m fascinated by that and I think that’s one of the things that I really got from Joe Campbell, was that — what he was trying to do is find the common threads through the various mythology, through the — the religions.

Även Lucas avvisar detta och berättar att styrkan har kärnan i alla religioner, men kraften och dess övertygelser verkar ha närmaste likhet med buddhismen.

Från MoviePilot-artikeln ,

The biggest link lies with two aspects of the Jedi religion; mindfulness (the act of being present) and meditation. These are the two cornerstones of Buddhism, a faith which is built on the principals of looking within at the True Self, that introversion is the key to enlightenment, and that the practice of mindfulness opens the heart and mind.

Baserat på böckerna från Nick Jamilla Shimmering Sword: Samurai, Western, and Star Wars Sword Fighting och Sword Fighting in the Star Wars Universe: Historical Origins, Style and Philosophy

Jedi är starkt baserade på samurais både i deras roll som samhällsskyddare och "pacifistiska" passiva handlingar som ses i judo eller aikido. Tänk på att eftersom båda dessa kampsportstilar är ganska moderna på 70-talet i USA så "såldes de" som forntida japanska. Förmodligen att presentera Japan som lugn nation och inte stötande en form WWII.