To All Masters and Knights of the Order on Earth
As the events that led to the presence of the Force in our native universe revealed to the High Council certain flaws and issues within the standard code of conduct and set of traditions that have been followed since the Ruusaan Reformation, it was decided that the newest branch of the Order—specifically, our own—be the first to adopt new practices of conduct, teaching, and study as devised by Masters Skywalker, Kenobi, Windu and Yoda. The wording is mine. Read this list and know it well—what you teach your padawans is what they will teach future generations, and since traditions are inevitable it's important that we make sure those traditions will be the right ones.
MAJOR CHANGES:
1.) THE RULE AGAINST ROMANTIC ATTACHMENTS HAS BEEN REVOKED—on the condition that both you and your loved one recognize that your first duty will always be to serve peace and justice as a member of the Order. Soldiers, policemen, and government agents all have to keep similar things in mind with regards to their loved ones due to the dangerous nature of their jobs—as servants of the public trust, we can't be any different in that respect. One-night-stands and non-romantic sexual engagements are still forbidden though—so either do it because you love them and they love you, or else keep it in your pants.
2.) NO MORE DOGMATISM. Due to the impossibility of preventing other orders from popping up on Earth before we're ready to reveal ourselves to the public—people aren't stupid, particularly when guys like James Randi realize there are suddenly people not faking psychic powers or some user flaunts his stuff on the evening news—we will maintain a policy of tolerance of other orders and their respective interpretations of the Force, but only so long as they do not recognize the Dark Side as a valid path. It's not. There's symbiosis, and then there's cancer. How others avoid the latter and remain in the light is up to them, and it's not for us to judge.
3.) THE PRACTICE OF MANDATORY MEMBERSHIP FOR FORCE-SENSITIVE CHILDREN AND INFANTS IS OVER. It was stupid to begin with, and we'll be implementing a method that—if successful here on Earth—will be implemented on the other side of the breach as well. Once we've revealed and established ourselves, we'll institute "Force Studies for Non-Jedi" courses in cooperation with public schools where force-sensitive children can learn how to avoid the Dark Side and to live with their gifts, yet are not taught how to utilize them. If they want to learn telekinesis, enhancement, lightsaber combat, or other stuff, they'll have to become Jedi, but other than that the option to simply live as normal a life as possible should be made available to those who don't want our life.
4.) LIGHTSABER FORM 7 (JUYO/VAAPAD) WILL NO LONGER BE TAUGHT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER. This decision was made by none other than Master Windu himself, and I agree with him. It's just too dangerous to even learn such an aggressive form, even to learn how to counter it; besides, if your own form is good enough you won't need to study others to win against them. All material we can find on it will be destroyed—the only record of its existence we will allow is that it existed and inevitably led to darkness.
5.) FORM I COMBAT (SHII-CHO) WILL BE REPLACED WITH A NEW FORM AS THE STANDARD FOR INITIAL TRAINING. As simple and basic as Shii-Cho is, it has several drawbacks—for example, its weakness against single opponents and its imprecision—and as such a new form has been developed in cooperation with some of the greatest Masters of the Order. Form 0 (name pending) will retain the simple and basic form of Shii-Cho, but be paired with the general competency and Force-technique integration of Niman to better prepare future Jedi for whatever form they choose to follow. That said, Shii-Cho will remain as a form to study, and as Master Fisto proves it's entirely possible to specialize in its use.
6.) ALL JEDI MUST BE COMBAT-READY. With regards to Niman in particular, (and lightsaber combat in general), slacking off is no longer tolerated; I don't care if it's not a style you have to work at to be competent in, if you specialize in it you are going to damn well train until you are combat-ready. Geonosis was devastating precisely because so many used Form 6 as an excuse to not train harder in combat, and we don't want to make that mistake again if we can help it. Combat-readiness in ALL forms, along with regular training to retain the highest possible standard of readiness, is now mandatory. Just because we seek peaceful solutions first and never strike the first blow doesn't mean we have to be stupid about it.
7.) WE ARE A POLITICALLY NEUTRAL AND SOVEREIGN ENTITY. It may seem extreme, but the whole tragedy with Sidious was possible because the Order tied itself too closely to the Republic to the point where it was powerless to go against it when the Republic was in the wrong, and unable to act against states such as the Hutts who committed crimes that we would otherwise have been sworn to stop. No member of the Jedi Order can participate in any political process in any kind, nor possess any political position or title, nor support any entity; the closest to participation in politics is when our oath to protect and serve demands that we act AGAINST an individual, group, entity, or nation that violates the rights and safety of innocents, and even then we have to be careful not to step on too many toes when we move.
MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES:
1.) IF YOU SEE A PALPATINE IN THE MAKING, DO YOUR BEST TO EXPOSE THEM BEFORE YOU MOVE, BUT FOR THE LOVE OF THE FORCE, MOVE—unlike with police, it doesn't need to be a smoking gun, and while we respect the privacy of individuals we operate without warrants in most cases—but if you go too fast you risk making us look like kingmakers or vigilantes. We need to maintain the public trust if we are to serve justice, so a careful balance of action versus respect for legal institutions must be maintained.
2.) WE ARE NOT INFALLIBLE. All sentients are fully capable of screwing up, and we are no different; encourage your padawans to speak up if they think there's something wrong with the way things are done, and while you should explain as best you can why things are the way they are don't dismiss their concerns out of hand, either—half the Order's biggest problems stemmed from the arrogant belief that we were somehow perfect and incapable of being stupid.
3.) WE HAVE A LICENCED PSYCHIATRIST IN OUR ORDER NOW—the Force may help, but the pressures of our role can affect anyone and sometimes we just need to unload; even Master Skywalker admitted that he might have had an easier time if a psychiatric specialist with patient/doctor confidence had been available to members of the Order. Dr. Kendall will do her best to train other Jedi in her practice and encourage formal education in such so that we'll always have a specialist on hand, but don't be afraid to consult with her for any reason; that's what she's there for. Also, with regards to members with a certain level of regular active-duty field work, mandatory psychiatric reviews will occur on a regular basis.
This list may or may not be complete, but if these new practices work here on Earth they will be implemented in the GFFA as well over time—so let's do our best to make them work, people.
~Kevin Caller, Master of the Order, Grandmaster of the Jedi Council on Earth