A/N: The Jedi Code is something a lot of people address in their fanfics because it's very strict. I decided to write why I think it's so harsh.
When I say "Jedi Code" I don't just mean the short "There is no ignorance there is knowledge" part, I think the Jedi have another, more complete, set of rules that addresses the attachment thing. So whenever Mace thinks about the Jedi Code he means the complete version with more definitive rules.
Read, review and enjoy!
Many things could be said about the Jedi Code: it was harsh, punishing, restricting. Mace Windu knew that like nobody else did. He knew just as well as Skywalker what it felt like to fall in love, to feel hate, anger and to be forced to let go of all that just because of some code- a code that seemed to forbid feeling any human emotion, that banned love and attachment and forced one to choose the life of a random civilian over the life of a friend. Unlike what most Jedi assumed, Windu was no stranger to emotion. In fact, his feelings were a lot stronger than most of the other Council members. And yet he was one of the strongest upholders of the Code in the Council, the one to give out the worst punishments for disobeying the rules. Nobody who knew him well enough to know the strength of his feelings could understand that.
The truth was, Mace Windu was the greatest supporter of the code because, and not despite, the strength of his feelings. He knew all too well the pull of the dark side, something many other Council members could not understand. He knew exactly what led to the dark side, and understood why the code was so strict. He understood why it had to be.
Most people regarded Force-sensitivity as a blessing. Windu knew that it was more like a curse.
Regular, non-Force-sensitive people could love and hate and form attachments and still remain themselves. Slightly Force-sensitive people could do the same, for the pull of the darkness was far weaker with them. Sometimes, Windu thought that those people got the best deal; using the Force to help them in their everyday lives and yet not being forced to restrict themselves to protect themselves from the Dark. The Jedi, however, could not do any of that.
Any feeling was a path to the Dark Side. Theoretically, only the negative ones could lead to falling, but every positive feeling has in it a trace of the negative. With love and attachment comes possessiveness and jealousy; with the joy of victory comes smugness and pride. Only compassion is purely light, and as that it is the only feeling that is allowed and even encouraged by the Code. The Jedi were not allowed to feel, for within every feeling there was a path for the dark side to enter.
Normal people could live normal lives with normal feelings. They could be good at heart and feel strongly at the same time. Force sensitives, however, could not. They got a choice: the light or the dark, but in fact neither of those promised a happy life. In order to remain on the light, one had to banish all feeling, while those on the dark were eventually destroyed by their own feelings (though usually not before they destroyed all that was dear to them). That was the real reason for the Code. Force-sensitivity was no gift: it was a verdict that the Force-Sensitive would never have an easy or even happy life. That was why the Jedi only served others: they could not have a good life, so they attempted to help everyone else live in peace and harmony. It was their responsibility to stay on the light and use their abilities for the sake of others. The Code did not try to make life easy for them. All it did was make sure that they wouldn't turn.
Someday, Mace thought, Jedi might learn to feel without letting the feelings destroy them. Someday, they would understand the secret that is feeling love without possession and joy without fear. Until then, though, the Code would remain unchanged, because every bit of it was there for a reason. Even if Skywalker couldn't see it.