Darth Vader's Tomb

A dark figure entered the tomb. He pulled out his holocron and began recording.

Holocron: Lecture 2: "Truths of the Nature and Meaning of Life." By Lord Havok, the Seer.
Topic: The New Sith Code:

My New Sith code as formulated in my previous lecture is more descriptive of the nature of reality,(or rather from a phenomenological perspective.) than the current acclaimed Sith code. To refresh your memories:
"Life is pain.
Through pain I gain Wisdom and Hate.
Hate becomes my Sword, and Wisdom guides it.
My own Aims give a meaningless Life like Mine purpose.
I am my Ambition; I will conquer.
Without my passion, I am already dead.
Without my hate, I am unarmed.
Without pain, I am a fool.
All ends with death."

Lets start with the first line: Life is pain: never were truer words spoken! Upon contemplation of the immediate proposition, any true sith can think of countless instances of Pain, or other passions that are integral to their world view. (It is important to note that one cannot say "life is peace" since we have shown in the previous discussions that this is a contradiction. [ex: life is death] Peace is not a passion.)
While the sensation of pain is meaningless: the context and circumstances of pain are very much meaningful: touching a hot stove for the first time teaches a child, both "hot" and "pain" But also intrinsic values about pain: that one OUGHT avoid it.
This is expressed in "Through pain I gain Wisdom..."

This imperative, "ought" is largely ignored by others who inflict pain at will. The proposition: "I should avoid pain", is twisted into: "Others inflict pain on me and act as if I deserved it."
Here a pivotal point is reached, do i accept their interpretation: did i really deserve the pain? If yes, then shame, guilt, and passivity are created. but if NO, then they will experience anger of a so-called "righteous" sort,(it very essence being so self focused and one sided that it is, in fact, exactly like hate. this is a step towards the dark side.)

From here we move to "Hate becomes my Sword, and Wisdom guides it". Hate gives one the strength to snuff out the life of another being. Hate is selfish: it cannot allow the target of hate's point of view to be factored into the discussion. Sympathy cannot be rendered. All the matters is my single minded emotion, of hate which must be appeased via your suffering: Hence Hate becomes a sword. The prime mover for all that follow.
Wisdom guides the sword, to allow one to know when is the right moment to strike. Wisdom conditioned by pain. No one likes to fail.
lines 6,7,8 reinforce the role of pain/passion in the manner already discussed. If robbed of hate and replaced with love, Perhaps one will not have the resolve to swing the killing blow.
"if one does not swing the killing blow, how does holding a sword profit you? It does not, nor cannot. If you have a sword and do not swing, you have no sword." (Darth Heugo)(npc).

Without passion one is already dead: as discussed before in my commentary, passions are what enable and motivate a creature to act on its own; to engage in the operations necessary to support life. Eating, shelter, sex, etc.

The last line has already been discussed in lecture one. Death really is the end.

Now to move onto a discussion on lines 4 and 5.
"My own Aims give a meaningless Life like Mine purpose.
I am my Ambition; I will conquer."

these are meta-claims on which one can base a discussion about the nature of life and the meaning of life.
The truth is that Life is inherently meaningless. There is no meaning to life. We are born, we live, and we die. Life is nasty short and brutish. What is the point to do anything, if in the next moment we may all expire and never create a sentient thought ever again? because this view can sap passion and resolve it is often denied. There is no way around it: Meaning is a metaphysical and transcendent fallacy that cannot be grouped in the same category as "facts" and "truth". There is only one solution: a pragmatic one: One must decide what meaning is for one's self.

Here, passion, or one's aims,(or whatever it is that drives you) provide the missing link. One must be careful here since one often assumes that meaning is universal, when it is entirely relative.

"I am my ambition, I will conquer," These describe the nature of life. We have no idea what life is, therefore, one must resort to self evident claims. "I am alive".

An here we move into an extensive discussion of the nature of life, and specifically how the Sith differ from the masses. (this has been discussed somewhat in supplementary, one.)

Men are born un-equal. Genetics, economic status, appearance and a host of other conditions set people apart from each other from the very start.
however they do not determine the end result. A child that has inherited millions can die a pauper. A penniless vagrant baby can eventually die in control of hundreds of planets. how can this be??
because of the Will to power.
every man is born into a society, that if allowed to, will dictate the rest of your life to you. Those without the drive, Will, and ambition, will most likely let society tell them what to do.
Because society thrives on sameness, It must also thrive on mediocrity. Excellence is a distinguishing feature that sets one apart from the rest, and hence, a job well done, threatens society, and while they may congratulate you to your face, they will curse your name and seek your ruin behind your back.
Those that have the unique powers of the force, are immediately set apart from the crowd, and in the olden days, were killed as soon as the gifts were manifest: burned as demons, witches and unholy beings. Just as retards were cast aside as burdens and extra mouths to feed, Wielders of strange power are threats to the status quo. They place a burden on society: excellent individuals have special needs: they need freedom, they resist orders. they are not afraid to go against the grain. They Question tradition, and they try to create/force change. (Multiple retards/handicaps force change, since it requires changes to be made, to allow for these non-productive individuals to be accommodated/supported.)

The force marks individuals with gifts of excellence.
While the Jedi try to maintain the mediocrity of the masses with their gifts, and thus perpetuate it.
The sith exploit the masses by using the sameness of the masses against itself, either facilitating change or accelerating the self destruction of the society.
The jedi try to create excellence while maintaining focus on the masses,
while Sith drop this flawed view and only pursue Self strength and excellence. It is error and contradiction to try and improve the conditions of the masses. they will take care of themselves: they will go on living and dying much despite any useless acts of the jedi.
while, the individual sith progresses on and on: Eventually obtaining eternal life.

Because all ends with death, life is inherently meaningless, therefore even self-progression smacks of futility. What is the point of getting better today, if you die tomorrow? The point is eternal life. The meaning you give life becomes concrete and absolute once you become a being no longer affected by death. Hence, Self progression becomes the ultimate investment, that the masses can and will never partake of. This sets you apart in a way that allows you to eventually mold the lives of men to your will.
To summarize:
Life is NOT defined by Death. Death makes life meaningless. Life for life's own sake. Power for power's own sake. Improve so you can use the force to find a way to cheat death and live forever. Its a Race against time. A competition. A struggle. It's Life.

"This concludes my second lecture, "Truths of the Nature and Meaning of Life." Good evening."