Discuss and evaluate what part Eastern philosophy and religion play in George Lucas's conception of Star Wars?

In the Return of the Jedi, one thing some might have noticed is that it is very difficult to figure out if Luke Skywalker has become a Jedi or not. He believes and appears to intuit that he is, but Yoda, near the beginning of the film, tells him he is not quite done with the training yet. In Zen philosophy, unlike traditional, or Indian, Buddhism, the concept of enlightenment is rejected: it is held …

…much like his father (Darth Vader), too old, and so on. For anybody who has studied the nature of the Zen monastery in Japan, it is hard to deny how much this reminds one of the initiation of a Zen monk into the monastery. The monk will stand outside the monastery while the monks come and tell him reason after reason why he cannot join, in much the same way that Yoda is telling Luke.