Bodhi, or the Temple of the Arts was one of nine Great Temples of the Jedi Order located on Masara continent of the verdant world of Tython. A large, dark stone structure with four distinct halls branching out from the towering structure, the Temple at Bodhi served as the Order's artistic retreat by the sea, with an open-air plaza on its roof where Jedi could sing, dance, paint and sculpt as they attuned their spirits to the Force. Distinguishing themselves from the other Temples' instructors, the majority of Bodhi's staff dressed in white undergarments with a black cloak over-top while adorning their heads with a flowing black hood.
History[]
Je'daii Order[]
When the philosophers and scholars from across the galaxy first arrived on Tython in the age of the Infinite Empire, they were brought forth from the stars on giant pyramidal constructs called the Tho Yor. These nine massive ships scattered across the planet and landed in separate locations, releasing those held within to settle the planet. The Tho Yor themselves would serve as the very foundations for these travelers' new homes and places of study. Settling in the southwestern shores of the island continent Masara, the Tho Yor which would serve as the foundations of Bodhi lay less then a kilometer inland from vast seas which surrounded the continent, and was surrounded by rolling plains which terminated in the dense, Edge Forest. The Temple served the Order for millennia as a place of quiet song and art, a place where Je'daii came to find rest and peace. When the Force Wars threatened to undo that peace, much of Bodhi remained empty as able-bodied Je'daii warriors were sent to battle the Infinite Empire. When the Empire was overthrown and the Je'daii regrouped on Tython, a schism shattered the Order and pitted those Je'daii who believed that the light side of the Force was the honorable pursuit against those who followed the dark side. While Temple Master Jake Fenn was committed to the Ashla-Je'daii, Je'daii Ranger Hawk Ryo launched an attack on Bodhi and raided the Temple of the Arts. Confronting Fenn, Ryo was able to savagely kill the Je'daii Master after making the Human endure untold weeks of humiliation and torture before beheading him and displaying his corpse on the Temple's ramparts. Slaughtering those who would not pledge loyalty to him and the leader of the Bogan Je'daii, Daegan Lok, Ryo ruled over the Temple for several year and slowly turned it into a place of horrors.
Stripped of its original beauty, Bodhi's galleries became slave pits and halls once filled with the voices of Je'daii singing in tune with the Force were replaced by those screaming out in anguish. Ryo scorched the land and poisoned the seas until 25,750 BrS when his former lover, Rori Fenn approached the Temple alone. Feeling her approach in the Force, Ryo appeared to Fenn via hologram and offered her a place in his harem should she dare to enter his stronghold. Believe the Je'daii woman had come to treat with him or join him, Ryo did not leave his inner sanctum to see the woman he once love begin her attack. Shocked by the sheer energy he detected gripping the walls of Bodhi, Ryo could not react before the entire complex began to collapse in on itself while being compressed by Fenn's will. As Ryo bled out, Bodhi was left a crumbled ruin. The mountain of stone debris eventually was covered by dirt and grass as the centuries passed by, sealing within its ruin artifacts long since forgotten. Bodhi Temple fell out of memory and its location lost but for a few rare tablets and scrolls which held information on its coordinates.
Reconstruction[]
Many millennia removed from the Force Wars, the Jedi Order saw itself weakened after a near fatal alliance with the Galactic Republic drew them into a deadly war. On the brink of extinction the Order appointed a new Grand Master, the Purpilian Tomac Moorcé, who would reinvigorate the Order and begin a new chapter in its history known as the Jedi Renaissance. Sending scouts to Tython, the High Council ordered an exploration of the ancient ruins of the Je'daii temples with the intent of rebuilding them and using them to bolster the existing Jedi academy system. Locating the ruins devoid of any traces of the Tho Yor, the Builder Corps and the Council of Site Preservation and Construction used ancient schematics and new technology to draw up plans for the Temple's rebirth.
As work was underway on Tython, the High Council selected the Human Jedi Master Thracia Cho Leem to serve as the Temple Master for the facility. A wise Jedi with a wicked sense of humor and a sharp tongue for those who disobeyed the rules, Leem had a wild streak in her past and was quick to realize that everyone makes mistakes, but that there are often consequences for them. Arriving on Tython as the Academy neared completion, Leem was eager to assume stewardship of the Temple, overseeing the creation of the Temple's curriculum personally. Joined by her companion Shachath, Leem welcomed the first group of Journeyers towards the end of 17 BBY.
Layout[]
A fifty-story building, the Temple of Bodhi was a towering structure that seemed to rise naturally out of the landscape; its walls a dark, earthen tone. Consisting of four distinct halls, the main entrance to the Temple was through a tall, arched passage way that stood between the legs of a towering bas-sculpture of long-dead Je'daii Temple Master Jake Fenn. Each of the main wings of the building focused on a different form of artistry; the main west hall was the exhibition gallery, showing off sculptures and paintings carefully and meticulously designed and created on the upper levels. The eastern hall, directly across from the main entrance housed the vast collections of novels, manuscripts and poems created by writers, calligraphers and poets within the Order. The norther hall contained the music hall, where singers and musicians gathered to combine their art into a harmonious symphony of the Force. Finally, the southern hall contained the theatre, where dancers and thespians acted out plays and danced in ballets reenacting great swaths of history.
At the center of the Temple, the four halls converged on the central chamber, an open-air room which soared all the way to the top of the temple. At the center of the room was a magnificent flowing fountain which could be heard from the arched walkways that lined every level of the building. The rooftop plaza of the Temple was an open area designed to allow for meditation and reflection in the sunlight with the sounds of the ocean drifting on the salty breeze. Tiled with cream-colored stones and made distinct with red shingled-roofs, the top of the Temple was considered to be one of the most lovely places within the Temple.