One of my mentors and friend Bhante (Dharmawara) a Cambodian Buddhist Monk who lived to 110 said he visited with George Lucas and that Yoda was modeled after him. He talked in broken English similar to Yoda and he knew Gandhi. While I'm sure he met George I'm not sure the other is true.

I used to frequent the Mill Valley Film Festival in the 1990s and your piece is near the top of my list.