The Gospel of Thomas is one text in a collection of apocryphal texts discovered in 1945 in Egypt. There is an intriguing story about the discovery that is retold, along with the publication of the texts, on the Gnosis.org website. However, the basic background of the texts are that they are dated from the second century AD and were likely buried to preserve them from destruction by conformists to the newly defined orthodoxy of canonical scriptures defined by the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. This council was convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine to define an authorised and controlled standard for the Christian Bible, that unfortunately did not include the Gospel of Thomas. As a result, it is as close a reproduction of the direct sayings of the one known as Jesus as is possible, miraculously by-passing 1700 years of censorship.
I have read some of the texts in the Library over the years, but there is none so profound and intellectually accessible as the Gospel of Thomas. It has become a resource that I am continually drawn back to as explanation for metaphysical concepts expressed in a way that is readily interpretable.
This is important as there is a real problem in trying to describe metaphysical concepts in a language and through a form of communication that is constrained to the physical scope of our material reality. It is impossible to precisely and accurately explain the principles and concepts of a reality that transcends our senses with words that do not. So for seekers of truth and understanding, such explanation can shine a bright light on The Path, providing much needed guidance and clarity.
In the Diamond Sutra, Gautama Buddha explained it thus in that dialog with his follower Subhuti:
"They should recall that in teaching spiritual truths the Buddha always uses these concepts and ideas in the way that a raft is used to cross a river. Once the river has been crossed over, the raft is of no more use, and should be discarded. These arbitrary concepts and ideas about spiritual things need to be explained to us as we seek to attain Enlightenment. However, ultimately these arbitrary conceptions can be discarded."
Hence, it is that a seeker of understanding needs accurate and unadulterated explanations from the enlightened, that are otherwise unavailable. With the correct context and experiential insights (only gained through meditation), such words are transformed into concise explanations of concepts and principles to further one's spiritual progress and development. Without the proper experiential context, though, one is prone to misinterpret, not understanding, and be confused by such explanations of metaphysical concepts.
Thus it is with the sayings of Jesus reproduced in the Gospel of Thomas. I quote them often, as invariably these millennia-old didactic parables, are more concise and to the point than anything I can say.
If one looks at saying 3 for instance, as the first of the explanatory sayings, we see "Jesus" laying the reality of our experiential existence bear for the inquisitive seeker to readily understand, while the ignorant just see an arrangement of words in grammatical form.
3. Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you.
When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."
Too often people are seduced into the mistaken belief in a plural "we", identifying not as an individual but as a member of a collective, defined by common traits, beliefs and attitudes. But here Jesus is saying quite clearly that if you are so defined and identify with the edicts of ignorant leadership of your collective, then you are deceived.
Instead, he says know your true nature to be children of the living Father (individuated aspects of the conscious and aware Infinite Intelligence, aka the Creator) and you will be known (by other self-realised individuated aspects of the Creator). Otherwise you are nothing but the poverty of unrealised potential.
In what is effectively the very first saying of Jesus, transcribed 2000 years ago, he tells us directly, that our job is to transcend this mundane existence to fulfill our potential as self-realised co-Creators. That the universe is alive, that we are intrinsically linked to it and there are other beings waiting to welcome us upon our graduation.
Do you not wonder at the intelligence that could have possibly compressed so much detailed information into 5 short sentences, yet still make them appear as words without poignancy to a casual reader? Honestly, to be able to provide such graphic detail on the nature of our reality, while preserving the free-will of people not yet ready to open their hearts to the truth of our existence is in itself mind-boggling, let alone any consideration for the quality of the lessons embedded.
I say lessons, because there are multiple layers of information in this saying. In addition to what I just outlined, there is also the repudiation of identifying as part of a collective, the identification that there are the unscrupulous who will leverage that ignorance to deceive and manipulate you, that the onus is on us each individually to do the necessary work to "know" ourselves, and that the consequences of not doing the work is that we are the source of our otherwise endless suffering.
I mean, really, how did he do it? It is truly amazing! The only thing he did not define was the "how" of knowing oneself. But it is of practically zero effort to identify what the method of self-discovery is. It takes only to ask the question, before the answer is apparent and your journey to self-realisation is begun.
🙏 May we each overcome our ignorance, anger and greed, to realise the highest perfect wisdom of the enlightened mind.
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