The Gospel of Thomas (Part 10)

Translated by Thomas O. Lambdin

46

Jesus said, “Among those born of women, from Adam until John the Baptist, there is no one so superior to John the Baptist that his eyes should not be lowered before him. Yet I have said: whoever among you becomes a child will be acquainted with the kingdom and will become superior to John.”

In these teachings, “born of woman” refers to our physical identity. “Not born of woman” describes spiritual states achieved through walking the path — whether the four stages of the lesser vehicle or bodhisattvas. The “Buddha body” exists in all of us as pure awareness. However, this awareness is so entangled with mental objects that we fail to realize it as the eternal, self-existing backdrop of reality.

Many biblical characters symbolize stages on the spiritual path. Adam, for instance, meaning “red earth,” represents the emergence of self-aware consciousness. This awareness, initially pristine, becomes entangled with reflective awareness — called Eve — who represents mental awareness that fills with objects and concepts. Eve tempts Adam to sin, leading to expulsion from the Garden of Bliss, and the rise of duality via the Veil of Isis (the habitual objectification of phenomena).

The Bible, like many religious texts, is an alchemical manual, though its messages have become obscured. The descendants of Adam and Eve represent stages of spiritual progress or degeneration. Cain’s lineage is materially driven and spiritually harmful; Seth’s lineage is one of wisdom and gnosis. Abel, murdered by Cain, becomes the conscience.

Thus, these characters represent stages of inner development — some towards degeneration, some towards liberation. But none are spiritually superior to one who, by ceasing objectification, suspends the subject-object duality that gives rise to suffering. Such a being is like a child — thoughtless, pristine — and reenters the kingdom, the blissful unity akin to the lost Garden.

47

Jesus said, “It is impossible for a man to mount two horses or to stretch two bows. And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters; otherwise he will honor the one and treat the other contemptuously. No man drinks old wine and immediately desires new wine. New wine is not put into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine put into a new wineskin, lest it spoil it. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, because a tear would result.”

Our conscious awareness within conditioned reality is singular and sequential. True simultaneous awareness of multiple objects is an illusion caused by the rapid movement of awareness. Once we identify as ‘self’, this self becomes our master and enslaves us.

The “two horses” symbolize self — with its desires and dreams — and God, the emptiness that ultimately replaces self-conceptualization. Progress on the spiritual path requires sacrificing self to cross the Abyss. Without this willingness, progress is blocked.

The old wine, representing mature realization, is better. Once one discovers a better model of reality, one adopts it. There’s an incompatibility between subtle higher dhamma and coarse mundane thinking. An old patch — cherished former beliefs — has no place in advanced realization and must be discarded, lest progress tear it apart.

48

Jesus said, “If two make peace with each other in this one house, they will say to the mountain, ‘Move away,’ and it will move away.”

This is profoundly deep. It addresses duality — specifically the illusion of separate inner and outer realities. Once this delusion dissolves — a high spiritual attainment — supernatural abilities arise, including influence over external phenomena.

49

Jesus said, “Blessed are the solitary and elect, for you will find the kingdom. For you are from it, and to it you will return.”

The path must be walked alone. Guidance can only go so far. One needs an inner desire for deeper truth, often requiring withdrawal from prior viewpoints and worldly life. Conviction must be firm. Jesus offers encouragement: this task undoes the conditioning that created adulthood — the conditioning of saṃsāric reality.

50

Jesus said, “If they say to you, ‘Where did you come from?’, say, ‘We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.’ If they say to you, ‘Is it you?’, say, ‘We are its children; we are the elect of the living Father.’ If they ask you, ‘What is the sign of your Father in you?’, say to them, ‘It is movement and repose.’”

This is best explained through the dying process, where we return to the light — the dharmakāya or Buddha mind. This unfolds rapidly, and only highly advanced practitioners can recognize and stabilize it.

As death progresses: Earth dissolves into Water (loss of bodily strength), Water into Fire (drying of secretions), Fire into Wind (cooling and digestion failure), Wind into Consciousness (inability to inhale), and Consciousness into Luminous Awareness — entering the Bardo.

Jesus and Judas understood the Bardo. Judas, recognized as a Bardo being, did not betray Jesus but accepted his role in the larger plan.

Jesus points not toward heaven, but toward the dharmakāya: timeless, boundless luminous awareness — the ultimate Buddha mind. This is hard to explain without serious study, and so becomes personified as a divine Father, with Jesus as the emanation bridging conditionality and transcendence. In this role, he is the ‘way’ — the mediator between worldly existence and ultimate realization.