Gospel of Thomas Saying 103
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gnostic ken
Nov 17, 2012, 11:36:22 AM11/17/12
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103 Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who know where the
rebels are going to attack. [They] can get going, collect their
imperial resources, and be prepared before the rebels arrive."
................................
103) Jesus said, "Fortunate is the man who knows where the
brigands will enter, so that he may get up, muster his domain,
and arm himself before they invade."
............................
103.)
Blessed is he who knows
the time of the robbers arrival, for
he can rise, collect himself, and gird
his loins in preparation.
.............................
103. Y'shua says: Blest be the person who knows in [which] part
the bandits may invade, so that he shall arise and collect his
[belongings] and gird up his loins before they enter.
.............................
(103) Jesus says: "Blessed is the person who knows at which point
(of the house) the robbers are going to enter, so that [he] may arise
to gather together his [domain] and gird his loins before they enter."
..................................
103
A parable of a landowner and brigands
JESUS said, "Blessed is the man who recognizes [which] district the
brigands are going to enter, so as to arise, gather (the forces of)
his domain, and arm himself before they enter."
gnostic ken
Nov 17, 2012, 11:41:58 AM11/17/12
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14 May 12, I said:
Another one with very few comments over the years. I never even commented on it myself.
Looking at it today I would say you if you only knew what the distractions were going to be you could be ready for them.
Or, if you knew in advance that the preacher/guru/spiritual teacher is really a con man, a charlatan to lead you on a path that is wrong for you, you could know not to follow.
IMO.
Ken
Or, if you knew in advance that the preacher/guru/spiritual teacher is really a con man, a charlatan to lead you on a path that is wrong for you, you could know not to follow.
IMO.
Ken
18 May 12, Clive commented:
I can see why there hasn't been too much said about this one.
If we look for the places where our ego often has a hold of us, it gives us the oppotunity to strengthen ourselves against such an attack.
I/e if we observe ourselves for a while, looking for episodes of anger, we might find certain situations that make it arise, we can then do something about it.
Clive.
If we look for the places where our ego often has a hold of us, it gives us the oppotunity to strengthen ourselves against such an attack.
I/e if we observe ourselves for a while, looking for episodes of anger, we might find certain situations that make it arise, we can then do something about it.
Clive.
19 May 12, I said:
Hi Clive,
I observe myself all of the time. I take it you do too.
I observe myself all of the time. I take it you do too.
20 May 12, Clive said:
These days I don't observe myself so much as I used to, before I used to observe myself virtually 100% of the time, watching all those thoughts and desires pop into my mind and work at creating a seperation between my conciousness/awareness and these thoughts/desires.
Lately, these past 2 weeks or so my path has changed a bit.
My focus is no longer on observing and negating the ego. Now I just let the ego be, sometimes its like a dog that won't stop barking, so I feed it, just so as I can get some inner peace and quiet.
These days I don't worry about the ego, its changed from being an enemy to just being an annoyance.
My battles against the ego are done,and I focus on building the good not destroying the bad.
Lately, these past 2 weeks or so my path has changed a bit.
My focus is no longer on observing and negating the ego. Now I just let the ego be, sometimes its like a dog that won't stop barking, so I feed it, just so as I can get some inner peace and quiet.
These days I don't worry about the ego, its changed from being an enemy to just being an annoyance.
My battles against the ego are done,and I focus on building the good not destroying the bad.
21 May 12, I said:
I do observe myself and I do analyze why I do what I do, but I'm not critical of myself. Sometimes understanding why I do something changes what I do, sometimes not, but changing myself is not my purpose. I am curious about human behavior and I am the most convenient subject to study.
gnostic ken
Dec 16, 2012, 7:18:28 PM12/16/12
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Wed. Dec., 12, 2012 Oregon George said:
This saying has much in common with GTh 21b. In that saying, the thief
(singular) is coming with the intention of carrying away goods, just as the
plunderers, in this saying, threaten attack. In both sayings, preparations are
prescribed to deal with the threat before the assault takes place. In both, the
"owner" or "man" is admonished to gird his loins. This does not necessarily
mean to take up arms, but to fasten a belt or girdle below the waist, or more
generally, to prepare for action. The sayings differ in that in 21b, the
structure defended is a house; in 103, it is a domain or kingdom. In the
former, the field of action is smaller, a house in which the owner "begins his
vigil." In the latter, the scene is expanded to a kingdom where the man's
forces are mustered.
The literal translation of this saying is particularly important to consider.
The Coptic word that is mostly here translated as "domain," is the exact word
translated as "kingdom," elsewhere in Thomas. Keeping in mind how fundamental
the word, "kingdom," is in the overall teachings of Jesus, we can hardly ignore
its presence in this saying. Likewise, the phrase which is literally translated
(above) as "in which part," is more often rendered as "where." This is not an
unreasonable choice, but it overlooks an interesting play on words concerning
the word, "part." The Greek loan-word for "part," may also be translated as
"district." This being the case, "district" represents an external setting
where an external enemy threatens an external domain. In the context of this
gospel, however, the Kingdom is not a worldly domain. It is the realm in which
man truly exists, as opposed to a realm where he thinks he exists, the world.
Within this Kingdom, there is only wholeness; there is no "part." Within the
mind, any belief that there is a part, separate from the whole, is an error and
from this belief all suffering results. If we translate this phrase as simply
"where," the subtlety of the part/district wordplay is lost. It should be
remembered that the Gospel of Thomas is a highly metaphorical work, and what
seems at first glance like a description of an outer situation, in fact
disguises an inner condition.
In Thomas, all threats are internal threats, generated internally. For example,
the lion of GTh 7 is the internal ego, intent on consuming the whole man. From
the nondualistic viewpoint, the ego is always the only threat that man faces.
All else, all seeming external threats, are projections of the mind and
illusory. This understanding of threat is fully consistent with the perspective
of this gospel. In this saying, the mind is the field of action. It is whole,
although within its structure a weak point seems to exist. It is the "part" of
the mind, the ego, which believes in separation. The "plunderers" are the
manifestations of the ego. The man is blessed because he knows where his weak
point is. He knows in what situation his ego is active, and so he does the
right thing. He musters his domain, which is the Kingdom of God. It is within
this realm that man finds rest, and where the beliefs of the ego are brought to
the light of truth and there undone. God is man's strength and refuge. He is
always there within his mind, waiting only for his son's call. Once called
upon, the power of God will rush to his defense.
Thank you.
George Duffy
Corvallis, OR
(singular) is coming with the intention of carrying away goods, just as the
plunderers, in this saying, threaten attack. In both sayings, preparations are
prescribed to deal with the threat before the assault takes place. In both, the
"owner" or "man" is admonished to gird his loins. This does not necessarily
mean to take up arms, but to fasten a belt or girdle below the waist, or more
generally, to prepare for action. The sayings differ in that in 21b, the
structure defended is a house; in 103, it is a domain or kingdom. In the
former, the field of action is smaller, a house in which the owner "begins his
vigil." In the latter, the scene is expanded to a kingdom where the man's
forces are mustered.
The literal translation of this saying is particularly important to consider.
The Coptic word that is mostly here translated as "domain," is the exact word
translated as "kingdom," elsewhere in Thomas. Keeping in mind how fundamental
the word, "kingdom," is in the overall teachings of Jesus, we can hardly ignore
its presence in this saying. Likewise, the phrase which is literally translated
(above) as "in which part," is more often rendered as "where." This is not an
unreasonable choice, but it overlooks an interesting play on words concerning
the word, "part." The Greek loan-word for "part," may also be translated as
"district." This being the case, "district" represents an external setting
where an external enemy threatens an external domain. In the context of this
gospel, however, the Kingdom is not a worldly domain. It is the realm in which
man truly exists, as opposed to a realm where he thinks he exists, the world.
Within this Kingdom, there is only wholeness; there is no "part." Within the
mind, any belief that there is a part, separate from the whole, is an error and
from this belief all suffering results. If we translate this phrase as simply
"where," the subtlety of the part/district wordplay is lost. It should be
remembered that the Gospel of Thomas is a highly metaphorical work, and what
seems at first glance like a description of an outer situation, in fact
disguises an inner condition.
In Thomas, all threats are internal threats, generated internally. For example,
the lion of GTh 7 is the internal ego, intent on consuming the whole man. From
the nondualistic viewpoint, the ego is always the only threat that man faces.
All else, all seeming external threats, are projections of the mind and
illusory. This understanding of threat is fully consistent with the perspective
of this gospel. In this saying, the mind is the field of action. It is whole,
although within its structure a weak point seems to exist. It is the "part" of
the mind, the ego, which believes in separation. The "plunderers" are the
manifestations of the ego. The man is blessed because he knows where his weak
point is. He knows in what situation his ego is active, and so he does the
right thing. He musters his domain, which is the Kingdom of God. It is within
this realm that man finds rest, and where the beliefs of the ego are brought to
the light of truth and there undone. God is man's strength and refuge. He is
always there within his mind, waiting only for his son's call. Once called
upon, the power of God will rush to his defense.
Thank you.
George Duffy
Corvallis, OR
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