Beyond Nondual Orthodoxy (The Gospel of Thomas)

This episode explores the 29th saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas.  Jesus said, "If the body came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty." 

In this saying Jesus is leading people beyond metaphysical and philosophical questions in order to point them to Reality that is beyond ideas. It is common in religious and spiritual circles for people to be dogmatic about their views. That is as true in nonduality as it is in Christianity.

View Marshall's books here:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marshall-Davis/author/B001K8Y0RU

Transcript

This episode explores the 29th saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas.  Jesus said, "If the body came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty." 

In this saying Jesus is leading people beyond metaphysical and philosophical questions in order to point them to Reality that is beyond ideas. It is common in religious and spiritual circles for people to be dogmatic about their views. That is as true in nonduality as it is in Christianity.

I am amazed at how dogmatic some proponents of nonduality can be. I have heard them referred to as the nonduality police. There is a sort of nondual orthodoxy that people feel the need to defend. They say you have to hold the right views and express them in the right language or it is not nonduality. 

I had one person say to me that I can’t use Christian terms, but it is alright to use Hindu terms to express nonduality. I can’t use the word resurrection, but the word reincarnation is alright. Why? That reminds me a lot of Christian fundamentalism, except these are nonduality fundamentalists.  

I am criticized by Christians and nondualists, even though I call my approach Christian nonduality. But that is alright. I love being a heretic. Has there ever been a proclaimer of truth that has not been called a heretic? Jesus pointed out that the religion he was born into killed the prophets, and then honored them after they were dead. That is true of every religion. Jesus was arrested and executed for being a heretic, as well as a danger to the government. So I feel like I am in good company. 

In the 29th saying in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus is talking about the relationship between matter and spirit. In philosophy it is called the mind-body problem. In nondual circles today it is expressed in terms of the relationship between consciousness and the physical world. Are we in the world or is the world in us? Or is it both? Or is there another option? Everybody has an opinion.

Jesus states two positions on the philosophical issue of his day. He says, "If the body came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels.”  Jesus presents two options but does not take sides. He transcends the dualism of the two opinions. He continues, “Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty." 

In this verse in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus is addressing a subject that seems to have been discussed in his circle of disciples. Either that or it was discussed in the Christian community that grew up around the apostle Thomas that edited and preserved the Gospel of Thomas.  The issue was whether the body came into being because of the spirit or the other way around. Substitute consciousness for spirit and we have the same discussion today. 

It seems like every spiritual teacher and school of thought has an opinion on the matter. Jesus is saying, “Forget all that! Do not get caught up in such debates.” Opinions are dangerous. They lead to debates and divisions, which lead to various schools of thought and branches of a spiritual tradition. 

That is why we have so many religions and so many branches within each religion. The dualistic mind grabs onto differences and splinters a spiritual tradition into factions. And in doing this it misses the point. The mind thinks it knows what is true. In actuality the mind cannot know truth. 

Opinions are illusions of the mind. Opinions on metaphysical matters seem important, but they are not helpful to spiritual awakening. They have the appearance of spiritual wisdom but are not wisdom. They are products of duality. That is why Jesus cuts through this debate. Jesus did not take sides on the issue of the relationship between body and spirit. He did not opine on the nature of the physical world and consciousness. 

Jesus says, “If the body came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels.” In other words it is marvelous regardless of how we got into this situation. 

Then Jesus adds,  “Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty." He focuses not on the differences, but on the great treasure that is here now. What he calls elsewhere the pearl of great price, the treasure hidden in the field, or the coin lost in the house. 

Jesus’ reply is the equivalent to the Buddha’s famous parable of the poison arrow. One of the Buddha’s followers came to the Buddha disturbed because after years of practice he was no closer to spiritual awakening. He was stuck on questions about the nature of existence. What is the nature of the universe? What is the nature of the self? What happens after death? 

The monk couldn’t get his mind off such questions. One day he approached the Buddha. He told his master he wanted straight answers from him, or he would leave the Sangha. So the Buddha told him this parable. 

A man is shot by a poisoned arrow. He is taken to a physician, who is ready to pull the arrow out and give him an antidote, but the man stops him. ‘’Not so fast! First, I want to know who shot me. Why did he shoot me? What town or village does the shooter come from? I would also like to know what kind of wood his bow was made from. Who made the bow? What type of feathers provided the fletching? ’’ And on and on. There was an endless stream of questions he wanted answers to. 

The Buddha said, “Such a man will die from his wound, and his questions will remain unanswered. Don’t worry about such matters! All that matters is that you get the arrow out and are healed!” 

The Buddha told his parable to stop his followers from getting bogged down in metaphysical questions. The Buddha was practical. All that mattered to him was how to wake up. Jesus is saying the same thing.  It does not matter what came first, the chicken or the egg. Just eat the egg! The relationship between body and spirit does not matter. It does not matter if we understand the nature and origin of the world.   

Those are sidetracks. The ego wants to lead us down rabbit holes, so it can remain in control. Or at least pretend it is in control. Spiritual seekers get bogged down in questions that do not matter. All that matters is that we wake up. All that matters is that we find truth. Truth is not an idea. Not a doctrine. Not a belief. Truth is reality that cannot be put into words. 

Jesus says that it does not matter if the body came into being because of spirit, or the spirit came into being because of the body. What matters is that it is marvelous! The greatest marvel is that the treasure of spiritual awareness is right here now. What matters is that there is great spiritual wealth right here in the midst of the poverty of human existence. Discover that wealth! Find the pearl of great price. Find the buried treasure. Find the Kingdom of God! 

There are always going to be folks who would rather talk than find. They want to argue over ideas and the wording of ideas. There are people like this in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and nonduality. Truth is not an idea. It is not a philosophy. It is Reality.  

There are always going to be enforcers of orthodoxy, including nondual orthodoxy. It is best to ignore these self-appointed guardians. All that matters is that we know Reality firsthand. All that matters is that we wake up to this Divine Reality that Jesus called the Kingdom of Heaven.