Gospel of Thomas, 2
The Gospel of Thomas, 2
Nag Hammadi Codex II.
Discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945.
No. 1—Vol. I. Between AD, 60 and AD 140
Jesus said: He who seeks, let him not cease seeking until he finds; and when he finds he will be troubled, and if he is troubled, he will be amazed, and he will reign over the All.
Elucidation:
You must first break away from the herd, from all things you have considered normal, understanding that all you have learned in your life only served self-interest and group-interest; that so far your life, driven by vanity and selfishness, has been a mistake, and that you did not live as you might have. You must see that your character has been a learned behavior, until you have redeemed your last penny and stand completely naked. Then you will be granted the last step, from despair to rest. Then you will be able to see clearly. It is then that you will understand you are only man. At that moment, you will see everywhere around you people acting out their play, adorned with the masks of their character, occupation, religion and other group masks, and initially you cannot imagine that they cannot see this. It disturbs you when you realize you know more than all the great men of earth, because such knowledge is not needed. If you know yourself, you realize you only need knowledge in order to live in society, and that you must refute that same knowledge in order to live free from the world system. But, you understand everything!