gospel of Thomas 76

Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a merchant who had a consignment of merchandise and who discovered a pearl. That merchant was shrewd. He sold the merchandise and bought the pearl alone for himself. You too, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure where no moth comes near to devour and no worm destroys."

In this little analogy, Jesus is showing us the relative worth of enlightenment; of coming to know the truth about existence; of being at one with the whole; of being at ease in life. This is like the pearl in this parable. It is a treasure that is sufficient in itself. And it is clear that everything else is of secondary importance – the rest of the merchandise. It can be sold. It can be disposed of. We don't really need it.

And that merchandise is susceptible to damage, the moths will come and eat holes in our clothes. The worms will chew through the furniture. Everything else in life is subject to decay. And yet the essential part of who we are – that pearl within us – is undisturbed. It is never going to be destroyed, or damaged in any way. It cannot be. That is why it is the essential part of who we are.

So this merchant was wise, although he had a great pile of merchandise. Once he had seen the pearl, he knew that was the only important thing.

And this is the feeling that we must find within ourself, when we are seeking. We are seeking that pearl. And if we rate it only of equal importance or lesser importance than some other merchandise – perhaps having a good job, having a good relationship, having children, having lots of money – whatever else it is, if we give anything else the same importance in our life, then we are not going to find that pearl.

We need to be very clear about this: that the pearl is the most important thing. And until we have discovered it within ourself, we must set aside everything else. We must see that everything else is of relatively little importance. We can enjoy all that merchandise, there's no harm in it. But we must not cling to it, we must not pretend that it is of any real significance. It is not. It is all transient merchandise, here today, gone tomorrow. Yes, to be enjoyed in the moment, but not with any attachment.

So let's be like this merchant. Having seen the pearl, having had a glimpse of it, or even only having heard of its existence, we must drop everything else, in our psychology at least, and put all our effort, all our energy, all our money, into finding that pearl.

Yes, that pearl alone is what will bring us lasting joy in this life. So don't worry what happens to the rest of the merchandise.