gospel of Thomas 93

[Jesus said,] "Do not give what is holy to dogs, lest they throw them on the dung-heap. Do not throw the pearls to swine, lest they [...] it [...]."

There is some text missing from this verse from the Gospel of Thomas. I guess time had destroyed it in the records. But we can see the gist of what Jesus was saying. Do not give what is holy to dogs. Do not throw the pearls to swine.

At any point in a life, a person is ready to hear certain spiritual truths. And if they hear the correct truth for that moment, a person can grow and take the next step on their journey. But if they hear some other truth, that they are not yet ready for, then it will be of no use at all. It can even impede their journey: causing resistance to arise in them, or misunderstanding.

So when talking about spirituality, when teaching, one should ideally be responding to the audience, to whoever is listening. The teaching should be drawn out by the person who is listening. Only what they are ready to hear need be said. The rest can wait.

In the West now, there is a strong tradition of freedom of information. Everyone should have access to all the information, from day one. And this is the approach taken in spirituality in the West. But this approach causes some difficulties. There are great misunderstandings that arise, when people are told the ultimate truth before they are ready to hear it. Some people never progress on their spiritual journey because of this.

And traditionally in the East, this was not the way. People were only exposed to what they were ready to hear. They moved step by step. And the journey took time – years, decades.

In the West now, we are impatient for everything. We expect everything to be given to us straight away, without time or effort. It is hopelessly unrealistic. And Jesus knew this. In this saying, he is urging his disciples to be careful to whom they speak; to realise that not everyone is ready to hear the truth; to be selective about whom to give teachings to. It is not an approach that resonates much with the modern Western way of thinking. But I can see that there are some benefits to such a reserved approach.

If you have had some mystical spiritual experiences yourself, you will know that talking about them feels awkward. Some words come out and immediately the feeling is, I've totally failed to convey the significance of that which I spoke of. And in that apparent failure, one feels that one has not really honoured the event. And so, most people are rather cautious about speaking about immensely significant events in their life – moments of great realisation, of insight.

And we are right to be rather wary of speaking of such things. For when misunderstood, spiritual teachings can do more harm than good. Again, I say, the person listening needs to be ready to hear the truth that is being spoken. Sensing intuitively when someone is ready, then appropriate words will come, and that person will benefit greatly from the sharing. But only when they are ready.

Having said all this, I do have some reservations about this verse from the Gospel of Thomas. The language sounds so judgemental: the dogs, swine. This is no way to talk about our fellow human beings. Each of us carries the spirit – the same spirit. In our essence, we are one. And though we may have reached different points on our journey, that does not put one of us above another. And holding any judgement about another is pointless. It usually just shows that we have unresolved business within ourself.

I don't know why Jesus used such strong language. He may have had good reason. Probably, he spoke these words following some persecution. Our human side all too easily comes out under such circumstances. But I urge you, as far as possible, to drop your judgements about others; and to remember always, that each of us is a buddha – perhaps a buddha in waiting, but a buddha nonetheless.