Thank you Cyd for your reading and deep dive into another codice from these amazing works of the Nag Hammadi. When read as teaching / preaching within metaphors as a parable , it is rich in meaning. Read literally it can sound somewhat bizarre. The gendering is interesting and it is in some of the other codices as well, such as the Sophia one. But the Tripartite Tractate codice I think is the most uniform and logical one in it's wording.
I find the first part of the Discourse fascinating in that it brought to mind the Adam and Eve eating of the fruit in Eden , " He held it to her mouth to make her eat it like food. He applied it to her eyes like medicine, to make her see with her mind, and perceive those who are kin to her, and learn about her root, that she may be able to hold on to the branch from which she has come, receive what is hers, and renounce matter. " What do you think ?
I find the last lines of the codice to be very beautiful as an offering and a testament to the shining light. May it flow out to everything and everybody more each day and help us all focus our " souls " onto that light. It's a challenge I know, but it feels much better than being consumed with the darkness which abounds, or appears to abound. I like to think maybe that darkness is only a concerted distraction from the light, it holds no power when we look away from it. I admit it's a challenging " gnosis " in dark times having the faith in that light to be real and ever present, but we must have it. Onward and upward.
She has found her rising, [that is the Self.]
She has come to rest in the one who is at rest, [and that’s the Self resting in Christ.]
She has reclined in the bridal chamber. [The bridal chamber is the union of the Self with the Ego.]
She has eaten of the banquet, [which is the banquet of truth and virtue,] for which she has hungered.
She has partaken of mortal food, [that’s gnosis.]
She has found what she has sought, [that is the Fullness of God.]
She has received rest from her labors, and the light shining on her does not set. [In other words, she has found peace and love.]
To the light belongs the glory, and the power, and the revelation, forever and ever. Amen.
You've got it, Gabriella. Great response. This interpretation is quite compatible with our Gnostic Gospel from the Tripartite Tractate, even though others may put them in different gnostic camps.
So, with the Adam and Eve reference, are you saying that eating the apple was actually us gainings gnosis and the Old Testament god's anger at them over it is the Demiurge wanting them to remain in material ignorance? Sounds like it, doesn't it? And of course, the Fall in the Bible is attributed to this very event, but it would only have been a fall from ignorance upward into gnosis.
Yes, the ending is so beautiful. Seems worthy of memorization for reciting during sleepless nights... I've always wondered about the meaning of the bridal chamber. I think this book explains it well. Now I need to go back into the Bible to have a fresh look at references to the bridal chamber.
Yes, exactly like Eve eating the apple , " He held it to her mouth to make her eat it like food. He applied it to her eyes like medicine,etc...." Anger at gaining knowledge and sight and growth into seeing and feeling more than meets our superficial senses to me is completely Demiurgic. Your idea for reciting the ending during sleepless nights is super....I may just do that!
"We’re not supposed to call them names back. This has always been a problem of mine. I get angry about it, and I start just reflecting what they’re giving to me. I reflect back on them. Well, that’s not right at all. And in the past few years, as I’ve been developing in my gnosis, I’ve calmed down about that tremendously. I no longer get in fights with random strangers about these things. I used to think it was righteous indignation, but there’s no such thing. There’s anger, and that doesn’t belong in the Fullness of God. That’s all there is to it. What comes from the Fullness and what we are to reflect of the Father is love."
I have come to see this kind of engagement as something that others will observe and judge, which is easy in comments sections. Comments sections are good practice for demonstrating the values one may propound, and letting others judge them by the quality of discourse of their proponents.
I'm working on it, but riding my bike around thoughtless and aggrssive drivers is different. I have to quickly recover from my reflexive responses...
As John graciously pointed out to me in a private email, I misspoke when I talked about the wheat and the chaff. Did I really say chaff? In my head I was thinking about the wheat and tares parable. The chaff is the husk of the fresh-picked wheat kernal, and it needs to be stripped off the wheat kernal. Tares on the other hand, are the weeds I was talking about in the episode. Mea culpla.
Thank you Cyd for your reading and deep dive into another codice from these amazing works of the Nag Hammadi. When read as teaching / preaching within metaphors as a parable , it is rich in meaning. Read literally it can sound somewhat bizarre. The gendering is interesting and it is in some of the other codices as well, such as the Sophia one. But the Tripartite Tractate codice I think is the most uniform and logical one in it's wording.
I find the first part of the Discourse fascinating in that it brought to mind the Adam and Eve eating of the fruit in Eden , " He held it to her mouth to make her eat it like food. He applied it to her eyes like medicine, to make her see with her mind, and perceive those who are kin to her, and learn about her root, that she may be able to hold on to the branch from which she has come, receive what is hers, and renounce matter. " What do you think ?
I find the last lines of the codice to be very beautiful as an offering and a testament to the shining light. May it flow out to everything and everybody more each day and help us all focus our " souls " onto that light. It's a challenge I know, but it feels much better than being consumed with the darkness which abounds, or appears to abound. I like to think maybe that darkness is only a concerted distraction from the light, it holds no power when we look away from it. I admit it's a challenging " gnosis " in dark times having the faith in that light to be real and ever present, but we must have it. Onward and upward.
She has found her rising, [that is the Self.]
She has come to rest in the one who is at rest, [and that’s the Self resting in Christ.]
She has reclined in the bridal chamber. [The bridal chamber is the union of the Self with the Ego.]
She has eaten of the banquet, [which is the banquet of truth and virtue,] for which she has hungered.
She has partaken of mortal food, [that’s gnosis.]
She has found what she has sought, [that is the Fullness of God.]
She has received rest from her labors, and the light shining on her does not set. [In other words, she has found peace and love.]
To the light belongs the glory, and the power, and the revelation, forever and ever. Amen.
You've got it, Gabriella. Great response. This interpretation is quite compatible with our Gnostic Gospel from the Tripartite Tractate, even though others may put them in different gnostic camps.
So, with the Adam and Eve reference, are you saying that eating the apple was actually us gainings gnosis and the Old Testament god's anger at them over it is the Demiurge wanting them to remain in material ignorance? Sounds like it, doesn't it? And of course, the Fall in the Bible is attributed to this very event, but it would only have been a fall from ignorance upward into gnosis.
Yes, the ending is so beautiful. Seems worthy of memorization for reciting during sleepless nights... I've always wondered about the meaning of the bridal chamber. I think this book explains it well. Now I need to go back into the Bible to have a fresh look at references to the bridal chamber.
Yes, exactly like Eve eating the apple , " He held it to her mouth to make her eat it like food. He applied it to her eyes like medicine,etc...." Anger at gaining knowledge and sight and growth into seeing and feeling more than meets our superficial senses to me is completely Demiurgic. Your idea for reciting the ending during sleepless nights is super....I may just do that!
"We’re not supposed to call them names back. This has always been a problem of mine. I get angry about it, and I start just reflecting what they’re giving to me. I reflect back on them. Well, that’s not right at all. And in the past few years, as I’ve been developing in my gnosis, I’ve calmed down about that tremendously. I no longer get in fights with random strangers about these things. I used to think it was righteous indignation, but there’s no such thing. There’s anger, and that doesn’t belong in the Fullness of God. That’s all there is to it. What comes from the Fullness and what we are to reflect of the Father is love."
I have come to see this kind of engagement as something that others will observe and judge, which is easy in comments sections. Comments sections are good practice for demonstrating the values one may propound, and letting others judge them by the quality of discourse of their proponents.
I'm working on it, but riding my bike around thoughtless and aggrssive drivers is different. I have to quickly recover from my reflexive responses...
..I've finished reading this now. Thank You, Cyd.
As John graciously pointed out to me in a private email, I misspoke when I talked about the wheat and the chaff. Did I really say chaff? In my head I was thinking about the wheat and tares parable. The chaff is the husk of the fresh-picked wheat kernal, and it needs to be stripped off the wheat kernal. Tares on the other hand, are the weeds I was talking about in the episode. Mea culpla.