In part one the translation is presented opposite the script of the Coptic text.27 Even though most readers will not be able to understand the Coptic, I hope that it will inspire examination, thereby stimulating imagination and intuition that can lead to the discovery of personal interpretations—which, though lacking in authority, would make up for this in a deeper feeling for the text.
My aim is different from that of the archaeologist, or the brilliant decoder of obscure hieroglyphs. I do not seek to provide scholarly libraries with nuggets of obscure meaning hidden in the convolutions of the text. My desire is to offer, to as many readers as possible, some insight into Christian origins, and to come closer to a true understanding of the one known as the Christ, whose words still reverberate in our culture today. If I succeed in this, it is because I am able to see him through the loving and unassuming eyes of the woman who, according to the Gospels of John, Thomas, and Philip, among others, was his intimate friend:
There were three who always walked with the Lord.
Mary, his mother; Mary, her sister;
And Miriam of Magdala, who was called his companion;
For Miriam is his sister, his mother, and his companion. 28
COPTIC TEXT AND TRANSLATION
The pagination of the Coptic text and translation follows that of the original manuscript. Here, references to passages from the Gospel of Mary always begin with the page number, followed by the line number of this translation. The numbers in the margins of the Coptic text itself are for convenience only, and have no literary significance. They correspond roughly, but not always exactly, to the line numbers in the translation.
[Note on the English translation: Although Jean-Yves Leloup’s French translation is, of course, the basis for this one, the emphasis in producing this has been on clarity and readability in English. In seeking to achieve this, previous Coptic-to-English translations have been consulted.—Trans.]29
PART ONE
The Gospel of
Mary Magdalene
[Pages 1–6 are missing.]
[Page 7]
1 [ ...] “What is matter?
2 Will it last forever?”
3 The Teacher answered:
4 “All that is born, all that is created,
5 all the elements of nature
6 are interwoven and united with each other.
7 All that is composed shall be decomposed;
8 everything returns to its roots;
9 matter returns to the origins of matter.
10 Those who have ears, let them hear.”
11 Peter said to him: “Since you have become the interpreter
12 of the elements and the events of the world, tell us:
13 What is the sin of the world?”
14 The Teacher answered:
15 “There is no sin.
16 It is you who make sin exist,
17 when you act according to the habits
18 of your corrupted nature;
19 this is where sin lies.
20 This is why the Good has come into your midst.
21 It acts together with the elements of your nature
22 so as to reunite it with its roots.”
23 Then he continued:
24 “This is why you become sick,
25 and why you die:
26 it is the result of your actions;
27 what you do takes you further away.
28 Those who have ears, let them hear.
[Page 8]
1 “Attachment to matter
2 gives rise to passion against nature.
3 Thus trouble arises in the whole body;
4 this is why I tell you:
5 ‘Be in harmony . . .’
6 If you are out of balance,
7 take inspiration from manifestations
8 of your true nature.
9 Those who have ears,
10 let them hear.”
11 After saying this, the Blessed One
12 greeted them all, saying:
13 “Peace be with you—may my Peace
14 arise and be fulfilled within you!
15 Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you
16 by saying:
17 ‘Here it is!’ or
18 ‘There it is!’
19 For it is within you
20 that the Son of Man dwells.
21 Go to him,
22 for those who seek him, find him.
23 Walk forth,
24 and announce the gospel of the Kingdom.”
[Page 9]
1 “Impose no law
2 other than that which I have witnessed.
3 Do not add more laws to those given in the Torah,
4 lest you become bound by them.”
5 Having said all this, he departed.
6 The disciples were in sorrow,
7 shedding many tears, and saying:
8 “How are we to go among the unbelievers
9 and announce the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man?
10 They did not spare his life,
11 so why should they spare ours?”
12 Then Mary arose,
13 embraced them all, and began to speak to her brothers:
14 “Do not remain in sorrow and doubt,
15 for his Grace will guide you and comfort you.
16 Instead, let us praise his greatness,
17 for he has prepared us for this.
18 He is calling upon us to become fully human [Anthropos ].”30
19 Thus Mary turned their hearts toward the Good,
20 and they began to discuss the meaning of the Teacher’s words.
[Page 10]
1 Peter said to Mary:
2 “Sister, we know that the Teacher loved you
3 differently from other women.
4 Tell us whatever you remember
5 of any words he told you
6 which we have not yet heard.”
7 Mary said to them:
8 “I will now speak to you
9 of that which has not been given to you to hear.
10 I had a vision of the Teacher,
11 and I said to him:
12 ‘Lord I see you now
13 in this vision.’
14 And he answered:
15 ‘You are blessed, for the sight of me does not disturb you.
16 There where is the nous, lies the treasure.’
17 Then I said to him:
18 ‘Lord, when someone meets you
19 in a Moment of vision,
20 is it through the soul [psyche] that they see,
21 or is it through the Spirit [Pneuma]?’
22 The Teacher answered:
23 ‘It is neither through the soul nor the spirit,
24 but the nous between the two
25 which sees the vision, and it is this which [. . . ]’ ”
[Pages 11–14 are missing]
[Page 15]
1 “And Craving said:
2 ‘I did not see you descend,
3 but now I see you rising.
4 Why do you lie, since you belong to me?’
5 The soul answered:
6 ‘I saw you,
7 though you did not see me,
8 nor recognize me.
9 I was with you as with a garment,
10 and you never felt me.’
11 Having said this,
12 the soul left, rejoicing greatly.
13 Then it entered into the third climate,
14 known as Ignorance.
15 Ignorance inquired of the soul:
16 ‘Where are you going?
17 You are dominated by wicked inclinations.
18 Indeed, you lack discrimination, and you are enslaved.’
19 The soul answered:
20 ‘Why do you judge me, since I have made no judgment?
21 I have been dominated, but I myself have not dominated.
22 I have not been recognized,
&nb
sp; 23 but I myself have recognized
24 that all things which are composed shall be decomposed,
25 on earth and in heaven.’ ”
[Page 16]
1 “Freed from this third climate, the soul continued its ascent,
2 and found itself in the fourth climate.
3 This has seven manifestations:
4 the first manifestation is Darkness;
5 the second, Craving;
6 the third, Ignorance;
7 the fourth, Lethal Jealousy;
8 the fifth, Enslavement to the Body;
9 the sixth, Intoxicated Wisdom;
10 the seventh, Guileful Wisdom.
11 These are the seven manifestations of Wrath,
12 and they oppressed the soul with questions:
13 ‘Where do you come from, murderer?’
14 and ‘Where are you going, vagabond?’
15 The soul answered:
16 ‘That which oppressed me has been slain;
17 that which encircled me has vanished;
18 my craving has faded,
19 and I am freed from my ignorance.’ ”
[Page 17]
1 “ ‘I left the world with the aid of another world;
2 a design was erased,
3 by virtue of a higher design.
4 Henceforth I travel toward Repose,
5 where time rests in the Eternity of Time;
6 I go now into Silence.’ ”
7 Having said all this, Mary became silent,
8 for it was in silence that the Teacher spoke to her.
9 Then Andrew began to speak, and said to his brothers:
10 “Tell me, what do you think of these things she has been telling us?
11 As for me, I do not believe
12 that the Teacher would speak like this.
13 These ideas are too different from those we have known.”
14 And Peter added:
15 “How is it possible that the Teacher talked
16 in this manner with a woman
17 about secrets of which we ourselves are ignorant?
18 Must we change our customs,
19 and listen to this woman?
20 Did he really choose her, and prefer her to us?”
[Page 18]
1 Then Mary wept,
2 and answered him:
3 “My brother Peter, what can you be thinking?
4 Do you believe that this is just my own imagination,
5 that I invented this vision?
6 Or do you believe that I would lie about our Teacher?”
7 At this, Levi spoke up:
8 “Peter, you have always been hot-tempered,
9 and now we see you repudiating a woman,
10 just as our adversaries do.
11 Yet if the Teacher held her worthy,
12 who are you to reject her?
13 Surely the Teacher knew her very well,
14 for he loved her more than us.
15 Therefore let us atone,
16 and become fully human [Anthropos],
17 so that the Teacher can take root in us.
18 Let us grow as he demanded of us,
19 and walk forth to spread the gospel,
20 without trying to lay down any rules and laws
21 other than those he witnessed.”
[Page 19]
1 When Levi had said these words,
2 they all went forth to spread the gospel.
3 THE GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO
MARY
PART TWO
Text with
Commentary
[Pages 1–6 are missing.]
[Page 7]
1 [ . . . ] “What is matter?
2 Will it last forever?”
3 The Teacher answered:
4 “All that is born, all that is created,
5 all the elements of nature
6 are interwoven and united with each other.
7 All that is composed shall be decomposed;
8 everything returns to its roots;
9 matter returns to the origins of matter.
10 Those who have ears, let them hear.
“ . . . What is matter?” Before asking questions about the meaning, purpose, or workings of the world, it is appropriate to inquire into what it really is, and if it was made to last or not. “Will it last forever?”—might it not be an illusion?
With the Gospel of Mary, it is clear from the start that we are dealing with a deeply metaphysical perspective. Prior to any questions about our actions and their rightness or wrongness, it is important to ask if we are, and who we are. Before we ask the ancient question “Why does the world contain evil and suffering?” we must first question how we know it exists at all.
Thus the path of Christianity that we find in this gospel is one of gnosis, or divine knowledge—it goes deeper than the teaching of rules by which we can live and improve ourselves. Here, Yeshua has something to say about the fundamental nature of the world and of humanness.
The Gospel of Mary presents him as the Teacher, and the teaching he transmits contains the knowledge necessary for the reintegration of human beings with themselves and with their Source and Principle—the One that, in most of the gospels, Yeshua calls his Father: “my Father and your Father,” and “my God and your God,” as he tells Mary Magdalene in John 20:17. These are the teachings that can restore human beings to their lost parentage, to an indescribably singular intimacy with their Source. Yeshua has always lived in this intimacy, and his words and actions are the expression and manifestation of it.
Some translators of this gospel have rendered the word for teacher as savior. This is another possibility, but only if we bear in mind that what people really need to be saved from is their ignorance and forgetfulness of the Being that is their source and destination. Human beings are to be saved from their ignorance and obliviousness of the Presence that Yeshua embodies. First and foremost, salvation is knowledge of the truth that shall make us free—free of attachments and identifications with that which we mistake for real Being. In these verses, it is matter that is taken as an example of this.
The Teacher answered:
“All that is born, all that is created,
all the elements of nature
are interwoven and united with each other.
All that is composed shall be decomposed;”
This reminder of the interdependence and impermanence of all things is striking in its resonance with contemporary thinking: Nothing exists in itself or by itself, for the world is a vast tapestry woven of relations. Not even the smallest strand in this web can be tugged without affecting all the myriad strands and interdependencies to which it is connected, and of which it is composed. This is true of matter, and it is also true of the nature of the human body and the psyche that animates it.
Everything that exists is a more or less complex pattern of components, and is therefore subject to decomposition: “All that is composed shall be decomposed.” This is a truth that reminds us that this universe we perceive has not always existed, and that it will not exist forever. What has a beginning also has an end. Ignorance of impermanence generates illusions, attachments, and therefore suffering—all the ancient wisdom traditions tell us this.
For “those who have ears” capable of hearing this word of the Teacher, this can be a source of salvation and freedom. No longer do we continue to indulge in the idolatry of matter. This appreciation of the ephemeral and relative nature of all things actually enables us to love better—we begin to see all things with that loving yet detached regard and equanimity that are the signs of a genuine health of soul. In Greek, the word soteria means both “health” (wholeness) and “salvation.”
The Teacher then adds:
“everything returns to its roots;
matter returns to the origins of matter.”
All evolution involves a return; yet a return in this sense is not the same as a reg
ression. To return is not to go back—rather, the return is accomplished by moving forward. It is a return to the place that is both our origin and our destiny, our alpha and our omega. Here we make an important distinction between the Origin, or the Source, and the beginning. We return to the Source, not to our beginning.
Furthermore, the Kingdom that is spoken of in the Gospel of Mary31 must not be confused with a return to some sort of lost paradise or primal state of consciousness. Rather, it signifies an awakening to this very dimension of Being that is the source of our existence now, and of the mystery of there being something instead of nothing.
A grain of wheat contains the information that will later generate roots, stem, leaves, and finally the new grains, which ripen slowly with sun and rain and finally offer themselves to the nourishment of those who eat them.
Then comes winter, decay, and the new planting of the grain—returning to the roots, yet also to the root symbolized by the information in the grain. But the true Source cannot be grasped by the mind, though it is the source of the mind and of all things. Thus “matter returns to the origins of matter.” Yet the ultimate Source can never be an object of any kind, and can only appear as nothingness, “Nothing that can be found in the All of which It is the cause.”
In speaking of the Logos, the Gospel of John (1:3), which was probably written during the same period, says that:
Through Him all things came into being;
Not one thing came into being except through Him.
The Logos, the Origin, this nothing that is the cause of everything, and through which all things have their being—what are we speaking of when we speak of this divinity as He, She, or It? Surely it is nothing that can be imagined, thought, or represented. Yet if we also subscribe to the principle that nothing comes from nothing, then what can be the meaning of this unthinkable fecundity, this womb of emptiness?
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Page 4