More to the point, this kingdom is one which a seeker is to enter in the here and now. He said to them, “Those here who do the will of my father…will enter the kingdom…” (99) The Pharisees and the scribes…themselves have not entered, nor have they allowed to enter those who wish to. Yet I have said, whichever one of you comes to be a child * will be acquainted with the kingdom… (46) These infants…are like those who enter the kingdom….W hen you make…the above like the below…then you will enter… (22) †
And Jesus said, “I myself shall lead [Mary]…so that she too…will enter the kingdom…”
It is the teachings which are germane to this kingdom: The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like.” He said to them… “It is the smallest of all seeds. But when it falls on tilled soil, it produces a great plant” (20) …if the seed takes root. This is a kingdom in the sense of “a realm or domain,” the “place” of enlightened realization and consequent “repose” (the experiential bliss of spiritual awareness), a condition which the benign enters and immerses oneself into. It is “the field” where its buyer “went plowing” by heeding the teachings, while declining to pursue distractions. * Child: “without guile; benign, not corrupt”; also, “progeny with potential to mature.” † More on this verse, see
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