Treasure of Life
The Treasure of Life, also known in the Monijiao tradition as Jìng mìng bǎozàng jīng (), is one of the seven treatises of the prophet Mani, written and regarded as part of the major canon of Manichaeism. The title is possibly derived from Christ's parable of the hidden treasure from , which is followed by the parable of the pearl in ; incidentally, pearls are a major metaphor used in Mani's teaching.

It enjoyed popularity and was referred to by many anti-Manichaean polemic writers, including Hegemonius and Augustine of Hippo. The main theme appears to be Mani's anthropology of man, teaching “what parts of the Soul came from the pure Light, and what parts proceed from the vicious Darkness”. Duncan Greenlees states that Mani probably wrote "The Treasure of Life" while traveling through Greater Khorasan.

"The Treasure of Life" is central to one miraculous event surrounding the prophet Mani: when Mar Ammo was halted by a frontier spirit in the land of Sogdia, the disciple fasted and prayed for two days. Perhaps through a vision, Mani sensed his disciple's trouble and appeared at the watch-post on the frontier of Greater Khorasan. The prophet then taught Mar Ammo a passage from "The Treasure of Life" to recite. This appeased the spirit of the frontier, who saw that Mar Ammo was different from the similarly religious men of her land (probably Buddhists) and then allowed the disciple to resume his missionary work in the region.
Q17354861
Monijiao
MEDIA
Q203922
Mani
PER
Q131165
Manichaeism
Concept
Q927207
parable of the hidden treasure
ORG
Q1289917
parable of the pearl
ORG
Q43436
pearls
Concept
Q3129377
Hegemonius
PER
Q8018
Augustine of Hippo
MISC
Q23404
anthropology
Concept
Q5314379
Duncan Greenlees
PER
Q2352322
Greater Khorasan
LOC
Q6754366
Mar Ammo
PER
Q486244
Sogdia
LOC
Q2352322
Greater Khorasan
LOC
Q970700
Buddhists
UNK
Q30943558
Treasure of Life
UNK
Q30943558
Treasure of Life
UNK
Q30943558
Treasure of Life
UNK
Q30943558
Treasure of Life
UNK
subclass of
religion
founded by