Meister Eckhart

Eckhart was a Christian mystic around the 13th century. Some people seem to think a mystic pulls rabbits out of a hat (😀) but in this context it simply means a human being who seeks to experience the divine rather than just write/create theology. To live truth rather than just think it.

Like many Christian mystics, he sailed close to the wind as far as heresy is concerned. But that seems par for the course. We all need a dash of heresy before any attempt to swallow anyone elses "only way"......😀

Eckhart is seen as a "dharma brother" by many of the Buddhist Faith, and the "zen man" D.T.Suzuki said that certain of his utterances mirrored the prajna wisdom of zen - direct seeing, when concepts fall away and only the constant advance into novelty remains.

Eckhart once said that if the only prayer we ever said was "Thank You" it would be enough. I think this is so. It certainly corresponds to my own Pure Land faith, where the Nembutsu is in effect a cry of gratitude - felt in all circumstances.

Again, he said:- "Love has no why". Which I find profound. Make of it what you will. We are what we understand.

Another of his phrases was "Nothing that knowledge can grasp or desire can want is God. Where knowledge and desire end, there is darkness, and there God shines."

Anyone familiar with the "anatta" (not-self) teaching of Buddhism will see why Eckhart is seen as a Dharma Brother.

Enough for now. My coffee is getting cold. Shopping to get, grandchildren to collect and cook for.

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SW-User

Unlike many of the Christian mystics, Eckhart was deeply influenced by many women writers, especially Hildegard of Bingen, Mechthild of Magdeburg and Marguerite of Porete. As well as this he demonstrated that fidelity to one’s own tradition need not close one off from the riches of another, having studied Jewish and Muslim writers such as Maimonides, Avicenna, Averroes, Ibn’al-Arabi, al-Farabi and many others.

Eckhart was not elitist and gave his sermons in the vernacular German of his day. These sermons, each on a particular Biblical verse, are readily available today in many translations. One on "True Poverty", based upon the New Testament beatitude ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' I have read a number of times. Well worth seeking out.

But no, not elitist at all. Eckhart said that if someone seeks God’s will, then they need only lead an ordinary Christian life without considering doing anything special. "Any attempt to trap God with our little practices, our pet devotions, is a sort of betrayal for if indeed someone thinks that they will get more of God by meditation, by devotion, by ecstasies or by special infusion of grace than by the fireside or in the stable – that is nothing but taking God, wrapping a cloak around his head and shoving Him under a bench"

And he insisted that the demands of charity always override those of prayer. "If you are wrapped up in an ecstatic experience and hear that a hungry person is at the door, leave behind your rapture and go and prepare some soup for him!"