Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart with a disciple, sculpture in Bad Wörishofen, Bavaria, Germany

Eckhart von Hochheim (known as Meister Eckhart, also Eckehart; * c. 1260 in Hochheim or in Tambach; † before 30 April 1328 probably in Avignon) was an influential late medieval German Catholic theologian, philosopher and mystic.

Life and work

Book of Meister Eckhart, sculpture in Bad Wörishofen, Kneippstraße

Predigerkirche und Predigerkloster Erfurt

The Meister Eckhart portal

Already as a youth, Eckhart joined the Dominican Order, in which he later attained high offices. He had a particularly strong impact as a preacher; his power of formulation impressed contemporaries and posterity. He made an important contribution to the shaping of German philosophical terminology. His main concern was the dissemination of principles for a consistently spiritual life practice in everyday life. He caused a sensation with unconventional, sometimes provocatively formulated assertions and brusque contradictions to widespread convictions. Controversial, for example, was his assertion that the "ground of the soul" (German: Seelengrund) was not created by God like all creatures, but was divine and uncreated. In the ground of the soul, the divinity was always directly present.

Eckhart is often characterised as a mystic. In recent research, however, the dominant view is that the variously defined term "mysticism" as a designation for elements of his teaching is misleading or at least in need of explanation.

The mystic, born around 1260, died around 1327 (according to Rudolf Steiner), presumably in Avignon or Cologne. Traditionally, 28 January 1328 is regarded as the date of his death.

Around 1329, Meister Eckhard was condemned in parts of his teachings as a false teacher by Pope John XXII's bull "In agro dominico".

Rudolf Steiner writes about him:

„But the Meister Eckhart wants to impress Christ's words on man: "It is of use to you that I depart from you, for if I do not depart from you, the Holy Spirit cannot become you. And he expounds these words by saying, "Rightly, as if he said, Ye have put too much joy in my present image, therefore the perfect joy of the Holy Ghost cannot become you." Eckhart means to speak of no other God than he is of whom Augustin, and the Evangelist, and Thomas speak; and yet their testimony of God is not his testimony. "Some men will look upon God with their eyes as they would look upon a cow, and will love God as they would love a cow. So they love God for outward riches and inward comforts; but these people do not love God rightly.... Simple-minded people think they should look at God as if he were standing there and they were standing here. It is not so. God and I are one in recognition." Eckhart's confessions are based on nothing other than the experience of the inner sense. And this experience shows him things in a higher light. He therefore believes that he does not need external light in order to attain the highest insights: "A master says: God became man, and the whole human race is exalted and honoured by this. We may rejoice in this, that Christ is our brother, risen by his own power above all the choirs of angels, and seated at the right hand of the Father. This Master has spoken well, but truly I do not care much. What good would it do me if I had a brother who was a rich man and I was a poor man? What good would it do me if I had a brother who was a wise man, and I were a fool? ... The heavenly Father gives birth to His only begotten Son in Himself and in me. Why in himself and in me? I am one with him; and he is not able to exclude me. In the same work the Holy Spirit receives his being and becomes of me as of God. Why? I am in God, and if the Holy Spirit does not take His essence from me, He does not take it from God. I am in no way excluded."

When Eckhart recalls Paul's word: "Put on Jesus Christ," he wants to underlay this word with the meaning: immerse yourselves in yourselves, dive down into self-contemplation: and from the depths of your being the God will shine out to you; he outshines all things to you; you have found him in yourselves; you have become one with God's being. "God became man that I might become God."“ (Lit.:GA 7, p. 40f)

See also

• Meister Eckhart - Article in the English Wikipedia

Literature

• Rudolf Steiner: Mysticism at the Dawn of the Modern Age. Translated by Karl E. Zimmer. SteinerBooks 1980, CW 7, ISBN 0-8334-0758-8 rsarchive.org

German

• Meister Eckehart: Predigten, Manfred-Pawlak-Verlagsgesellschaft, Herrsching (1963)
• Rudolf Steiner: Die Mystik im Aufgange des neuzeitlichen Geisteslebens, GA 7, TB-Ausgabe, Dornach 1977, p. 39 - 52

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.