God is constantly speaking only one thing. God’s speaking is one thing. In this one utterance God speaks the Son and at the same time the Holy Spirit and all creatures.
— MEISTER ECKHART, OP
Eckhart von Hochheim was born circa 1260 in Gotha, now part of Germany, and died around 1327. He is usually know as Meister (Master) Eckhart. As a theologian, philosopher, and mystic, Eckhart is a towering figure in the Order of Preachers. Dominicans wish to follow Jesus as a preacher, which means modeling themselves on the creativity of his language. It is no surprise then that many of them have encountered resistance within the Church — even Thomas Aquinas, now generally considered the greatest Catholic philosopher and theologian, was opposed by Stephen Tempier, the bishop of Paris. Eckhart was tried by Pope John XXII and his defence became famous for his rational and clear responses and his refutation of any heretical intent. He passed away before the sentence was announced.
When Timothy Radcliffe was Master of the Dominicans he pressed for Eckhart’s full rehabilitation and the confirmation of his theological orthodoxy from the Holy See. In a letter to the chairman of the Eckhart Society sent in 1992, Radcliffe wrote that “we tried to have the censure lifted on Eckhart and were told that there was really no need since he had never been condemned by name, just some propositions which he was supposed to have held, and so we are perfectly free to say that he is a good and orthodox theologian.” A sign of this approval was Pope John Paul II’s audience in September 1985 in which he remarked
Did not Eckhart teach his disciples: “All that God asks you most pressingly is to go out of yourself [...] and let God be God in you?” One could think that in separating himself from creatures, the mystic leaves his brothers, humanity, behind. The same Eckhart affirms that, on the contrary, the mystic is marvellously present to them on the only level where he can truly reach them, that is, in God.
Meister Eckhart has also been a significant inspiration for the theological thought of Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, particularly in the understanding of the faithful’s union through the life of Christ.
Eckhart’s meditations (exemplified here, here, and here) have many points in common with other religious traditions. Hindu and Buddhist scholars in particular have explored these connections. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, a distinguished Hindu philosopher from Sri Lanka, wrote a fundamental book on Hinduism and Buddhism[1] that draws heavily on Meister Eckhart. The first part of the book concentrates on Hinduism and opens with a quote from him:
The sacred scriptures state everywhere that man should be emptied of himself. When you are emptied of yourself, you are the master of yourself; when you are the master of yourself, you possess yourself; when you possess yourself, you are possessed of God and all that He has ever made.
It is not all. The second part focuses on Buddhism and begins with two other quotes:
In your judgment, what has made it possible for you to reach the eternal truth? — It is because I have abandoned my self as soon as I have found it.
[T]hose who are not liberated are afraid of the deep joy of those who are liberated. No one is rich of God, unless he is entirely dead to himself.
Thinking of the Dominican influence on the Second Vatican Council it is clear that the statements that we find in Nostra Aetate, the declaration on the relation of the Church to Non-Christian religions, about the enlightening truth of Hinduism and Buddhism (and Judaism and Islam) are inseparable from Eckhart’s penetrating teachings. Here are some excerpts from his sermons to mull over:
Though it may be called a nescience, and unknowing, yet there is in it more than all knowing and understanding without it; for this unknowing lures and attracts you from all understood things, and from yourself as well. (German sermon 1)
The soul is scattered abroad among her powers, and dissipated in the action of each. Thus her ability to work inwardly is enfeebled, for a scattered power is imperfect. (German sermon 2)
No. Be sure of this: absolute stillness for as long as possible is best of all for you. (German sermon 4)
You should know that God must act and pour Himself into the moment He finds you ready. (German sermon 4)
Do not imagine that your reason can grow to the knowledge of God. (German sermon 4)
There is a power in the soul which touches neither time nor flesh, flowing from the spirit, remaining in the spirit, altogether spiritual. (German sermon 7)
So, when I am able to establish myself in nothing, and nothing in myself, uprooting and casting out what is in me, then I can pass into the naked being of God, which is the naked being of the Spirit. (German sermon 7)
Since it is God’s nature not to be like anyone, we have to come to the state of being nothing in order to enter into the same nature that He is. (German sermon 7)
One means, without which I cannot get to God, is work or activity in time, which does not interfere with eternal salvation. “Works” are performed from without, but “activity” is when one practises with care and understanding from within. (German sermon 9)
If you seek God and seek Him for your own profit and bliss, then in truth you are not seeking God. (German sermon 11)
The human spirit must transcend number and break through multiplicity, and God will break through him; and just as He breaks through into me, so I break through into Him. (German sermon 14b)
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[1] Ver Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Hinduism and Buddhism (Mountain View, CA: Golden Elixir Press, 2011).
