Meister Eckhart & Christian Mysticism

Meister Eckhart is an influential, and often surprising, Christian theologian/philosopher/mystics whose writings & sermons have both inspired future thinkers in the catholic church, but also been condemned by the pope as heretical.

Sources/Further Reading:

McGinn, Bernard (2003). "The Mystical Thought of Meister Eckhart: The Man from Whom God Hid Nothing". Independent Publishers Group.

McGinn, Bernard (1992). "Meister Eckhart: Teacher and Preacher". Classics of Western Spirituality Series. Paulist Press International, U.S.

McGinn, Bernard (1981). "Meister Eckhart: The Essential Sermons, Commentaries, Treatises and Defense". Classics of Western Spirituality Series. Paulist Press International, U.S.

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Videos used:

#Eckhart #Mysticism #Christianity

[ayoubzahiri]

“I looked for God. I went to a temple and I didn’t find him there. Then I went to a church and I didn’t find him there. Then I went to a mosque and I didn’t find him there. Then finally I looked in my heart and there he was.”
— Rumi

[Barbarossa]

I have been a student of Eckhart for more than 30 years and after some time ordained a deacon and Benedictine monastic. This is the best summary of his teaching I have enjoyed.

[gunner]

This is so refreshing. As a priest, I spend most of my time preaching this exact message. Trying to make people understand that most people's understanding of Christianity today, is based on folk religion and not Christianity. Eckhart is a great hero of mine, and ironically is one of those 'I'm more spiritual than religious', many centuries ago. His use of 'ground' or 'earth' is a physical sciences terminology which translates perfectly to philosophy and spirituality. The earth of an electrical circuit is a good analogy.

[noahdanielg]

Absolutely incredible thinking from Meister Eckhart, perhaps the greatest of the Christian mystics. I fear most Christians generally do have a very shallow understanding of Christianity themselves and Eckhart and Marguerite Porete offer a dimension of Christian experience most churches would shun. Richard Smoley's book "Inner Christianity" is a great read on Christian mysticism. Indeed a lot of similarities to Śūnyatā and Vedānta, my Buddhism professor wrote his dissertation on Meister Eckhart! Thank you for this video Filip as we celebrate the birth of the Word in us. Merry Christmas!

[josephgagliano]

I am amazed at how aligned I am with Eckhart’s teaching having never studied any of his works. This is an incredible commentary that is having a deep impact in me.

[santillanmusic]

Meister Eckhart was ahead of his time for sure, the West is still asleep when it comes to this level of understanding. Thank you for putting this presentation together, such great flow!

[vjensen]

I’ve been struggling to reconcile my Christian faith with my experiences of meditation. This provides some light. Thanks so much!

[duckmansoul]

This was amazing, thank you. I first heard of Meister Eckhart when I was interested in Zen Buddhism and read a book by D.T. Suzuki called "Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist" which is largely about Eckhart and the similarities with Buddhist ideas. I highly recommend it to anyone.

[gillman]

This is easily one of the best videos of Christian Theology i have ever seen. And one of the most interesting figures I have never heard of. I am in love with this video.

[videosksubscribechalleng]

Up until the mention of trinity it felt as though I was listening to a Sufi philosophy. God's essence to many philosophers is the same despite of their religion.

[servus_incognitus]

Very interesting to recognize Eckhart's orthodoxy despite all controversy. Reading his expositions on theology and the transcendent nature of reality is basically reading the Holy Fathers of the Church with a German taste; at the same time, when he talks about the birth of the Word in the soul, it is very similar to what Saint Bernard of Clairvaux had to about it in his sermons on Advent about a century earlier. When you mention what Eckhart says on detachment, for example, it is very similar to what Bernard says about the Holy Virgin, that [not only was she obviously detached from all things unholy and disgraceful, but also] despite being honoured above all saints and angels, she remains the most humble, making herself nothing but the handmaid of the Lord [being thus detached from all things joyful and honourable as well, as one should be, offering it all to God] (and there is nothing more Orthodox than the Fathers of the Church and Saint Bernard, one of the most revered saints ever). It is all also very similar to the Eastern Orthodox doctrines of hesychasm, and what we can find in the west in such works as the Cloud of Unknowing.

[emmy]

I got a book of Eckhart's works for Christmas this year so I was really excited to see that you had uploaded a video about him on the same day ^_^

[inuyashaxx]

I’ve barely started the video but your comments about the “man in the sky” stuff was interesting. I’m an atheist and I’ve heard other atheists make that argument and it’s not a very good one. It patronizes people and puts them off whatever you have to say. It also forestalls any exploration of religious history or culture or thought.

[MrSeamusHayes]

Did not expect that I'd watch a 45 minute video about a Christian mystic today. Awesome video, man. I can tell you put a lot of work into this. I'm certainly one of those people who tend to dismiss Christian philosophy and romanticize exotic schools of thought. I've never heard anything like Eckhart's conception of the 'ground' and how god and existence flow from and into it. Furthermore, the idea of annihilating everything that separates you from god and the 'In quanum principle' has obvious parallels to non-dual/Buddhist thinking about dissociating from the ego. I'm going to be checking out some more of your videos for sure.

[jackpayne]

An excellent talk, and very appropriate for Christmas Day. My own favourite statement of Eckhart is, 'The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me'. My own spiritual practice is rooted in Theravada Buddhism - as was that of Maurice Walsh, one of Eckhart's major translators. As for paradoxes, every word we speak or write is divisive - it immediately splits the world into that which the word defines, and everything else. In which case, any attempt to speak about Oneness is, by definition, doomed to failure. Perhaps the only way past this problem is to view words as provocations to direct experience, rather than mere descriptions. 'The map is not the territory', etc. But that statement has its own inbuilt difficulties, of course...

[bradstephan]

Excellent! As an Advaitan, I am a big fan of both Eckharts. I hope you will create a playlist on Christian Mystics, including the women mystics you reference in this video. Also, I'd love to view talks on Thomas a Kempis and Brother Lawrence of the Ressurection. Thank you!

[pixadavid]

Good video. It'd be great if you could do more videos on Christianity - it seems a lot of people especially young athiests only know of Christianity as a stereotyped evangelical fundamentalism, and have no knowledge of the bulk of Christian thought and tradition.

[WillyIlluminatoz]

I never read Meister Eckhart book, but many of his ideas are already present and familiar to me from Buddhism especially in the works of Kyoto School Philosophy and Buddhist Mindfulness meditation.

I also find similarity with Heidegger Philosophy of Being as groundless ground and later works of A.N. Whitehead, The Function of Reason, emanates from emptiness becomes actuality and then returns to emptiness.

The idea of Oneness is similar to Advaita Vedanta.

I had experience with mystical idea of Eckhart that when we detach from ourselves we only see allthings good and do goodness without our own will command us to do it. I reached this experience after practicing Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation.

But experience like this doesn't last forever when I quit to practice meditation. I guess, meditation can alter our brain structure, in my case my meditation practice was not enough to alter my brain. So the experience didn't last long.

Btw, I'm protestant by tradition from Indonesia. I find many mystical idea have similarity between them.

[Loenthall]

One of my favorite Christian mystics, along with Julian of Norwich.

Excellent presentation.

[drinambaighunzai]

May I wish to meet. The realities which have touched your heart and through you spreading to the humankind are immensely precious, beautiful and sweet.How beautiful is your soul.