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Contents
Foreword: On Reading Eckhart -- Sayings -- From Table Talk. The Most Powerful Prayer of All. Solitude and God-Getting. Unremitting Effort in the Highest Progress. What to Do on Missing God Who Is in Hiding. Why God Often Lets Good People ... -- From The Book of Divine Consolation -- From Sermons. This Is Meister Eckhart, from Whom God Hid Nothing. Innocents' Day. On Luke 14:16. The Love of God. Poverty. What Mary Was Doing. Peace. The Spark. The Beatific Vision - -- The Nobleman
-- On Detachment.
Uniform title
Selections. English. 1996
Publisher
Boston : Shambhala
Format
xxiii, 128 p. : ill. ; 19 cm.
Language
English
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Meister Eckhart, from Whom God Hid Nothing: Sermons, Writings, and Sayings
by
Meister Eckhart,
David O'Neal (Editor)
4.07 · Rating details · 184 ratings · 19 reviews
This introduction to the writing and preaching of the greatest medieval European mystic contains selections from his sermons, treatises, and sayings, as well as Table Talk, the records of his informal advice to his spiritual children.
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Paperback, 128 pages
Published December 13th 2005 by New Seeds (first published December 13th 1963)
Original Title
Meister Eckhart, from Whom God Hid Nothing: Sermons, Writings and Sayings
ISBN
1590302796 (ISBN13: 9781590302798)
Edition Language
English
Other Editions (4)
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Jun 28, 2016Debbie Zapata rated it really liked it
Shelves: saturdaymx
Like any book on spirituality, this volume of Meister Eckhart's sermons and other works will appeal to some people, confuse some people, and probably bother others. Certain people might even have all of these reactions, depending on which selection they are reading and how much time they spend puzzling through Eckhart's way of writing. He is not always easy to understand, but he was quite popular both in his day and later.
Eckhart was a German mystic, born "not long" before 1260. He studied in Paris for a master's degree in theology after becoming a Dominican friar. He had a long career in the Church, but his popularity was his downfall. In 1325 he was on trial, but the introduction which mentions this does not say why the Church was persecuting the man. "Though the date of his death is unknown, his excommunication on 27 March 1329 was posthumous".
I first read this book years ago when struggling through a health crisis. I remember being quite surprised at some of the thoughts Eckhart expressed, or at least tried to express. There are some ideas and beliefs that simply cannot be conveyed with words. He gets tangled up more than once while trying to express what was most likely in his own mind a very clear truth.
In those years I was in a phase of marking passages that spoke to me personally, and when I reached the underlined parts in this re-read, I could still identify with them. I have had pretty much the same reactions to the book that I had years ago. I have never believed in any organized religion, but I do believe in an intense personal spirituality. Each person must make their own choices about this issue. I may not agree with all of what Eckhart wrote, but he had some fascinating ideas for a man of his day, and I admire the courage it took to share them publicly. (less)
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Nov 30, 2012Matt rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
Whenever I hear a person carry on about how religion- all religion, but especially western religion- has always been nothing more than a destructive, thought-suppressing and morality-twisting force of pure evil, or at best some sort of contagious mental disorder or metaphorical crutch or peoples' opiate, I find that I can only quietly shake my head. Had I not read Eckhart and other sky-blue souled mystics like him, I suppose my opinion would be different... but the wisdom of the man From Whom God Hid Nothing quickly became a part of me, and it is close to my heart.
Grand statements aside, I think that this one is great to take on a trip to the beach or a ride on the bus, because you can pick it up, put it down, and jump around easily in its pages. Can't recommend it strongly enough! (less)
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Jun 17, 2015Edward rated it it was amazing
Meister Eckhart is another name I picked up reading Huxley's Perennial Philosophy, in which he is quoted extensively. Born in the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th century, little is known of this cleric's life aside from his sermons and sayings. He was apparently revered by the common people for his wisdom and willingness to search for it anywhere, so naturally he was accused of heresy by the church. They at least had the decency to wait until after his death to make it official.
This is a short book, but its tone is immediately recognizable as part of the mystical tradition that spans many cultures and religions. It's not hard to see why he attracted the negative attention of the Papacy--Eckhart often speaks of his research into the "heathen masters," or of his respect for men like Avicenna or Origen. While it was not unusual for Catholic clergy to have extensive knowledge of such authors, you can sense Eckhart's praise is not grudging, or restrained. This is the admiration of a man who genuinely recognizes the divine in non-Christian faiths.
In the end however, I doubt it was Eckhart's interest in pagan or heretical writings that truly alarmed his peers. The jewel in this collection is one titled "Detachment," in which he elaborates on why it is the highest possible virtue--even above those most commonly cited in the Christian faith, like love or humility: "And when I search the Scriptures thoroughly, as far as my reason can fathom and know, I just find that pure detachment stands above all things, for all virtues pay some regard to the creatures, yet detachment is free from all creatures. Hence it was that our Lord said to Martha: 'One thing is needful,' that is to say, he who wishes to be untroubled and pure must have one thing, namely detachment."
Later, he argues: "I also praise detachment more than all mercy, for mercy simply means that man, going out of himself, turns to the failings of his fellow men and for this reason his heart is troubled. Detachment is free from this; it remains in itself and does not allow itself to be troubled by anything, because, as long as anything can trouble a man, it is not well with him. In short, if I consider all virtues, I find that none is so completely without defects and so applicable to God as is detachment."
Eckhart's focus on detachment is startling, even revolutionary within the context of Medieval Christianity. He states that the immovability of God essentially means that nothing about the universe would change if no one had ever done a single good deed or prayed a single prayer. This sounds fatalistic at first, but Eckhart is speaking more of the unity of all Time and Being--God has already answered and granted/refused all prayers across all times; seen all good and bad deeds and their consequences. These things only appear to have linear, chronological effect to us because we are temporal. In that sense, they DO have linear and chronological effect. Just not to God. So if we want to be more like God, we must become "detached" from this concept of cause/effect, just like Him.
This is almost exactly the message of Buddhist scriptures like the Heart Sutra; a recognition that true reality is unification. Matter and Void, Cause and Effect, Finite and Infinite--these are all names for dual sides of the same coin. The longer you stare at them, the more they blur together like lines in a 3D puzzle.
At this point a modern Christian might balk at this "Zen-ification" of God, fearing a descent into apathy or withdrawal from life. Of what use are things like love, hope, or mercy if detachment outweighs them all? Eckhart anticipates this conflict like a true Eastern Sage: there is no conflict. Detachment's elevation does not denigrate these other qualities. It is merely the capstone, the highest rung on a ladder of virtues, all of which must be grasped by the faithful. Detachment here is like the detachment of the Buddha--a seeing past the surface of reality with all its suffering and vain pleasures, into a deeper peace that subsumes both.
Doing so does not make you an emotionless robot, a straw man charge leveled by many Westerners at Eastern thinkers. One who is truly detached is virtuous and compassionate because that is what a detached person does. She needs no other reason to be so. As an example Eckhart cites Mary, mother of Jesus. Praising her as a perfectly detached saint, he highlights that her detachment did not exclude emotional responses. She wept at her child's crucifixion, worried when she lost track of him, etc. His explanation for this is that detachment is rooted in a person's inner self, an unseen place of quiet that is different from the outer, visible self. You can laugh and cry and be seen laughing and crying, while your inner self, hidden from view, stands in the perfect stillness of the Divine. He likens this to a door: the door itself swings to and fro, and one can see this plainly. But the hinges on which it swings stay in place, something often overlooked.
Eckhart may have been a Christian living in Western Europe, but his mind is that of Lao Tzu. He knew that those who speak do not know, and that those who know do not speak. "When the detachment reaches its highest perfection, it becomes unknowing through knowledge, loveless through love, dark through light."
(less)
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Jul 19, 2021Ioana Ioana rated it did not like it
Shelves: garbage
God almighty
Of all the things God hid from meșterul Eckhart, a writing talent he hid best.
• Piss-poor propensity for successful metaphors: „Nature makes the man from the child and the hen from the egg, but God makes the man before the child and the hen before the egg.”, ”Two virtues are always better than one.”
• The feeling that he writes with/due to the disturbing sentiment that someone is breathing on his neck and that, as multiply stated, he doesn`t quite belong to himself, but to a „detached” god. It could have been an honorable form of animism or even panpsychism, but as we learn, also – ”man has in himself two natures: body and spirit. Creatures are all either body or spirit.” So none of those.
• Self-flagellating, compulsive whines –”one to one, one from one, one in one and in one one eternally”. Surely ”one” has to stretch his neurons to even begin to understand why this spectacle would be something a „detached” formless form of divine Being would have an appetite for.
• His works laying dormant in blessed obscurity for more than seven centuries, this bore of a writer is praised now by the European intellectual elite. This is mostly due to the shift in focus from external to internal reflection, or inwardness, with which he is credited for and some trace of resemblance to Eastern philosophy - do not be fooled, this whole ‘detachment’ business is solely for the purpose of more religious receptivity. In all honesty, the foreword made the book justice – you really have to nitpick to find decent statements, bordering on originality. I am aware of the interest personalities like Jung of Heidegger invested in this guy, and aren’t in the slightest moved by that.
• Vapid, dry, inane explorations in futility (din ciclul ”eu întreb, eu răspund”)
”The best thing about love is that it forces me to love God.
On the other hand, detachment forces God to love me.
Now it is much nobler that I should force God to myself than I should force myself to God.” (?!?)
This would go to the "one virtue is better than the other" drawer, I guess.
• He jumps untroubled from one paragraph where he advices ”detachment from oneself and other creatures” to the next where he warns that it is rather pious of someone who - ”in illness, takes comfort in thinking about those who are worse of, such as beggars.”
And so on and so forth. To use a selection of his own wit, this type of writing is indeed more suitable for the ”more void and passive of mind”. (less)
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Dec 07, 2012Sobi rated it really liked it
"What is truth? Truth is something so noble that if God could turn aside from it, I could keep to the truth and let God go."/ (less)
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Jun 23, 2013Reed rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: christian-theology
Meister Eckhart is one of my favorite mystics. He does well in elucidating the subtlest intuitions with so few words. One of my favorites: "Hearer and heard are one in the eternal Word."
Eckhart's thoughts on suffering, detachment, emptiness, and culminating unity with "Godhead" are, from what I've gathered, reminiscent of eastern Vedantic and Buddhist meditative practices and phenomenology; so, if you're into comparative theology, you may find some interesting points of comparison between the three. Also, if you have stumbled upon Eckhart in the midst of a tug-of-war match between faith and reason/empiricism (as I have), you might fix your eyes on the west and investigate Soren Kierkegaard (Fear and Trembling, Sickness Unto Death, Either/Or), Descartes' Meditations, or Spinoza's Ethics...among many others! Happy hunting. (less)
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Nov 28, 2015Jake rated it it was ok
Meister Eckhart was a 11th-12th century theologian whose views got him posthumously excommunicated. I've recently seen him referenced by Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, so I thought I'd have a look. He's pretty Buddhist-like for being a Catholic. He says that you should try to attain detachment and nothingness to allow God to work through you, at which point he kind of implies that you pretty much are God. He had some interesting ideas, but overall, I was bored.
"What is truth? Truth is something so noble that if God could turn aside from it, I could keep to the truth and let God go." (less)
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Apr 16, 2012C rated it really liked it
Shelves: spirituality-religion
This is a great introduction to Eckhart's thoughts and work. He is clearly so influential to many --you can see lots of his ideas in Luther's writings and later mystics. This little volume starts with short sayings, and works up to longer pieces. I read it as a morning devotional and got a lot out of it. ...more
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Mar 27, 2012Klelly rated it it was amazing
holy f, this is the best megabus reading. currently i am at least a few sacred moments closer to giving myself up to the ultimate unknown. goals-
to be both knowing and unknowing
to be objectless in eternity and in time
get out of (GOD __)s way
do all i do without a single why
always making first rate progress
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Feb 21, 2017Ippolit rated it it was amazing
Shelves: theology
Sola Gloria Dei
but i can see where Heidegger got a lot of his ideas.
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Jul 12, 2015Melissa Barbosa rated it it was amazing
Simply wonderful. Surely a book to read over and over again.
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Oct 16, 2020J Brandon Gibson rated it really liked it
Shelves: to-read-again, religion, red-wagon, philosophy-wisdom-self-help, favorites
You can tell Meister Eckhart was a monk I tell you that. I love this approach to life though, and many of these writings found within this book are priceless. Out of the "sayings" (there is a section called sayings which is a verse by verse format of short insights of his) my favorite ones are 1 and 12.
Here is #1
What is truth? Truth is something so noble that if God could turn aside from it, I could keep to the truth and let God go.
Like an old friend of mine mentioned concerning another Meister Ekhart compilation, "I was expecting some medieval type logic". Rather... I found something very timeless, a remnant of that flickering flame that has never gone out. I found this to be very a hybrid Hermetic / Christian philosophy, without the usual cruft. Good book. (less)
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Sep 12, 2020Paul H. Rogers rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Good
Longish with good advice. Takes love of God as our primary concern. Love of fellow man not dealt with. Read
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Nov 30, 2014Brett Folkman rated it liked it
I really enjoyed the writings of Meister Eckhart, but found the introduction very superficial and lacking much detail. I also felt there was only a small sampling of his teachings and writings, so I'm buying a much larger comprehensive book containing much more of his writings, which I thought this book would have included. It's a very small book, just enough to wet the appetite, but not satisfy. Brett Folkman, Doctor of Ministry (less)
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Joel Harrington
A sculpture of Meister Eckhart in Germany. 
A sculpture of Meister Eckhart in Germany. 
Novelist Aldous Huxley frequently cited Eckhart, in his book, ‘The Perennialist Philosophy.’ 
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