Meister Eckhart

Explore the life and teachings of Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1328), the German Dominican theologian and mystic. Learn about his philosophy, spiritual approach, controversies, legacy, and powerful quotes that still inspire seekers today.

Introduction

Meister Eckhart (also called Eckhart von Hochheim) was a late medieval German Dominican friar, theologian, philosopher, and mystic. His writings and sermons emphasize the possibility of a direct, interior union between the soul and the divine, often expressed in paradoxical, poetic, and deeply contemplative language. His legacy has resonated in Christian mysticism, philosophy, and interreligious spirituality.

Born around 1260 and dying around 1328, Eckhart lived in a time when scholastic theology, mysticism, and tension with church authorities intersected. His thought shook comfortable boundaries: many of his statements were controversial, and toward the end of his life he faced ecclesiastical scrutiny. Yet over the centuries, his influence has grown—his emphasis on interiority, detachment, and the “birth of God in the soul” continues to attract thinkers across traditions.

Early Life and Background

The details of Eckhart’s early life are patchy and partially speculative. He was born around 1260 in what is now Germany, likely in or near Hochheim (Thuringia).

Around 1278, as a young man of about eighteen, he joined the Dominican Order at Erfurt.

Education, Career & Ecclesiastical Office

Eckhart’s rise in the Dominican intellectual world was significant:

• By 1293–1294, he was lecturing on The Sentences of Peter Lombard, a standard theological curriculum. On 18 April 1294 he preached the Easter sermon (Sermo Paschalis) at the Dominican convent of St. Jacques in Paris.

• In late 1294, he became Prior at Erfurt and was also made Provincial for Thuringia, giving him administrative as well as spiritual responsibilities in the order.

• Between about 1295 and 1298 he delivered a series of talks to Dominican novices (in the vernacular German), collected later as Reden der Unterweisung (“Talks of Instruction”).

• In 1302, he was sent to Paris to take up the external Dominican chair of theology.

Throughout his life, he composed sermons in Latin and the vernacular German, and he delivered many lay sermons. His mystical and theological ideas gradually took shape in sermons, treatises, and commentaries.

Thought & Key Contributions

Meister Eckhart’s theology is dense, paradoxical, and deeply tied to mystical insight. Below are some of his key ideas and contributions:

Birth of God in the Soul / Inner Union

One of his central images is that God must be “born” in the soul. This turning inward is not passive, but a transformative process: the soul, when emptied and detached, becomes a space in which the divine may dwell. He often speaks of the “breakthrough” (Durchbruch) to the divine essence.

Detachment (Gelassenheit) & Emptiness

Eckhart emphasizes letting go of attachments—of self, of created things, desires, even spiritual consolations—in order for the soul to be open. He suggests that God is not found by adding, but by a process of subtraction and emptying.

God, Essence, and “Godhead”

He draws a distinction between God as Creator (with attributes) and a deeper “Godhead” or divine essence beyond all attributes. In many sermons he pushes the notion that the highest knowledge of God transcends all categories.

Universal Presence & Immanence

Eckhart sometimes speaks in language that suggests God is present in all things; creatures “are a book of God,” every being “is full of God.” He does not collapse creature to God, but insists on a mystical participation and presence.

Use of Paradox & Apophatic Theology

He frequently uses paradoxical language: “To be without desire is to desire to be clear of all desires.” His speech often draws on negative theology—saying what God is not rather than what God is—and on mystical silence.

Preaching & Accessibility

Unlike purely scholastic theologians, Eckhart preached actively to both monastic and lay audiences in the vernacular. His use of German in sermons was somewhat innovative, making mystical theology more accessible beyond the elite.

Controversy, Accusation & Posthumous Heresy Proceedings

Eckhart’s unorthodox expressions drew attention from ecclesiastical authorities. Around 1326, Pope John XXII issued papal condemnations against certain propositions (simpliciter statements) allegedly found in Eckhart’s writings.

Some of his statements were judged suspect of heresy, especially with regard to his language about God’s essence, predication of God in the soul, and the identity between creature and Creator in certain mystical moments. However, it's important to note:

• Eckhart died around 1328, before the full papal censure was published.

• The papal condemnation came after his death; he never faced full trial in person.

• Over time, many of his “suspect propositions” have been interpreted, reinterpreted, or rehabilitated by scholars sympathetic to his mystical intent.

Because of the controversy, some of his writings were suppressed, and some of his sermons and treatises survive only through later manuscript transmission.

Influence & Legacy

Meister Eckhart’s influence has grown over centuries, especially from the modern period onward:

• He is seen as a forerunner of later Christian mystics (Meister Eckhart is often grouped among the “German mystics” together with Tauler, Suso, Johannes van Ruysbroek, etc.).

• His ideas have resonated beyond Christian circles—in modern spirituality, interfaith discourse, and among philosophers interested in mysticism and negative theology. His famous line, “The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me”, has been widely quoted in comparative mystical contexts.

• The modern Meister Eckhart Society and academic centers (e.g. at Erfurt University) study his writings in detail.

• His stress on interiority, silence, and the birth of God within influenced movements of contemplative spirituality, mysticism, and even New Age appropriations (though these are sometimes controversial among theologians).

• Some modern scholars, such as Kurt Flasch, attempt to place Eckhart more firmly within medieval philosophy and theology rather than as a purely mystical figure, examining the linguistic and philosophical rigor behind his sermons.

Personality & Spiritual Character

Although we lack extensive biographical detail about his private life, Eckhart’s personality can be inferred from his surviving sermons and writings:

• He was intellectually bold, unafraid to push boundaries in theological expression.

• He was pastoral: many of his sermons aim at awakening devotion, humility, inner stillness, and active spiritual life among lay believers.

• He combined scholastic rigor (familiarity with theologians like Augustine, Aquinas) with mystical insight: he did not wholly abandon the language of theology, but bent it toward mystical experience.

• He seems to have had a contemplative core: his emphasis on silence, interior stillness, and receptivity implies a life shaped by meditative practice and reflection.

Famous Quotes of Meister Eckhart

Below are some selected quotes (translated) that capture the depth and tone of Eckhart’s vision:

“If the only prayer you said was ‘Thank you,’ that would be enough.” “The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.” “The most important hour is always the present. The most significant person is precisely the one sitting across from you right now. The most necessary work is always love.” “There is nothing so much like God in all the universe as silence.” “God is at home; it’s we who have gone out for a walk.” “God is not found in the soul by adding anything but by a process of subtraction.” “Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God.” “To seek God by rituals is to get the ritual and lose God in the process.” “A pure heart is one that is unencumbered, unworried, uncommitted and which does not want its own way about anything but which, rather, is submerged in the loving will of God.” “The more we have, the more we are occupied. The less we have, the more free we are.”

These quotations evoke themes of silence, detachment, union, presence, and the paradoxical path of mystical life.

Lessons from Meister Eckhart

1. Practice interior detachment. Letting go of attachments opens the soul to deeper divine presence.

2. Attend to the present moment. The “now” is spiritually most alive and real.

3. Seek God within. Insight, transformation, spiritual birth must occur in the interior, not merely outwardly.

4. Embrace paradox and mystery. At the higher reaches, language fails—mystical theology speaks in negation and silence.

5. See divinity in all creation. All creatures can be read as expressions (“words”) of God.

6. Prioritize being over doing. Spiritual life is more about transformation of the inner self than religious activity or ritual correctness.

Conclusion

Meister Eckhart remains a towering figure in Christian mysticism and medieval thought. His daring theology, passionate interiority, and contemplative insight continue to captivate seekers, scholars, and spiritual thinkers. Though he lived seven centuries ago, his words still pulse with life: his invitations to silence, detachment, and inner union resonate strongly in our modern age of noise, distraction, and fragmented spirituality.