Who Is Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1328) was a German Dominican theologian, philosopher, and mystic whose sermons and treatises represent one of the most radical and intellectually rigorous expressions of mystical Christianity ever produced. Born in Thuringia, he entered the Dominican order as a young man, studied at Paris and Cologne, held prestigious academic and administrative positions within the order, and became one of the most sought-after preachers of his era. His vernacular German sermons—delivered to lay audiences, including communities of religious women (Beguines)—were electrifying in their directness: Eckhart spoke of the soul's identity with God, of letting go of all images and concepts, and of a "ground" (Grunt) beneath both soul and God where the two are indistinguishable. Shortly before his death, the papal court condemned 28 of his propositions as heretical or suspect—a judgment that has been increasingly revisited and challenged by modern scholars.

Eckhart's relevance to IMHU's mission lies in his unflinching description of what happens when the self gets out of its own way. His teachings on detachment (Gelassenheit), the birth of God in the soul, and the nameless "ground" beyond all concepts anticipate key themes in transpersonal psychology, non-dual spirituality, and contemplative neuroscience. His language is startlingly close to Zen Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, and the experiential reports of people undergoing mystical experiences—which is why thinkers like D.T. Suzuki, Thomas Merton, and Ken Wilber have all recognized him as a kindred spirit across traditions. For clinicians working with clients who report experiences of ego dissolution, union, or encounter with a reality beyond ordinary selfhood, Eckhart provides one of the most articulate and psychologically precise vocabularies available within the Western tradition.

Core Concepts

1. Gelassenheit (detachment, letting-be, releasement): Eckhart's central spiritual instruction is Gelassenheit—a radical letting go of attachment to self-will, self-image, and even attachment to God as an object of desire. This is not passive resignation but an active emptying that creates space for something deeper to emerge. The concept influenced Heidegger, was adopted by contemplative Christians, and maps closely onto the Buddhist teaching of non-attachment. Clinically, it describes the psychological posture that allows transformative experience to happen: stop grasping, stop controlling, and let the process move through you.
2. The birth of God in the soul: Eckhart taught that the purpose of spiritual life is not to go somewhere else or become someone different but to allow the divine to be "born" in the depths of the soul—right here, right now. This birth happens in silence, in the letting go of images and concepts, in the ground of the soul where self and God are one. It's a radical reframe: transformation is not about acquiring something you lack but about uncovering what was always already present.
3. The ground (Grunt) beyond God and soul: Eckhart's most radical teaching—and the one that got him in trouble with the Inquisition—is that beneath both "God" (as conceived by theology) and "soul" (as experienced by the self) lies a nameless, formless ground that is prior to all distinction. This ground is not a thing or a being but the source from which all things emerge. Experientially, it corresponds to what contemplatives across traditions describe as the absolute, the void, pure consciousness, or the nondual ground of being.
4. Living without a "why": Eckhart taught that the highest life is one lived without ulterior motive—without doing things for the sake of reward, recognition, or even spiritual advancement. To live "without a why" is to act from the overflow of being rather than from the calculations of ego. This teaching has practical implications for burnout, spiritual materialism, and the tendency to turn even contemplative practice into another achievement project.
5. The equality of all moments: For Eckhart, the divine is equally present in every moment and every activity—not only in prayer and meditation but in cooking, walking, and conversation. There is no sacred-secular divide. This democratization of spiritual experience means that awakening is available to everyone, everywhere, without requiring monastic withdrawal or extraordinary circumstances.

Essential Writings

• The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart (translated by Maurice O'C. Walshe): The most comprehensive English edition of Eckhart's German sermons and treatises. Best use: the definitive scholarly collection—invaluable for serious study, though the sermons can also be read individually as stand-alone contemplative texts.
• Meister Eckhart: Selected Writings (Penguin Classics, translated by Oliver Davies): A more accessible selection of key sermons, treatises, and fragments with helpful introductions. Best use: the best starting point for readers new to Eckhart who want the essential teachings in a portable format.
• Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times (by Matthew Fox): A contemporary interpretation that places Eckhart in dialogue with creation spirituality, social justice, and ecological awareness. Best use: for readers who want to see how Eckhart's ideas apply to contemporary spiritual and cultural concerns.
• Wandering Joy: Meister Eckhart's Mystical Philosophy (by Reiner Schürmann): A philosophical study that reads Eckhart through the lens of Heidegger and phenomenology. Best use: for philosophically minded readers who want to understand why Eckhart matters to modern thought about being, consciousness, and the ground of experience.