What is Meister Eckhart?
Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1328) was a German Dominican friar, theologian, and preacher whose mystical teachings on the union between God and the soul stand as foundational texts in Christian contemplative spirituality. His vernacular German sermons introduced laypeople to concepts such as Gelassenheit (detachment or letting-go), the indistinct unity between the soul’s ground and the divine ground, and the paradoxical idea that one must be “empty” of all images and concepts—even God as conceived—to encounter God in truth. Eckhart’s work bridges scholastic philosophy and experiential mysticism, drawing on Neoplatonism, Thomas Aquinas, and the apophatic theology tradition that emphasizes what cannot be said about the divine. His influence extends across medieval Christian mysticism, modern philosophy, and contemporary contemplative practice.
Origins & Lineage
Eckhart von Hochheim was born around 1260 in Thuringia, in what is now central Germany. He entered the Dominican Order as a young man and studied theology in Cologne and Paris, eventually earning his master’s degree—hence the honorific “Meister.” He taught at the University of Paris, served as provincial superior of the Dominican Order in Saxony, and preached widely in convents and churches throughout the German-speaking lands. His intellectual lineage flows through Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas, yet his mystical insights draw deeply from Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and the Neoplatonic tradition.
Eckhart preached primarily in Middle High German to audiences of Dominican nuns and lay believers, making sophisticated theological concepts accessible through vivid metaphors and paradox. In 1326, near the end of his life, he was accused of heresy by the Archbishop of Cologne. A list of propositions extracted from his sermons was condemned by Pope John XXII in the papal bull In Agro Dominico (1329), issued shortly after Eckhart’s death. While this condemnation cast a shadow over his legacy for centuries, modern scholarship recognizes that many condemned statements were taken out of context and that Eckhart remained within the bounds of orthodox Christian mysticism when read holistically.
How It’s Practiced
Meister Eckhart does not prescribe a single meditative technique, but his teachings have profoundly shaped Christian contemplative prayer and meditation. The core practice implied by his sermons is Gelassenheit—radical detachment from all creaturely things, images, and even one’s own will, creating interior emptiness so that God can be “born” in the soul. This resonates with the apophatic theology tradition and the practice of imageless contemplation found in works like The Cloud of Unknowing.
Practitioners influenced by Eckhart often engage in silent, receptive prayer where all mental constructs, including images of God, are released. This “letting-go” is not nihilistic but opens what Eckhart called the “ground of the soul” (Seelengrund), the innermost center where the human spirit and divine spirit are one. Some enter this practice through lectio divina with Eckhart’s sermons, using a single paradoxical statement—“God must become I, and I must become God”—as a contemplative koan. Others practice through Christian contemplative prayer, sitting in silence with the intention of resting in pure presence beyond thought.
Meister Eckhart Today
Eckhart’s teachings have experienced a renaissance in the 20th and 21st centuries. Scholars such as Josef Quint, Bernard McGinn, and Oliver Davies have produced critical editions and translations of his German and Latin works, making them widely accessible. His influence appears in the work of philosophers including Martin Heidegger, who engaged Eckhart’s phenomenology of being, and in the Christian contemplation revival led by teachers such as Thomas Merton, who saw Eckhart as a bridge between Christian and Eastern nondual traditions.
Contemporary seekers encounter Eckhart through retreat centers rooted in Benedictine spirituality and Dominican houses that offer contemplative study programs. His sermons are taught in courses on Christian mysticism, and excerpts appear in anthologies alongside texts like The Cloud of Unknowing and the Confessions of Augustine. Online platforms and contemplative communities use his writings as source material for silent meditation sits and interfaith dialogue, particularly with practitioners of advaita meditation and nondual meditation who recognize resonances with Vedanta and Zen.
Common Misconceptions
Meister Eckhart is not a pantheist, though some of his statements—taken in isolation—can sound like identification of the soul with God. Eckhart maintained the Creator-creature distinction while emphasizing a mystical union beyond duality; his rhetoric is paradoxical, not heretical. He is also not anti-intellectual; he was a trained scholastic theologian who used philosophy as a ladder to mystical insight, not as an end in itself.
Eckhart’s teachings are not a “technique” for achieving spiritual states or experiences. His emphasis on detachment (Gelassenheit) includes releasing the desire for spiritual attainment itself. Finally, Eckhart is not opposed to devotional practice or the sacraments; his mysticism presumes a life of prayer, community, and liturgy, not a rejection of institutional religion.
How to Begin
The most accessible entry point is Meister Eckhart: The Essential Sermons, Commentaries, Treatises, and Defense, translated by Edmund Colledge and Bernard McGinn, part of the Classics of Western Spirituality series. Begin with the sermon “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit,” which encapsulates his teaching on detachment and the ground of the soul. Read slowly, sitting with paradoxes rather than resolving them intellectually.
For practice, explore silent sitting rooted in Christian contemplative prayer or engage with a retreat center offering Eckhartian contemplation. The Center for Action and Contemplation and Shalem Institute both offer resources and programs influenced by Eckhart’s apophatic approach. Pair reading with practices such as open awareness meditation or pure awareness meditation, allowing Eckhart’s language to inform a posture of receptive emptiness rather than striving.