Meister Eckhart: Selected Writings collects representative German sermons, Latin treatises, and excerpts from the Book of Divine Consolation by the 13th-14th century Dominican philosopher and preacher Eckhart von Hochheim. The volume covers Eckhart's central themes: the birth of the Word in the soul, the ground (Grund) where God and the soul meet, divine emptiness, and abandonment (Gelassenheit). The Penguin Classics edition by Oliver Davies is the standard English single-volume introduction.
Eckhart was condemned posthumously in the bull In agro dominico (1329), with 17 of his propositions declared heretical and 11 of doubtful orthodoxy — a verdict the Vatican has not formally rescinded but which the Dominican Order and recent popes have repeatedly walked back. His rehabilitation in the 19th and 20th centuries was driven by German Idealism (Hegel, Schopenhauer), depth psychology (Jung), and the Kyoto School (D. T. Suzuki, Nishida Kitarō), who read him as the Christian thinker closest to Zen and to Vedānta.
Contents
The Talks of Instruction
The Book of Divine Consolation
On the Noble Man
Selected German Sermons
Selected Latin Sermons
Reception
Eckhart was condemned posthumously in the bull In agro dominico (1329), with 17 of his propositions declared heretical and 11 of doubtful orthodoxy — a verdict the Vatican has not formally rescinded but which the Dominican Order and recent popes have repeatedly walked back. His rehabilitation in the 19th and 20th centuries was driven by German Idealism (Hegel, Schopenhauer), depth psychology (Jung), and the Kyoto School (D. T. Suzuki, Nishida Kitarō), who read him as the Christian thinker closest to Zen and to Vedānta. He is now read both as a proto-Reformation theologian and as one of the few Christian thinkers who passes the comparative non-dualism test.
Frequently asked
What does Meister Eckhart: Selected Writings contain?
Oliver Davies's Penguin Classics selection brings together the Talks of Instruction, the Book of Divine Consolation, the treatise On the Noble Man, and a selection of German and Latin sermons. Together they cover Eckhart's key concepts: the birth of the Word in the soul, the ground (Grund) where God and the soul meet without distinction, divine emptiness, and the practice of Gelassenheit (abandonment or releasement).
Why was Meister Eckhart condemned by the Church?
In 1329, Pope John XXII's bull In agro dominico declared 17 of Eckhart's propositions heretical and 11 of doubtful orthodoxy. Eckhart had died before the verdict was issued and maintained his submission to Church authority. The condemnation has not been formally rescinded, but the Dominican Order and several modern popes have publicly rehabilitated his legacy, calling his theology orthodox when read in context.
Why is Meister Eckhart important for comparative mysticism?
The Kyoto School philosophers — notably D. T. Suzuki and Nishida Kitarō — identified Eckhart as the Christian thinker closest to Zen Buddhism and to Vedānta. His concept of the Grunt (ground of being where God and soul meet in undifferentiated unity) has been compared to Buddhist śūnyatā and to the Hindu identification of ātman with Brahman, making him a central reference point for cross-traditional dialogue on non-duality.