Meister Eckhart II

Scott Bradley

Here are some quotes from Meister Eckhart that I believe parallel some of the perspectives which emerge from the philosophical Taoist point of view:

A man has little reason to be afraid of anything if he knows his will to be good and he should not be disturbed if he cannot realize it in deeds.
~ Meister Eckhart, p. 12; Raymond B. Blakney ~

This statement obviously might have more to do with my personal struggles with self, than philosophical Taoism in general, although this personalization is precisely how I understand philosophical Taoism — it cannot be removed from a personal journey. I have made repeated reference to ‘heart’ as one’s most essential self. It is that reality from which the egoic sense of our self arises, but is not itself that self. It is to this I refer when I say I believe in myself, or that my heart is pure. It is what I mean when I say we are more than the sum of our behaviors. One way I become aware of this more essential reality is when I am squeezed by condemnation from within and without. And I think this is precisely what Eckhart experienced when he wrote this statement.

It is the realization of this in ourselves which enables us to understand it is also true of others, and to accept and affirm them accordingly.

Apart from complete surrender of the will, there is no traffic with God.
~ p.16 ~

The most essential condition of transcendence is, I believe, release into Mystery. To experience oneness there can be no self in contrast to other. ‘Surrender’ may have negative connotations to some, so I have used ‘release’. The consequence of release is consciousness in the limitless and boundless, which might help to put things in a positive perspective.

The truth is that the more ourselves we are, the less self is in us.
~ p. 17 ~

This refers us back to the first quote. The more we realize our most essential selves, the less self we have, for our actual self-arising is selfless.

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