Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) · 12 of 23 · tr. Claud Field
IV-b
No, they are certainly not; for the work of the angels is the will of God, and the will of God is the work of the angels; their service to us does not hinder their joy nor their working.
If God told an angel to go to a tree and pluck caterpillars off it, the angel would be quite ready to do so, and it would be his happiness, if it were the will of God.
The man who abides in the will of God wills nothing else than what God is, and what He wills.
If he were ill he would not wish to be well.
If he really abides in God’s will, all pain is to him a joy, all complication, simple: yea, even the pains of hell would be a joy to him.
He is free and gone out from himself, and from all that he receives, he must be free.
If my eye is to discern colour, it must itself be free from all colour.
The eye with which I see God is the same with which God sees me.
My eye and God’s eye is one eye, and one sight, and one knowledge, and one love.
The man who abides in God’s love must be dead to himself and all created things, and regard himself as a mere unit among a thousand million.
Such a man must renounce himself and all the world.
Supposing a man possessed all the world, and gave it back to God intact just as he received it, God would give him back, all the world and everlasting life to boot.
And supposing there were another man who had nothing but a good will, and he thought in his heart, “Lord, were all this world mine, and two worlds more beside it, I would give them and myself also back to Thee as I received them from thee”; to that man God would give back as much as he had given away.
And supposing a man had renounced himself for twenty years, if he took himself back for a moment, that man’s renunciation would be as nothing.
The man who has truly renounced himself and does not once cast a glance on what he has renounced, and thus remains immovable and unalterable, that man alone has really renounced self.
May God and the Eternal Wisdom grant us to remain equally immovable and unalterable with Himself.
Amen.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis
Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.
[auto] The passage explicitly describes renouncing self and all created things to remain immovable in God's will, which is the core definition of Eckhart's Gelassenheit.
All passages →Fana Annihilationsoteriology
Sufi self-effacement in God — the via by which the lover is unmade as a separate ego and recovered as God's act; specifies the practice/event rather than mystical_union's resulting state.
The requirement to be 'dead to himself' and renounce self mirrors the concept of self-effacement in God.
All passages →Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The identity of the human eye and God's eye suggests the human being reflects the divine structure.
All passages →Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
[auto] The passage describes the merging of human and divine perception ('one eye, one sight') and abiding in God's love.
All passages →Opposites Transcendedanthropology
The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.
[auto] The text states that for one abiding in God's will, all pain is joy and complication is simple, transcending binary oppositions.
All passages →Poverty Of Spiritanthropology
Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty).
[auto] The text emphasizes having nothing but a good will and giving back the world as received, aligning with Eckhart's radical poverty of spirit.
All passages →Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
[auto] The assertion that the eye with which I see God is the same with which God sees me implies a fundamental non-dual unity.
All passages →Related passages · 15 of 77 parallels
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter I, Section 1d
“He suffers when he thinks of the evil he has done; he suffers more when going on the evil path.
18.
The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he is happy in both.
He is happy when he thinks of the good he has…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter V, Section 1a
“p.
20 CHAPTER V.
THE FOOL.
60.
Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.
61.
If a traveller does not meet with one who is his better, or his eq…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter V, Section 1b
“In Manu IV, 172, where a similar sentence occurs, the commentators are equally doubtful: Nâdharma s k arito loke sadya h phalati gaur iva, 'for an evil act committed in the world does not bear fruit at once, like a cow;' or 'like the earth…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter VI, Section 1a
“p.
23 CHAPTER VI.
THE WISE MAN (PA ND ITA).
76.
If you see an intelligent man who tells you where true treasures are to be found, who shows what is to be avoided, and administers reproofs, follow that wise man; it will be better, not wo…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter VII, Section 1a
“p.
27 CHAPTER VII.
THE VENERABLE (ARHAT).
90.
There is no suffering for him who has finished his journey, and abandoned grief, who has freed himself on all sides, and thrown off all fetters.
91.
They depart with their thoughts well-co…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XIV, Section 1a
“p.
49 CHAPTER XIV.
THE BUDDHA (THE AWAKENED).
179.
He whose conquest is not conquered again, into whose conquest no one in this world enters, by what track can you lead him, the Awakened, the Omniscient, the trackless?
180.
He whom no…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XV, Section 1a
“p.
53 CHAPTER XV.
HAPPINESS.
197.
Let us live happily then, not hating those who hate us!
among men who hate us let us dwell free from hatred!
198.
Let us live happily then, free from ailments among the ailing!
among men who are ail…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XVI, Section 1
“p. 56 CHAPTER XVI. PLEASURE. 209. He who gives himself to vanity, and does not give himself to meditation, forgetting the real aim (of life) and grasping at pleasure, will in time envy him who has exerted himself in meditation. 210. Let no…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XVII, Section 1a
“p.
58 CHAPTER XVII.
ANGER.
221.
Let a man leave anger, let him forsake pride, let him overcome all bondage!
No sufferings befall the man who is not attached to name and form, and who calls nothing his own.
222.
He who holds back risi…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XVIII, Section 1b
“On the five principal commandments which are recapitulated in verses 246 and 247, see Buddhaghosha's Parables, p.
153.
248.
Cf.
Mahâbhârata XII, 4055, yeshâ m v ri ttis k a sa m yatâ.
See also verse 307 .] p.
62 249.
The world gives…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XIX, Section 1a
“p.
64 CHAPTER XIX.
THE JUST.
256., 257.
A man is not just if he carries a matter by violence; no, he who distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned and leads others, not by violence, but by law and equity, and who is guarded by…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XIX, Section 1b
“(See Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, II, 700.) The Chinese Shamen and the Tungusian Shamen come from the same source, though the latter has sometimes been doubted.
See Schott, Über die doppelte Bedeutung des Wortes Schamane, in the Philo…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XX, Section 1a
“p.
67 CHAPTER XX.
THE WAY.
273.
The best of ways is the eightfold; the best of truths the four words; the best of virtues passionlessness; the best of men he who has eyes to see.
274.
This is the way, there is no other that leads to t…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XX, Section 1b
“Weber renders it by 'Gedeihen,' but the commentator distinctly explains it as 'vast knowledge,' and in the technical sense the word occurs after vidyâ and before medhâ, in the Lalita-vistara, p.
541.
283.
A pun, vana meaning both 'lust'…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
buddhism|The Dhammapada|Chapter XXI, Section 1b
“Beal in his translation of the Dhammapada, Introduction, p.
5.
Here a stanza is quoted as having been recited by Buddha, in explanation of a similar startling utterance which he had made to Mahâmati: 'Lust, or carnal desire, this is the M…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)