Book Notes

Meister Eckhart
Selections from His Essential Writings
Harper Collins Spiritual Classics
Foreword by John O’Donohue

Quotes and excerpts from the book interspersed with comments by Dan Kral

Quotes

There is never any trouble that starts in you that does not come from your own will (page 5)

Truly, if a man renounced a kingdom or the whole world but held on to himself, we would not have renounced anything.  What is more, if a man renounces himself, whatever else he retains, riches or honors, or whatever it may be, he has forsaken everything. (page 5/6)

God has no regard for what your works are, but for what your love and devotion and intention in the works are. (page 31)

Dan Kral
God is interested in our doing (our works) flowing out of our being (our love, devotion and intention to Him).

Our works do not greatly matter to him, but only our intention in all our works, and that we love him alone in all things.  For the man is far too greedy who is not satisfied with God.  All your works will be rewarded in your God’s knowledge of them, and that in them he was your intention; and always be content with that.  And the more that your intention is directed wholly and simply toward him, the more truly will all your works atone for all your sins. (page 31)

Dan Kral
This reminds me of the two lines from Anthony De Mello – “Your duty is to be.  Not to be somebody and not to be nobody – for therein lies greed and ambition.”  We need to have our rest in God, let our doing flow from our being with God, and be content with those things.  What more could a man desire?

To be empty of all created things is to be full of God, and to be full of created things is to be empty of God. (page 109)

The soul has a secret entry into the divine nature when all things become nothing to it.
–Augustine

No one is happier than the man who has attained the greatest detachment. (page 117)

If a man is extraordinary he must act in various extraordinary ways on many occasions. (page 37).

Perfect detachment has no looking up to, no abasement – not beneath any created thing or above it.  It wishes to be neither beneath nor above; it wants to exist by itself, not giving joy or sorrow to anyone, not wanting equality or inequality with any created thing, not wishing for this or wishing for that.  All that it wants is to be.  (page 106)