The Talks of Instruction by Meister Eckhart

The Talks of Instruction by Meister Eckhart

These are the talks of instruction which the vicar of Thuringia, the prior ofErfurt, Brother Eckhart, O.P, delivered to certain of his novices,  who asked many questions concerning these talks as they sat together 'in collationibus. '

1.  Of True Obedience

True  and  perfect  obedience is a virtue  to  crown  all virtues,  and  no work,  however great, can be performed  and done without  this virtue: and however trifling or paltry a work  is, it is more usefully done in true obedience, whether  it be reading, or hearing Mass, praying, con­ templation,  or whatever  you can think of. But take however trifling a task  you like, whatever  it may be, and  it will be made  the nobler and better for you by true obedience. Obedience always produces the very best in all things.  Yet obedience never hinders  or  misses any­ thing a man does in any way that proceeds from true obedience, for it misses nothing  good.  Obedience  need never  be concerned,  for  it lacks no good. Wherever  a man  in obedience goes out  of his own  and gives up what  is his, in the same moment  God must go in there,1  for when  a man  wants  nothing  for  himself, God  must  want  it equally as if for Himself. So in all things  that  I do not  want  for  myself, God  wants for me. Now  see - what does he want for me that I do not want for myself? If I abandon  self, He must want  everything  for me that  He wants for Himself, neither more nor less, and in the same way as He wants  for Himself. And if God  did not want  this, then  by the truth that God is, God would not be just and would not be God, which is His natural  being. In true obedience there should be no trace of 'I want  so-and-so,' or 'this and that,' but a pure going out of your own. And therefore,  in the best prayer a man can pray it should not be 'give me this virtue or that habit,'  or even 'Lord, give me Yourself,'  or  'eternal  life,' but  'Lord, give only what You will, and do, 0 Lord, whatever and however You will in every way.' This surpasses the former as heaven does the earth. And when such a prayer  is uttered  one has prayed well, having gone right out  of self into  God  in true obedience. And as true  obedience should have no 'I want  this,' so too one should never hear from  it 'I don't  want,'  for  'I don't  want'  is an absolute bane of all obedience. As St. Augustine  says,2 'The  true servant  of God  does not  desire to be told  or given what  he would  like to hear or see, for  his first and highest care is to hear what  pleases God best.'

2.  Of the Most Powerful Prayer and the Highest Activity

The  most  powerful   prayer,   one  well-nigh  omnipotent to  gain  all things,  and  the  noblest work  of all is that  which  proceeds  from  a bare mind. The  more  bare  it is, the  more  powerful,  worthy,  useful, praiseworthy and perfect  the prayer  and the work.  A bare mind can do all things. What  is a bare mind ? A  bare  mind  is one  which  is worried  by nothing  and  is tied  to nothing,  which  has  not  bound  its  best  part  to  any  mode,  does not seek its own  in anything,  that  is fully immersed in God's dearest will and gone out of its own. A man can do no work  however paltry that does not derive power and strength  from this source. We should pray so intently, as if we would have all members and all powers turned  to it - eyes, ears, mouth,  heart, and all the senses; and we should never stop  until we find ourselves about  to be united with  Him  whom  we have in mind and are praying to: that  is - God.

3.  Of Unresigned People, Who Are   Full of  Self-Will

People say, 'Alas, sir, I wish I stood as well with God or had as much devotion  and were as much at peace with  God  as others  are, I wish I were  like them,  or that  I were so poor,'  or,  'I can never manage  it unless I am there or there, or do this or that; I must get away from it all, or go and live in a cell or a cloister.' In fact, the reason lies entirely with yourself and with nothing else. It is self-will, though  you may not know  it or believe it: restlessness never  arises in you except  from  self-will, whether  you  realize it or not.  Though  we may  think  a man  should  flee these things  or  seek those things - places or people or methods, or company,3 or deeds ­ this is not the reason why methods  or things hold you back: it is you yourself in the things that prevents you, for you have a wrong attitude to things. Therefore start  first with  yourself, and  resign yourself.  In truth, unless you  flee first from  yourself,  then  wherever  you  flee to,  you will find obstacles  and restlessness no matter  where  it is. If people seek peace in outward  things, whether  in places or in methods  or in people or in deeds or in banishment  or in poverty or in humiliation, however great or of whatever  kind all this may be, this is all in vain and  brings them  no peace. Those  who  seek thus  seek wrongly;  the further  they go the less they find what they are seeking. They are like a man who has taken a wrong  turning: the further  he goes, the more he goes astray.  But what  should he do? He should resign himself to begin with, and then he has abandoned  all things. In truth,  if a man gave up a kingdom  or the whole world  and did not give up self, he would  have given up  nothing.  But if a man  gives up  himself, then whatever  he keeps, wealth, honor,  or whatever  it may be, still he has given up everything.4 One saint5 comments  on St. Peter's words,  "See, Lord, we have left everything"  (Matt.  19:27) - and  all that  he had  left was  j ust a net and his boat.  This saint says whoever  leaves a little of his own  free will, he leaves not that alone, but he leaves all that worldly people can get hold of, in fact all that they are able to desire. For he who resigns himself and  his own  will has left all things  as truly  as if they  were his free possession and at his absolute disposal .  For that  which you don't  want to  desire, you have handed  over and  resigned for  God's sake. That  is why  our  Lord  said,  "Blessed are  the  poor  in  spirit" (Matt.  5:3), that  is, in will. And none should doubt this, for if there were any better way our Lord would have declared it, just as he said, "If any  one  would  follow  me,  he must  first deny  himself"  (Matt.And none should doubt this, for if there were any better way our Lord would have declared it, just as he said, "If any  one  would  follow  me,  he must  first deny  himself"  (Matt.16:24). It all depends on that. Observe yourself, and wherever you find yourself, leave yourself: that is the very best way.

4.  Of the Value of  Resignation: What to Do  Inwardly and Outwardly

You must know that no man ever left himself so much in this life, but he could find more to leave. There are few who are truly aware of this and who are steadfast  in it. It is really an equal exchange and barter: just as much as you go out of all things, j ust so much,  neither  more nor  less, does God  enter  in with  all that  is His - if indeed  you go right out of all that is yours. Start with that, and let it cost you all you can afford.  And in that  you will find true peace, and nowhere  else. People should not worry so much about what they have to do; they should consider rather  what they are. If people and their ways were good, their deeds would shine brightly. If you are righteous, then your deeds will be righteous.  Do not think to place holiness in doing; we should place holiness in being, for it is not the works that sanctify us, but we who should sanctify the works.6 However  holy the deeds may be, they do not sanctify us in the least insofar  as they are deeds, but rather,  insofar as we are and have being, just so far do we hallow all that  we do, whether  it be eating, sleeping, waking,  or anything  else. Those  in whom  being is but slight, whatever  deeds they do amount to nothing.  Therefore note that  all our endeavors  should be devoted to  being good,  not caring so much  about  what  we do or what  kind of works,  but how the ground  of our works  is.

Notes 

1. Cf. Sermon 13b.

2. Con(. 10.26 (Q).

3. Reading menige, 'crowd,' with Q (rejecting Pfeiffer's conjecture meinunge, 'opinion'). 

4. Cf. Sermon 57.

5. St. Gregory the Great, Homilies (PL 76, 1093) (Q).

6. Cf. Sermon 15.

From : The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart (2009) Translated and Edited by  Maurice O'C. Walshe