The Eckhart
society
The Eckhart
society
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The Eckhart Society was formed in 1987. Its current aims are:
The Society holds an annual conference, publishes a Review, and works
to facilitate communication between individuals and with other societies.
Past conferences have hosted an international array of speakers, including
scholars foremost in the field of Eckhart scholarship and representatives
of different religions.
Patrons Trustees Stephen Bullivant
To Apply for Membership, Click HERE
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Peter Talbot Willcox, Chairman of The Eckhart Society from 1992 -
2000, who died suddenly on 25th September 2000, wrote:
The formal purposes of the Society are succinctly stated in the brochure
which includes a membership application form. But the reasons for joining
are not exhausted by that statement: for inevitably it omits much more than
it includes and is at most a signpost that indicates some specific destinations.
Not until we look carefully at the Society and its activities, and hear from
its members how they have benefited, do we begin to get the feel and taste
of it, see what it is about and hear stories that are witness to its
effectiveness.
Perhaps the most pertinent questions that must be satisfactorily answered
by those whose aim is to strengthen their own faith and their capacity for
service to the world are "Why Eckhart? What makes Eckhart so important that
we should join this Society?" Members would give somewhat different answers
and it is not possible here to to cover them all (although at some future
date it might be worthwhile to collect a symposium on them). We can
however attempt what might be called a legendary description of the subjective
experience of one or two known cases.
The late Chairman and founder of the Society, Ursula Fleming, many years
ago went to a wise and respected Buddhist friend and asked "Can an intelligent
person be a Christian?" The Buddhist answered with the suggestion that
she should try reading Meister Eckhart. Thereafter,following initial
incomprehension, she answered her original question affirmatively and backed
up her decision by becoming a lay Dominican and, eventually, by founding
the society. Her successor as Chairman quite independently and without
ever having met her, consulted the same buddhist in 1976 when seeking instruction
on contemplative prayer and meditation. He was advised to explore prayer
of the heart as taught by the fathers of the Church, and was eventually
introduced to Ursula Fleming and of course Meister's Eckhart's work. What
was it, then, in Eckhart that helped to convert two Christian doubters into
believers?
Here it is worth looking at just a few of the possible reasons for doubt
- especially those that can be resolved by study of Eckhart. Some of
the most common of these in simple terms are: disbelief in the miraculous
foundations of Christian tradition; difficulty in comprehending the relevance
to one's own condition of the life and death of Jesus nearly 2000 years ago;
difficulty in discovering where to direct one's conscious attention in prayer;
problems of relating exclusive Christian claims to the experience of other
faiths - especially those which are attractively free of complicated theological
images and language.
It seems that after a period of serious study of Meister Eckhart's sermons
and writings and after reading and hearing some of the helpful commentaries
by theologians and contemplatives, many of these and other difficulties begin
to dissolve. Furthermore, some hitherto impenetrable biblical texts
begin to shine with a new light. The world itself and other people
may be experienced differently, and it may also become possible to explore
with greater understanding the shared elements of other religions. We
cannot easily pick out the specific parts of Eckhart's teaching that have
the power to act as catalysts or vehicles of grace to bring about such changes
of perspective - except, perhaps, his uses of paradox to shatter preconceived
notions and accretions of opinion. As is the case with other authentic
teaching, the absorption of his ideas takes place both consciously and
subconsciously, so that realization of their meaning can strike unexpectedly,
like the sudden shaft of sunlight that illuminates some unfamiliar
corner of a garden on a cloudy day.
It would seem , however, that his teaching on what he called "the birth of
God in the soul" can speak particularly powerfully to-day to some of to-day's
doubting Christians. Eckhart shows in convincing metaphysical terms
how men and women may be granted realization of the presence of God within
their souls. He is not speaking about a notion to be held in the head
but true union: he argues that God may impart his life and very essence to
the believer. Here is a powerful alternative to much modern teaching
on how God and we are related.
For those to whom the works of Meister Eckhart are already familiar the Society
provides through its annual conference, its recorded lectures, its Review
and its address list, the opportunity to enter into dialogue with those who
share their interest and who are travellers along the same or parallel
paths.
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