Disappointing

I am no theologian, and was sad to find that at around Chapter 8, the Sermons gave way to an extensive and rather murky commentary, drawing on a goodly company of ancient, medieval and modern theologians with a sowing of untranslated Middle High German quotations which I didn’t quite catch.
Here I have to admit a bias: I come to Eckhart from Taoism and Ch’an (Zen) whose writings are necessarily sparse, attracted by the rumour that Eckhart’s spirituality was akin.
A main problem here is that the reading is uninspiring, tending to a monotone. Now, I do not underestimate the difficulty of rendering these sermons. However, I could have hoped for a more expressive, resounding presentation.
I mistrust collections of memorable extracts and wish to hear the full contexts. I have collections, in the original and in translation to which I now will go.
One thing I have learnt is that the contortions and controversies which are suffered by those trying to define the nameless. Why bother: the ineffable is ineffable. The Ancient Chinese Masters got that first! Still, I have high hopes of Eckhart!

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