| This thesis is a work in comparative mysticism. It compares ideas and insights in writings attributed to two mystics, one Daoist and one Christian, who were widely separated in time and space: Master Zhuang, from China of the 3rd and 4th centuries BCE, and Meister Eckhart, from Europe of the 13th and 14th centuries CE. Each is a major figure for his time and place. Indeed, Zhuang is the most influential figure from pre-Buddhist China for the development of Daoist as well as Buddhist mysticism in later Chinese history. Eckhart is among the leading figures in Christian mysticism, for some the quintessential mystic in the entire history of Christianity. Because these are not obscure figures, but key representatives of their traditions, the striking similarities between them in the areas studied--linguistic skepticism, the description of Ultimacy, and ways of living in relation to Ultimacy--support claims that have been made about the universal qualities of mystical experiences in world religions. |
